Four Year Timeline for Applying to College
4 Year Timeline for Applying to College
Grade 9
- Do your best! Select classes that balance rigor and GPA. Develop organizational skills and time management.
- Join a club or sport. Explore! Find what activities excite you.
- Start your High School and Beyond Plan in Naviance: Start drafting your resume, Strengths Explorer
- Start reading/researching about colleges or programs
Grade 10
- Maintain or raise your GPA
- Be active in a few clubs or sports: depth over breadth
- Continue reading/researching
- Take the PSAT at school in the fall (October)
- Complete AchieveWorks Personality assessment and update your resume in Naviance
- Do something interesting during the summer
Grade 11
- Maintain or raise your GPA
- Take the PSAT/NMQT at school in the fall (October)
- Attend Financial Aid Night
- Schedule/take SAT at school in the spring
- Begin to think about leadership opportunities
- Complete the SuperMatch college search and update your resume in Naviance
- Continue reading/researching
- Check out some college presentations–register through Naviance
- Go to on campus visits, if possible. It’s best to do this when they are in session.
- Attend college rep visits and attend the National College Fair (November)
- Try to finalize college list (10 max): Reach school(s), match school(s), and a back-up school based on their freshman profile. Plan on at least one in-state school.
- Spring: Think about which teacher(s) you would like to ask for a letter of rec
- Do something interesting during the summer
- Write essays in summer before 12th grade.
Grade 12
- Finalize resume in Naviance
- Attend Financial Aid Night, especially if you didn’t junior year
- Ask your letter of rec writers and give your college list and resume. Private, independent schools often want school counselor as well as a teacher.
- Try to do some leadership
- Edit all essays in the fall
- Attend college rep visits and college fair
- Apply for financial aid (FAFSA/WASFA) in the fall. Some schools use the CSS Profile as well.
- Send test scores and transcripts to colleges
- Apply to colleges: Common Application, Coalition, school-specific website. Give them exactly what they want.
- Consider applying for the Seattle Promise Scholarship
- Fight to get off the waitlist
- Apply for scholarships throughout the fall, winter, and spring
- Decide where to go to college! National College Decision Day is May 1