Senior Info 2011-2012

Preparing For College (Phase 1)

-SAT/ACT It is important! Can take or re-take at BNL on October 1st. The registration deadline is September 9th. There are also dates in November and December, but students should really try for October in order to get results needed for college acceptance.

-Attend the IU College Fair, at the Bloomington Convention Center on September 27th. Develop a list of potential college and begin planning for campus visits.

-Use the INTERNET! Visit college websites, research schools you might be interested in attending. Download applications and other information for prospective freshmen. Notice specific dates for campus visit opportunities.

-PARTICIPATE in job shadow opportunities. If you're considering a career in a specific area, spend a day with someone working in that field. To a degree, your counselor can help you with this. Family friends or relatives are often a great place to begin the search.

For the completely lost with no direction, you can take a college match survey at www.collegeboard.com. Also useful for finding a variety of lesser known colleges in Indiana.

-VISIT college campuses! Make an informed decision about which school best suits your needs and personality. Many schools have special days and programs for prospective students. Most campuses offer weekend visits, but seniors may also take 2 college visit days. The absences from school are excused. Applications for college visit days are available in the counseling office, and must be turned in 1 week before the visit.

Applying To College (Phase 2)

-CREATE a personal summary. Applications of all types will ask you to list your activities, accomplishments, work history, volunteer experience, goals, etc. This will be a "snapshot" of who you are, so spend some time on this.

-REQUEST letters of recommendation. Whether you're applying to college, for scholarships, or for a job, many will ask for letters of recommendation. Pick your recommenders carefully. Choose someone who knows you well, and has specific knowledge of your abilities and/or attributes. Give the recommender plenty or time to prepare the letter, and also let him/her know of the deadline. It might even be useful to provide the recommender with your personal summary.

-NOW is the time to apply! September and October are college application months. Do not wait for SAT scores to send in your applications. Simply indicate the date that you took or will take the test, the actual scores can be sent later.

-COMPLETE college applications! Paper applications for a few of the Indiana colleges are available in counseling. They can also be downloaded from the college website. Most schools prefer, and some require that an electronic application be completed online. The online version also has a counselor page. PRINT THE COUNSELOR PAGE! The application process is not complete without this page. Put your name on it, bring it to counseling, we will fill it out and mail it for you. Paper applications are done the same way. Fill out all information, with the exception of the counselor portion. Bring it to counseling, we will fill out the rest and mail it for you. Be sure to include the application fee, and any letters of recommendation that you want to include. You should receive a response from the school in 4-6 weeks.

Paying For College (Phase 3)

-The 1st semester is focused on the college search and application processes. The 2nd semester focuses on finding the money to pay for it.

-ATTEND the financial aid meeting for seniors and parents on December 6th.

-The FAFSA! This stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and it's a big deal. The federal and state governments give grants and loans based on this application so you need to fill it out! The application will be available in December, and must be completed and received (not postmarked) by March 10th.

-Apply for the North Lawrence Foundation Scholarships. These scholarships offer money to local students pursuing education after high school.

-LISTEN to the announcements for current scholarships available in the counseling office. When you hear one that you might qualify for, stop by the office and pick up an application. A list of active scholarships is also online or in a filing cabinet near Tina's desk.

-SEARCH for college scholarships online. There are numerous online resources which offer FREE scholarship searches. The scholarships we learn about here are a drop in the bucket compared to what is available nationally.

-TAKE THE SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH SERIOUSLY! This is real money that you don't have to repay. Put the work in now, it will be worth it.

Conclusion

Keep your grades up. Colleges do look at final transcripts and call counselors to ask about grades. There is no such thing as taking it easy your senior year. Colleges look at your senior schedule more than other year to determine readiness.

The University of Colorado rescinded admission of 45 of its accepted students in 2006, 10 of whom had already attended freshman orientation, selected classes, or met roommates.

23 (would be freshman) found themselves without a college when the University of Washington revoked their acceptances during the summer because of poor final grades.