Timelines

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Choosing a College
Timelines
Academic Degrees

These timelines help you plan out your steps to college. They begin the preparation process in earnest starting in your Junior year. However, the preparation process should start much sooner than that. If you begin looking for scholarships and researching schools in 8th or 9th grade, you will have a good idea of what schools will meet your interests and what type financial aid available to you.

Junior Year

Spring

• Sign up to take the June 3 SAT. Registration deadline is April 28; late registration is May 10.

• Select your senior courses for next year; double-check your graduation requirements to make sure you'll graduate on time. If necessary plan on taking summer courses to fulfill course requirements.
• Spend some real time researching scholarship opportunities. There are scholarships out there for every type of student but you need to be persistent in looking for them. Remember, there is a direct correlation between the amount of time you spend searching for financial aid and the amount of financial aid dollars you will receive.
• Put together your list of preliminary school choices and begin researching them more intently.

Summer

• Visit some of the schools on your list.  An economical way to do this is to combine a family vacation with a visit to the institutions near where you will be visiting.

Senior Time-line

All Year

• Throughout the course of the senior year, check the Web site for announcements of scholarship and other opportunities.

August / September

• Get serious about researching scholarships. Start applying, work on those essays, and get your presentation together.
  
  
• Fill the holes in your resume while you still can. Join those clubs, volunteer, and set yourself apart.

October / November

• Create a schedule of admissions and financial aid deadlines for yourself.
• Check with a local high school guidance office, bank, or public library to find a scheduled financial aid night presentation.
• Register for an SAT or ACT test if you have not taken one.  (Students who have taken these tests may wish to retake for better results.)
• Start narrowing your post-secondary choices down to five or fewer; include at least one that you definitely think will accept you.
• Contact your school choice(s) for current catalogs and admissions applications. 
• Plan to attend a financial aid workshop in your area.
• Fill out and submit admissions applications. 
• Make sure your parents keep a copy of their federal income tax return in a safe place so that you will be able to access information from it when filling out the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

January

• Obtain all financial aid forms that may be required by your intended schools.
  
  
• Obtain a Free Application For Student Financial Aid (FAFSA), available at high schools, colleges, libraries, and by calling 1-800-433-3243. FAFSA is also available online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. Apply as soon after January 1 as you can and before June 30.
  
  
• Your parents should compile income tax information and complete taxes early to facilitate FAFSA completion.
  
  
• Check with your employer, libraries, local organizations, churches/religious organizations, and your parents' employers for additional scholarships. The majority of scholarships have deadlines from February to May. If you miss them you'll be up the creek until next year.

February / March

• Tons of scholarships have March 1 application deadlines. Remember this!
• Fill out and send in the application for financial aid (FAFSA) as well as other applications for financial assistance.
• Check with your school's financial aid office if they need a copy of the Student Aid Report (SAR). You should get this about four weeks after you submit your FAFSA. The FAFSA information Center (1-319-337-5665) can answer questions you have after that.
• Have mid-year grades sent to the schools that require them.
• Start lining up a summer job.

April / May

• Most schools will have notified you of their decision on admission and financial aid by now. Compare your admissions notifications and financial aid packages. Finalize your college choice and let them know that you are accepting their offer.
• Follow-up with your school's financial aid office to check status.
• Contact admissions and financial aid offices of schools whose enrollment/aid offers you have decided to decline. Other students may be waiting for your spot/aid.

June / July / August

• Request that your final transcript be sent to the institution you will attend.
• If you are not accepted for admission at a school(s) that you wish to attend, consider trying for mid-year acceptance at the same school(s), or try starting out at a local community college.
• Check with the financial aid office to be assured that all of your documentation has been received.
• Verify with the your school's business office that your financial aid awards are being credited to your account.
• Review the bill from your school and make sure that its correct. Then try to grants and government loans.