SmartAboutCollege

Senior

Want to go to College?

It's time to get started...saving, studying and planning! Use this checklist to help you stay on track as you get closer to your goal of higher education.

Academic

  • Review class schedules, test scores and college plans with your counselor to ensure you are meeting all of your college prep requirements.
  • Keep up with your homework — your GPA is important!
  • Aim high! Take a fourth-year math course, advanced English, AP and other advanced and honors courses.
  • Consider taking courses at a local university or community college.
  • Sign up for October or November ACT and/or SAT tests. Apply for exam fee waivers. Take free practice tests on this website!
  • If you take the ACT /SAT and are unhappy with your score, you can re-test.
  • Continue your involvement in academic enrichment and extracurricular activities. Take on leadership roles. Get involved with community service and volunteer work.

College & Career

  • To learn more about careers and what education path you should follow to pursue them, explore the Montana Career Information System (MCIS). Click here to log in.
  • Research careers that match your interests by using free, computer-based tools like MCIS.
  • Study! Research colleges online (community colleges, colleges of technology, four-year degree colleges.) Visit a campus or take a virtual tour.
  • Meet with your counselor about plans for college, scholarships and financial aid.
  • Create files to keep copies of applications and correspondence.
  • Keep track of important dates and deadlines like class assignments, college application deadlines, test registration dates and fees, and financial aid deadlines.
  • Attend college planning information nights and college fairs.
  • Request letters of recommendation for scholarships and college applications.
  • Apply on time to at least two or three colleges.
  • Send high school transcripts to colleges in the fall and send your final transcripts in May.
  • Expect to hear whether you have been accepted to colleges by April 15. Compare the acceptance letters, financial aid and scholarship offers. Reply promptly to acceptance letters from colleges. Pay a non-refundable deposit to your selected college for tuition and housing for your freshman year.
  • Send “thank you” notes to scholarship providers and people who wrote letters of recommendation for you.
  • Participate in any summer orientation programs for incoming freshman.
  • To find out more about how to get to college, visit KnowHow2GOMontana.org.

Financial

  • Keep saving for college!
  • Make a financial aid checklist, including deadlines.
  • Complete and submit scholarship applications.
  • Attend financial aid nights.
  • Register for selective service at the post office or online. This applies to males, 18 years of age. You cannot receive financial aid if you don’t register!
  • FAFSA time! With the help of your parents/guardians, gather the necessary documents to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Check fafsa.gov before you begin.
  • Complete the FAFSA before the priority deadline for your school. Most, but not all, Montana schools have a priority deadline of March 1. If you need help completing the FAFSA, attend College Goal Montana.
  • You and your parents will need a FAFSA pin.
  • Check your Student Aid Report (SAR). The SAR is the U.S. Department of Education’s reply to your submitted FAFSA and summarizes your financial aid eligibility for any federal programs. Make sure your colleges of choice are listed. If corrections or updates are needed, complete them as soon as possible.
  • Contact the Financial Aid Office (FAO) to discuss payment options and the availability of additional student financial aid (scholarships, work-study, state grants, etc.).
  • Complete college-specific, financial aid applications.
  • Develop a direct contact at the FAOs of those schools to which you have been accepted. Use this contact periodically to check on the status of your financial aid applications.
  • Review and accept appropriate financial aid offers.
  • Budget! Prepare a realistic student budget.
  • Keep copies of all documents.

College Prep Programs

In addition to weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the Minimum and Rigorous Core programs, students who want to get a jumpstart on college should discuss these other options with their school counselors:

  • Dual Credit/Running Start — This program allows high school students to receive both high school and college credit for the same course. Interested students should contact their individual schools to see if they participate in the program, and if so, find out about the details of the program.
  • Early Admission to College — This program allows students, prior to their high school graduation, to be admitted to and register for college-level courses if they are academically prepared. Students should contact the colleges in which they are interested to determine their requirements for Early Admission.
  • Tech Prep — This federally funded program allows students to begin earning college credit toward technical or associate degrees while still in high school. Interested students should contact their individual schools to see if they participate in the program, and if so, what the procedures are to enroll.
  • Advanced Placement Tests (AP) — AP testing allows students to earn credit or advanced standing at most of the nation’s colleges and universities, not to mention demonstrate their ambition to learn. For more information on this opportunity, visit CollegeBoard.com.
  • College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) — This program allows students of any age to demonstrate college-level achievement and earn college credit by completing exams in undergraduate college courses. For more information on this opportunity, visit CollegeBoard.com.
  • Jobs for MT Grads — This program allows high school students to spend time observing people working in the career area in which they are interested. This type of firsthand information goes a long way to helping students decide whether a job in that field is right for them. For more information about this program, contact Jobs for Montana Graduates at (406) 444-0978, or visit Jobs for Montana Graduates.
  • Montana Digital Academy — Consider the Montana Digital Academy if course selection at your school is limited. You can learn more about the Montana Digital Academy by clicking here: www.montanadigitalacademy.org
  • “A Step Ahead” College Prep Camp for Montana Foster Care Youth — Montana foster care youth are invited each year to apply for available slots at the “A Step Ahead” college preparatory camp. The free camp coordinated by Student Assistance Foundation offers foster care students the opportunity to experience learning in a college campus setting. Students from across the state participate in activities geared toward teaching them basic computer skills, how to use online resources to research scholarships, careers and more, money management techniques, and how Foster Care Education and Training Vouchers can help them pay for college. But, perhaps the most exciting aspect of the camp is that each participant receives a new computer to take home with them.
    For more information about “A Step Ahead,” click here or contact Rhonda Safford at (406) 495-7750 or email rsafford@safmt.org. Download an application for the 2012 camp here in March 2012.