Planning Your Future
[ Choosing a College | Financial Aid | Technical Schools and Apprenticeships ]

College Timeline for High School Juniors (Español)

• The most important thing you can do in selecting a college is to visit the campus that most interests you. Do this in your junior year. An anonymous but often heard senior quote, "If I could do it over again, I would visit colleges junior year".



• Work hard in all classes. Junior year will have recent grades with which admission officers will be evaluating you. Often you are accepted or rejected based on your grades from the first three years of high school.



• Keep a personal calendar or notebook to record important college planning information.



• Talk to family members, teachers, co-workers, church leaders and friends about their education and career decisions. Share your plans with them.



• Use the Career/College Resources in your high school. If not, go to any public library and ask the librarian for career and college resources. Helpful information resources include:
  
  • The Education and Career Opportunity System (ECOS) available at ALL Milwaukee Public Libraries
  
  
  
  • 4-year college reference books
  
  
  
  • 2 year college reference books
  
  
  
  • Occupational Outlook Handbook
  
  
  
  • Scholarship books
  
  
  
  • College and Career Videos
  
  
  
  • College rating magazines (i.e. US News)
  
  
  
  • Online college and career websites


• Attend college fairs. Here are upcoming college fairs .



• Develop a list of colleges that you want to attend. Consider factors such as location, cost, public/private, size, major, etc. Use the Choosing Colleges List.



• Think about your college plans and determine which college entrance exams you will need- ACT or SAT. (However the ACT is accepted by 95% of colleges.)



• Pick up ACT and SAT registration packets, Contact your guidance counselor to find out when the materials will be available.



• College entrance exam preparation is available. Milwaukee area students can go to any Milwaukee Public Library and use ECOS, which has a FREE ACT PREP test. If you are not satisfied with your score, you can re-take the test to try and improve your score.



• Begin to plan your schedule for your senior year. Make sure you take a demanding college prep course load. If you failed a course in high school, talk with your guidance counselor to check credits.



• If you don't have a social security number, get one! Memorize you social security number, you will need it for applying to colleges, scholarships and financial aid.



• During the spring and summer, make more college visits and talk with college representatives. This will help you narrow down your final college choices.



• Start planning and exploring financial aid including scholarships. Your high school grades, activities and interests can all affect how many scholarships you are eligible for. Did you know that there is a scholarship for bowling enthusiasts? Check out the COMPASS Guide scholarship database to begin exploring the possibilities.



• If you have any questions regarding the college and financial aid process be sure to make an appointment with your high school guidance counselor!