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

College Timeline for High School Seniors (Español)

September-November

• Use the career and college resources at your school AND local public library. You can open a student account on the Education and Career Opportunity System (ECOS) through any Milwaukee Public Library. This FREE service for students allows you to create a "virtual locker" on the web and save career and college information.
• Start sending in college applications.
• Request letters of recommendation from teachers, counselors and others who can assist in your application process at least three weeks in advance.
• Begin looking for scholarships. Be sure you know the deadline for each scholarship. Scholarship reference books should be available at your local public library. Or, use the COMPASS Guide database of Milwaukee scholarships.
• Plan to visit as many of your "top choice" colleges as possible. Make appointments for interviews and campus tours. If possible, visit on weekdays and ask for permission to sit in on a few classes. For a list of UW campus tour numbers click here.
• Talk with college representatives who visit your school during lunch periods. Check the college visitation calendar in the guidance office periodically.
• Retake the ACT/SAT if your scores were weak or you want to improve. ACT and SAT test applications and information should be available at your high school guidance office.
• Attend college fairs.

November

• Plan to submit all college applications before Thanksgiving. DOUBLECHECK deadlines in case applications are due sooner.
• Students who sent in applications earlier in the fall may begin receiving acceptance letters.
• Continue to talk with college representatives who visit your high school during lunch periods. Check the college visitation calendar in the Guidance office periodically.
• Keep checking for scholarships!

December

• Students should have all college applications sent out before leaving for winter break. By this time all students should have applied to a four-year school, two-year school, apprenticeship program or decided on joining the military.

January

• Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms are available to all seniors. The forms are available in paper format or you can apply online www.fafsa.ed.gov. Contact your high school guidance counselor for more information. The completed forms must NOT be signed or mailed prior to January 1st (You need to complete taxes first, so parents should plan to do them early this year). Some colleges and universities may require an additional application specifically for their school. Contact the college financial aid office.

February-March-April-May

• Fill out and mail your completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. You will need information from your family's most recent income tax return.
• If your college requests a Semester I report card, notify your guidance counselor in writing for a copy of your Semester I report card.
• Continue to research scholarship and other financial aid options.
• Return housing contracts immediately.
• By this time, you should have received your college acceptance or rejection letters. Notify your guidance counselor on the action taken on your application.
• Compare financial aid packages that you were offered from the various colleges where you were accepted. Look at your costs, estimated contributions and how much money you have been offered in grants, loan and scholarships. Remember, grants and scholarships do not have to be paid back, as long as you remain eligible. Each loan has different terms.
• After deciding which college you will attend, inform that college and inform the other colleges of your decision.
• Let your guidance counselor know in writing which college you will be attending and if you received any scholarships.
• If you are in advanced placement classes, register and take advanced placements tests (through your course teacher).
• Continue to make plans for what you will do after high school. Take a summer break? Work full-time? Visit family/travel? Volunteer?