High School College Planning

Meet again with your guidance counselor
as soon as possible.

Be prepared to review your plans and college selection. Review your transcripts to make sure that you graduate with the required credits and courses to get into the college(s) of your choice.

Items to coordinate with your guidance counselor:

• the availability of and enrollment in Advanced Placement classes
• the schedules for the college entrance exams (includes SAT I and II, and ACT). Discuss with your counselor on the exam required to get into your college of choice
• the admission requirements to college including GPA, credits, exam type and scores, etc.
• discuss whether or not you need to send official copies of your transcripts at the time of application.
• note if you are doing early submission so that your transcripts can be sent in to meet early admission deadlines.
• review all other information related to your college planning tasks.

About College Entrance Exams:

Colleges require different college entrance exams. You need to check with your college to determine which exam to take. Many students will sit for both exams to make sure they meet qualifications from all colleges.

There are two types of exams:

1. SAT I and SAT II:
   link to collegeboard.com for information and exam dates

2. ACT College Exam:
   link to ACT for information and exam dates

The SAT Tests

SAT Reasoning (formerly SAT I).
The SAT Reasoning Test is a three-hour test that measures a student’s ability to reason problems instead of general knowledge. It has three sections: writing, critical reading, and math. Most of the questions are multiple-choice.

SAT Subject Tests (formerly SAT II). The SAT Subject Tests measure the student’s knowledge in specific subjects: English, mathematics, history, science, and languages. SAT Subject Tests are primarily multiple-choice, and each lasts one hour.

more information: collegeboard.org

The ACT Assessment®

The ACT Assessment® is used by some colleges. The exam has four multiple-choice tests: English, reading, mathematics, and science reasoning.

more information: actstudent.org

Preparation Guides:

1. PSAT (practice exams):
   the PSAT is the test prep exam for the SAT tests. The PSAT is usually offered in October and November through your school. Check with your school counselor for dates.
   see collegeboard.org for information

2. ACT test preparation:
   some colleges use the ACT test. You need to check your college to determine which test they use for admittance.
   www.actstudent.org

3. Kaplan Testing Services:
   Kaplan offers online and in-room simulation tests with guidance on weak points that need to be improved.
   www.kaptest.com

4. Buy college entrance exam prep books:
   click here for college prep material

• view our complete college planning calendar for September