College Planning Tips for the Week of:

Sunday September 27, 2008

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: SAT I and SAT II: link to collegeboard.com for information and exam dates 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: 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 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 Kaplan Testing Services: Kaplan offers online and in-room simulation tests with guidance on weak points that need to be improved. www.kaptest.com Buy college entrance exam prep books: click here for college prep material

More information available: view our complete college planning calendar for September

Tags: college calendar, college guide, College Planning, college planning steps, college weekly planning steps

College dreaming will soon become a reality as your high school years give way to your freshmen year on campus.

College Countdown — One Year Left!

High school seniors are returning to school this year with mixed feelings: on the one hand they’ll really enjoy being at the top of the academic heap for the whole year, but on the other hand they’ll be getting themselves prepared to apply for college and say good-bye to their friends. A lifetime of memories will be made, good thoughts, which can carry students through for the rest of their lives.

Let’s take a look at what you can do now to make heading off to college as worry free as possible.

College Planning And Your Family

Preparing for college isn’t a solitary endeavor. Parents get involved as they are the ones providing the bulk of the financing while offering guidance on which schools to visit, what scholarships are being offered, and which financing options are applicable. Yes, even your siblings cannot be left out as whatever family decisions are made will affect them.

College Tracking Tools To Help You Stay Organized

As you will soon find out, your last year of high school won’t be as carefree as you may think that it will be. High school seniors still must finish up course work, complete college entrance exams, and deal with constant change. The thought of planning the next four years of life while handling today’s problems can seem overwhelming which is why we have developed free tracking tools to help take the edge off of college preparation.

Four tracking tools for college planning:

1. Student aid tracking worksheet — a worksheet to record and track your financial aid information (excel file).
2. College budgeting worksheet — an automated file to plan and budget college aid and costs (excel file).
3. College cost comparison worksheet — compare colleges by cost and amount of aid awarded (excel file).
4. College spending sheets — use these spending sheets to track daily - weekly - monthly spend (PDF).

Please visit this page to find the four tracking sheets and related planning tools.

Starting Your College Search

At the same time you are taking a look at your financial condition, you’ll want to begin your college search. Chances are you spent some time last summer visiting some college campuses, but narrowing that list down to a manageable three or four schools will make college planning a whole lot easier.

Use a financial aid checklist to balance college search with student financial aid options for a clearer picture of your schooling options. Parents need to remember that Stafford loans and private student loans are two forms of student aid that have opened up educational opportunities for millions of students.

Almost Done, But Not Quite!

With the tracking tools at your disposal, college planning becomes less of a stress and much more of an enjoyable experience. You still need to consider your college major and meet with your guidance counselor, so plan wisely now to take the edge off the coming crunch time!

Tags: 529 college savings, College Financial Aid, college freshmen, college planning steps, college planning tools, college search, financial aid, high school, high school senior, private student loans, Student Loans