College Planning for the Class of 2015
As a young adult, you are ultimately in charge of your
college application. Your counselor and teachers are
here to help, but you are responsible to know all
deadlines and meet them.
Most college applications include:
• An application form that includes basic
information about you and your high school
achievements, typically filled out online
• A transcript with your official grades, which you
will request online through Parchment
• ACT or SAT scores, which you must send
through the ACT/SAT website after you take the
test
Some college applications include:
• A short essay or personal statement
• A counselor recommendation or form (which
you must give to your counselor at least 2
weeks before the deadline).
• A teacher recommendation (which you must
request and provide materials for at least 2-3
weeks before the deadline).
You may start college applications at any time online on
your own! You may also choose to work on them during
optional College Office Hours.
On October 28, we will have College Application Day.
This is a day when the labs will be available for college
application work time. All seniors are encouraged to
apply for at least one college by the end of this day.
Please communicate with Ms. Lear via
[email protected] about questions you have or
forms you need.
You can also attend College Office Hours, or contact her
to make an appointment.
September
Research colleges and narrow your list of colleges to 4
or 5. Research colleges online and by attending college
representative visits. Plan to visit as many of these
colleges as possible. BigFuture.collegeboard.org is a
great resource to help with this!
Begin to create a master list or calendar that includes:
• Tests you’ll take and their fees, dates and registration
deadlines
• College application due dates
• Required financial aid application forms and their
deadlines (aid applications may be due before college
applications)
• Other materials you’ll need (recommendations,
transcripts, etc.)
Participate in College Go Week! If you apply to colleges
during this week, some schools will waive their
application fee.
Register for the ACT or SAT. The fall 2014 ACT date we
signed up for together was October 25. There is
another ACT on December 13. The final SAT dates for
2014 are November 8 and December 6.
October
Have a 1-on-1 meeting with your counselor to finalize
your postsecondary plan and which colleges you would
like to apply to.
Set up your Parchment account and send transcripts to
colleges you have applied to.
Prepare applications for priority deadlines.
If you’re submitting essays, write first drafts and ask
teachers and others to read them.
Be sure to have your college admission test scores sent
to the colleges to which you are applying.
1635 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis, IN 46222 • (317) 524 - 4638 • fax: (317) 524 - 4114
www.indianapolismet.org
Keep your grades up. Colleges will most likely see your
Trimester 1 grades before they make a decision.
October 28: College Application Day! Apply to at least
one college by this day. If you qualify for free and
reduced lunch, please request a fee waiver if needed.
May
May 1: College Decision Deadline. By this date, you
must inform every college of your acceptance or
rejection of the offer of admission and/or financial aid.
(Questions? Talk to your counselor.)
Send your deposit to one college only.
November
Nov. 1–15: Submit applications by the due date for
priority admission if required by a college.
As you finish and send your applications and essays, be
sure to keep photocopies.
Wait-listed by a college? If you intend to enroll if you
are accepted, tell the admission director your intent and
ask how to strengthen your application. Need financial
aid? Ask whether funds will be available if you’re
accepted.
Begin researching and applying to outside
scholarships.
Work with a counselor to resolve any admission or
financial aid problems.
December
June
Work with your counselor to ensure you have
submitted completed applications to all schools you are
interested in.
January
No senioritis, please! Accepting colleges do look at
second and third trimester grades.
February
Attend a FAFSA workshop to learn what paperwork you
will need to submit to be eligible for financial aid.
Submit the FAFSA early!
March
March 10: FAFSA Final Deadline
April
You should receive acceptance letters and financial aid
offers by mid-April. If you’ve not done so yet, visit your
final college before accepting. As soon as you decide,
notify your counselor of your choice.
If you have questions about housing offers, talk to your
counselor or call the college.
Ask your high school to send a final transcript to your
college.
Source: The College Board.
For more college planning tools and guidance,
visit bigfuture.org.
For scholarships, IU recommends the following
websites:
Fastweb: a database of over 400,000 scholarships
The Foundation Center: provides a list of community
foundations that may offer scholarships
Science Careers: for training in the sciences
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities: resources
for Hispanic students
CollegeToolkit.com: an extensive listing of scholarship
opportunities
Mach25: a database that contains more than 600,000 awards
totaling over $1.6 billion
Scholarships.com: an extensive listing of scholarships and
grants
Scholarship Experts: a database containing more than 2.4
million awards worth over $14 billion
ScholarshipHunter: scholarship search by major and state
Scholarship Search from the College Board: a database of
2,300 programs
1635 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis, IN 46222 • (317) 524 - 4638 • fax: (317) 524 - 4114
www.indianapolismet.org