Freshman Year

• Find out how to make the most of high school
• Plan challenging high school courses
• Find out why you should go to college
• Become familiar with college entrance requirements
• Start thinking about reasons for attending college
• Join/continue extracurricular activities
• Attend summer camp at a college to experience a college-like atmosphere
• Research college costs
• Continue/start saving for college
• Meet with your college/career counselor at least once a year
• Explore careers on the Internet by visiting ACT's free interactive World-of-Work Map

Sophomore Year

• Continue to take and plan challenging high school courses
• Continue to meet with your college/career counselor at least once a year or by visiting ACT's free interactive World-of-Work Map
• Think about what kind of education/training different careers require
• Start collecting college information
• Check out ACT's free college search
• Visit colleges and talk with college students
• Be ready with a list of questions to ask on your campus visit
• Use this list of college characteristics to decide how to evaluate different colleges
• Begin filling out the college comparison worksheet (PDF; 1 page)
• Continue/start saving for college
• Consider your reasons for going to college and how they relate to your career interests
• Join/continue extracurricular activities

Junior Year

• Keep meeting with your college/career counselor at least once a year
• Continue to take and plan challenging courses
• Keep your grades up
• Join an academic club
• Register for the ACT. You should be academically ready to take it by spring. If not, take it early in your senior year.
• Read our key information about the ACT test
• Talk with your parents and high school counselor about colleges that interest you
• Prepare a list of questions to ask on campus visits
• Continue to visit colleges and talk with college students
• List, compare, and visit colleges
• Start or update an academic resume
• Consider putting together a portfolio that highlights your special skills and talents
• Keep filling out the college comparison worksheet (PDF; 1 page, 64KB)
• Check into applying to colleges online
• Investigate scholarship opportunities
• Volunteer for activities and clubs related to career interests
• Get a part-time job, apprenticeship, or internship; or job shadow in a profession that interests you

Senior Year

Senior year is finally here, and it's full of things to do to get ready for college. Use this senior year checklist to keep track of your progress and upcoming deadlines for testing, admissions and financial aid.

August

• Sign up for the ACT (if you didn't take it as a junior, or if you aren't satisfied with your score, or if you've learned a lot since you first took it.)
• Review ACT test results and retest if necessary

August – December

• Visit with your school counselor to make sure you are on track to graduate and fulfill college admission requirements
• Consider taking courses at a local university or community college
• Keep working hard all year; second semester grades can affect scholarship eligibility
• Ask for personal references from teachers, school counselors, or employers early in the year or at least two weeks before application deadlines. Follow your school's procedure for requesting recommendations.
• Visit with admissions counselors who come to your high school
• Attend a college fair
• Begin your college essay(s)
• Apply for admission at the colleges you've chosen
• Avoid common college application mistakes
• Find out if you qualify for scholarships at each college you have applied to
• Start the financial aid application process
• See your school counselor for help finding financial aid and scholarships

January – May

• If you need it, get help completing the FAFSA
• Ask your guidance office in January to send first semester transcripts to schools where you applied. In May, they will need to send final transcripts to the college you will attend.
• Visit colleges that have invited you to enroll
• Decide which college to attend, and notify the school of your decision
• Keep track of and observe deadlines for sending in all required fees and paperwork
• Notify schools you will not attend of your decision
• Continue to look for scholarship opportunities
• Keep track of important financial aid and scholarship deadlines
• Watch the mail for your Student Aid Report (SAR)—it should arrive four weeks after the FAFSA is filed
• Compare financial aid packages from different schools
• Sign and send in a promissory note if you are borrowing money
• Notify your college about any outside scholarships you received

Source: ACT.com