How do I prepare for college? When should I start?
use this sample timeline to help you get started!
-
9th/10th Grade
-
11th Grade
-
12th Grade
<
>
Welcome to High School!
Plan Your Academic Schedule to Fit Your Goals
-Time to adjust to high school. Develop your study skills, manage your classes and activities. This will help prepare you for the college process.
-Take classes that help you identify and pursue your interests. Example: Interested in medicine? Try Biomed.
-Do your best! Your grades matter, even freshman year, and good grades and academic rigor can lead to future scholarship opportunities.
Get to Know Your Counselor
-Your counselor is a critical piece of your high school experience. They are the best resource for navigating your course selection and they will write you a college recommendation.
Get Involved & Build Your Resume
-Participate in school clubs, sports or other activities. Research local organizations that interest you and get involved! Do something you love -- don't just do it for the resume. Colleges (and scholarships) like to see leadership and intentional engagement.
-Start keeping "track" of your involvement, work experiences and achievements. This will help make your college application process easier later. You can do this in any way that makes sense to you. If you want to start a formal resume, check out a resume guide on a job recruiting site like Indeed.com.
Summer After 10th Grade: Study for PSAT
-The PSAT determines if you qualify for National Merit Scholarships, which can be significant, and you should seriously consider if you want to take the PSAT in addition to the state-mandated ACT.
-PSAT is offered in the Fall of Junior Year, so begin studying in the Summer before.
-More information on National Merit Scholarships can be found here: https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/interior.aspx?sid=1758&gid=2&pgid=424
For information on corporations or universities that participate in this program, select the "Student Guide" at the National Merit Corporation FAQ page: https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/interior.aspx?sid=1758&gid=2&pgid=435
Traveling? Visit a University!
If you are in a city/town with a major university, maybe take a tour just to get a sense of what a school is like and to help you decide if you like rural vs. urban, bigger vs. smaller, etc.
Plan Your Academic Schedule to Fit Your Goals
-Time to adjust to high school. Develop your study skills, manage your classes and activities. This will help prepare you for the college process.
-Take classes that help you identify and pursue your interests. Example: Interested in medicine? Try Biomed.
-Do your best! Your grades matter, even freshman year, and good grades and academic rigor can lead to future scholarship opportunities.
- Selective universities look at the difficulty of your course work (AP and Honors courses*) If you are interested in a highly selective school, you may want to begin researching their student profile. Colleges with low acceptance rates (Ivy leagues, Duke, UCLA, etc.) like to see that you have taken top rigor in most core subjects.
- See what AP classes BHS offers here: bozemanhighcounseling.weebly.com/ap.html.
Get to Know Your Counselor
-Your counselor is a critical piece of your high school experience. They are the best resource for navigating your course selection and they will write you a college recommendation.
Get Involved & Build Your Resume
-Participate in school clubs, sports or other activities. Research local organizations that interest you and get involved! Do something you love -- don't just do it for the resume. Colleges (and scholarships) like to see leadership and intentional engagement.
-Start keeping "track" of your involvement, work experiences and achievements. This will help make your college application process easier later. You can do this in any way that makes sense to you. If you want to start a formal resume, check out a resume guide on a job recruiting site like Indeed.com.
Summer After 10th Grade: Study for PSAT
-The PSAT determines if you qualify for National Merit Scholarships, which can be significant, and you should seriously consider if you want to take the PSAT in addition to the state-mandated ACT.
-PSAT is offered in the Fall of Junior Year, so begin studying in the Summer before.
-More information on National Merit Scholarships can be found here: https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/interior.aspx?sid=1758&gid=2&pgid=424
For information on corporations or universities that participate in this program, select the "Student Guide" at the National Merit Corporation FAQ page: https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/interior.aspx?sid=1758&gid=2&pgid=435
Traveling? Visit a University!
If you are in a city/town with a major university, maybe take a tour just to get a sense of what a school is like and to help you decide if you like rural vs. urban, bigger vs. smaller, etc.
Time to Plan, Research & Get Prepared!
Standardized Testing
-PSAT occurs in Fall. The PSAT is optional but there can be advantages to taking it including access to scholarships.
-ACT occurs in Spring and is mandatory in Montana. Many colleges have recently become test optional; however, a strong ACT score can give you an advantage and qualify you for scholarships.
-SAT also occurs in Spring.
-Study! Consider taking a Prep Course. More information on Testing, which test to take, and how to prepare can be found on our Testing page.
Make Your Target School List
Who are you?
-Determining a good school fit includes looking at who you are and what you want. Take a personal inventory by asking yourself: what am I interested in, what special skills do I have?
What kind of school do you want?
-Similar to the personal inventory, consider the differences between schools and what you want, some important questions to consider:
Campus Visits
-Now is the time to take "official" visits while school is in session; you get a better feel for the culture of the school during the academic year than in summer.
-Follow target schools on Social Media, sign up for their newsletters, etc. -- this will keep you informed of deadlines and give you more information about that school and its programs.
--
Prepare To Apply
Explore Naviance
-Naviance is your portal for submitting transcripts and doing basic college and career research.
-Sign in to your BHS student account and you will find a link to Naviance on your Google Grid.
-Once in Naviance, Go to Colleges --> SuperMatch to start narrowing down your target schools.
-Transcript: familiarize yourself with how to request a transcript in preparation for next year, on the Counseling page.
Prepare for Recommendations
-Which teachers know you best or have special insight into your character? Choose a couple you think might fit this description. You will typically need two teacher recommendations.
-Second half to end of Junior Year: Ask your selected teachers to write you a recommendation. They may ask for a resume or they may have you fill out a form so they can learn more about you.
-Use the Common App to send a request to your selected teachers for a recommendation.
-START EARLY -- do not wait until the last minute (like Fall Senior Year) to request a recommendation. Some teachers will have dozens to write and they may write them in order of being asked.
Make an Application Schedule
-Spring Jr Year/Summer before Sr. Year is a great time to get organized to apply to college. It can be complex, with a lot of moving parts -- having a calendar or spreadsheet with important dates can help you stay organized.
Academics
-Junior year is an important year! Keep up your grades and take challenging courses, as your schedule and abilities permit.
-As you plan next year, remember senior schedule matters!
Stay or Get Involved (see 9th/10th tab for tips)
Standardized Testing
-PSAT occurs in Fall. The PSAT is optional but there can be advantages to taking it including access to scholarships.
-ACT occurs in Spring and is mandatory in Montana. Many colleges have recently become test optional; however, a strong ACT score can give you an advantage and qualify you for scholarships.
-SAT also occurs in Spring.
-Study! Consider taking a Prep Course. More information on Testing, which test to take, and how to prepare can be found on our Testing page.
Make Your Target School List
Who are you?
-Determining a good school fit includes looking at who you are and what you want. Take a personal inventory by asking yourself: what am I interested in, what special skills do I have?
What kind of school do you want?
-Similar to the personal inventory, consider the differences between schools and what you want, some important questions to consider:
- Location: does proximity to home matter or do you want to be further away? Does an urban, suburban or rural environment appeal to you?
- Academics: how challenging do you want college to be? Do you need structure to your college experience or something more flexible? Are there specific programs you want to pursue, e.g., agriculture, business, engineering? Not every school offers all majors.
- Do you want a Two Year (Associates Degree) or Four-Year (Bachelor's Degree) Program?
- Financial Aid: do you need financial aid? Every school is different in what they offer and you should consider this as part of your search process. Start early! Don't wait until after you get in to consider the financial side of your decision. In-state public schools (like MSU, Montana, Montana Tech, etc.) are usually less expensive than out of state schools. The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) allows access to certain schools throughout the west at a reduced, out-of-state cost. The federal government offers grants, and low interest rate loans for students who qualify. Check out our financial aid page for more information.
- What is Merit Aid? Merit Aid is financial aid that is awarded based on academic, athletic, artistic or other extra-curricular activities. It is not tied to financial need. It is a great way to reduce college costs but not every school offers it.
- Naviance - it can help you identify schools that may fit you through a questionnaire process (see more below).
- The Fiske Guide to Colleges can provide helpful information. There is a copy in the BHS College & Career Center.
- Google - search "best college" for whatever factors matter to you.
Campus Visits
-Now is the time to take "official" visits while school is in session; you get a better feel for the culture of the school during the academic year than in summer.
-Follow target schools on Social Media, sign up for their newsletters, etc. -- this will keep you informed of deadlines and give you more information about that school and its programs.
--
Prepare To Apply
Explore Naviance
-Naviance is your portal for submitting transcripts and doing basic college and career research.
-Sign in to your BHS student account and you will find a link to Naviance on your Google Grid.
-Once in Naviance, Go to Colleges --> SuperMatch to start narrowing down your target schools.
-Transcript: familiarize yourself with how to request a transcript in preparation for next year, on the Counseling page.
Prepare for Recommendations
-Which teachers know you best or have special insight into your character? Choose a couple you think might fit this description. You will typically need two teacher recommendations.
-Second half to end of Junior Year: Ask your selected teachers to write you a recommendation. They may ask for a resume or they may have you fill out a form so they can learn more about you.
-Use the Common App to send a request to your selected teachers for a recommendation.
-START EARLY -- do not wait until the last minute (like Fall Senior Year) to request a recommendation. Some teachers will have dozens to write and they may write them in order of being asked.
Make an Application Schedule
-Spring Jr Year/Summer before Sr. Year is a great time to get organized to apply to college. It can be complex, with a lot of moving parts -- having a calendar or spreadsheet with important dates can help you stay organized.
Academics
-Junior year is an important year! Keep up your grades and take challenging courses, as your schedule and abilities permit.
-As you plan next year, remember senior schedule matters!
- Highly selective universities want to see rigor continue through senior year and will evaluate your grades.
- AND/OR use your senior year as a time to explore varied interests and skills to help you determine what comes next!
Stay or Get Involved (see 9th/10th tab for tips)
-
Apply!
---UNDER CONSTRUCTION, MORE INFO TO COME---
---U
---UNDER CONSTRUCTION, MORE INFO TO COME---
---U