Counseling Center

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Ketchikan High School

Room 221

Office Hours: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

(907) 225-9815

Use these timelines to keep track with college and scholarships.

Click (here) for printable timelines in Adobe PDF.

Click (here) for printable timelines in Microsoft Word.

FRESHMAN & SOPHOMORES

Freshmen and sophomores should meet with their high school counselor and discuss their plans for the furutre. They should also get involved in extracurricular activities such as clubs and sports. It is highly-recommended that students get a job and/or volunteering for a reputable organization. Students should only take on these responsibilities, if they are confident that their grades will not be negatively affected. Some students choose to volunteer doing the school year and work during the summer.

Students should also explore numerous career path by researching careers and speaking with professionals who work in the fields that they are interested in. Sophomores may want to consider taking a Pre-ACT test to sharpen their test-taking skills.

JUNIOR TIMELINE

Important dates:

October

- take the PSAT/NMSQT

- plan to take any HSGQE tests not yet passed

May

- file NCAA clearinghouse form if interested in playing Division I or II sports in college

- take the SAT and/or ACT

Throughout your junior year:

- Keep a list of all activities and jobs

- Volunteer! Keep track of the time spent weekly and take positions of leadership/responsibility wherever possible.

- Foster relationships with teachers, coaches, employers, and anyone else who you may ask to write a letter of recommendation for you.

- Look for colleges online and visit them if possible when traveling. If you know for sure where you want to go to college, talk to admissions counselors about applying to be admitted through Early Action or Early Decision. This means that your college application will be due in the fall of your senior year, so make every effort to fill any gaps in your profile. You can also find plenty of tools on the ACKIS website that will help you decide which major will want to persue.

- Do your best academically!

- If applying to a Service Academy, meet with their Admissions Department in the fall of your junior year

- Make sure you have all courses necessary or recommended for college entrance

SENIOR TIMELINE

September and October

- If you haven’t already done so, contact all colleges, universities, and technical schools that you are considering for application materials.

- Set up a file for each application, including a checklist for all admission requirements.

- Set up a calendar with important dates such as college/scholarship deadlines, SAT/ACT testing dates, and information sessions. Note the dates by which you will need letters of recommendation and plan to request them two weeks in advance.

- Register for the SAT, ACT, and any required SAT II subject tests. Some subject tests are only offered once per year, so make sure you know when that is if you are interested. Also, some schools will give college credit for SAT II tests and some will give credit for AP exams; find out about which tests are accepted by the schools you are considering and plan to take those exams. Remember, it is worthwhile (and significantly cheaper) to test out of a class than to sit through one you don’t need.

- Contact a military recruiter if interested in ROTC or any other military options.

- Continue to participate in community service projects and extra-curricular activities, taking leadership roles where possible.

- Begin working on essays for applications.

- Research scholarship opportunities; new scholarships become available every day, so check in with the counseling center regularly. You can use Fast Web to search for colleges and scholarships.

- If you have not yet visited the colleges you are considering, plan to apply for the Gear Up scholarship. This scholarship will award high school seniors money to visit colleges.

November and December

- Finalize the list of colleges to which you are applying. If there are any schools on the list that you have not visited in person, try to do so. Seeing a college will have a huge impact on the way you feel about it, so don’t make this decision without that information.

- Many schools have application deadlines in January, so make sure you have requested the transcripts and recommendations you need before you go on winter break.

-Consider applying for college via Common Application. CA allows students to apply to several colleges with just one standard application.

- Parents: save your year-end payroll stub if it shows your earnings for the year. You will need this for financial aid eligibility reviews by schools.

January and February

- File your FAFSA form online: www.fafsa.ed.gov. You can start by going to the website and downloading the FAFSA worksheet, which can be found here. You and your parent(s) will have to acquire a PIN and college SCHOOL CODES, all of which is provided by FAFSA. You will also need to get your parents' most recent tax information.

Four to six weeks after you send in your form you should receive a Student Aid Report (SAR). This report must be checked for errors and all errors should be corrected immediately. Both student and parent must sign the final copy and follow the specific directions on the cover letter of your SAR.

- Submit institution financial aid forms to the schools that you are considering.

- Continue to apply for scholarships and any remaining colleges.

- Continue to research scholarships in the counseling center and online.

March and April

- If requested, submit copies of completed tax forms to the Financial Aid Offices of the colleges to which you have applied.

- Start looking for a summer job; you’ll need the money!

- Keep applying for scholarships.

- Watch for college decisions and compare the financial aid awards you receive. Make your final decision on the school you will attend and send in a deposit by the deadline.

- Notify other schools that you will not be attending.

- Check out which AP exams your school accepts for credit, register for them, and study for them! It saves money to test out of classes that would have bored you anyway.

May and June

- If you need and are eligible for a Federal Stafford, Unsubsidized Stafford, or Parent Load (PLUS), see your lending institution. Make sure you keep copies of all forms that you submit to the Financial Aid Office.

- Request that your final transcript be sent to the college that you will be attending.