Welcome to Antonian College Preparatory High School
"Enter to learn. Go Forth to Serve."
A Parent's Timeline For The College Search and Application Process
Freshmen Year:
It is never too early to plan for the future.
- Closely monitor your son/daughter's progress in all his courses.
- Meet your Counselor and discuss your plans for the next four years.
- Meet with your son/daughter's teacher to assess his/her progress and appropriate course placement, particularly in planning for selection of courses for the sophomore year.
- Strengthen you vocabulary by increasing your reading.
- Study hard and get excellent grades.
- Encourage your son/daughter's involvement in personal, school and community activities.
- Investigate summer programs and support your child's participation in a summer activity. (camp, volunteer work, summers courses(college), and internships.
- Encourage summer reading.
- WWW.collegeboard.com is a great Website to explore colleges and other resources that are available to you.
- Investigate what high school courses colleges require.
- Know NCAA( National Collegiate Athletic Association) requirements if your son/daughter wants to play sports in college.
- Keep an academic portfolio and co-curricular record. This will be a great reference when you develop you college resume your junior year.
- Reseach career possibilities.
- Save money for college.
Sophomore Year:
- Encourage your son/ daughter to take the PSAT seriously and prepare for it in some way. ( In addition to what the English and Math teachers are offering in their classes, your son/daughter could also take a practice test or prep coursees offered locally.
- Attend a college fair. I have listed a few on our website.
- Meet with your son/daughter's counselor and/or teachers to review your son/daughter's progress.
- Review your PSAT results in January and develop a plan for improvement where needed.
- Keep Studying your son/daughter's grades are important.
- It is never too early to start researching college and universities.
- Visit the counselor's office to browse through guidebooks.
- www.collegboard.com is an excellent website.
- Plan your son/daughter's junior year curriculum in the spring of thier sophomore year, making sure he/she chooses an academically challenging program, such as Honors or AP classes. (The student must be recommended by his/her teacher for honors and AP classes).
- Explore summer programs that are associated with your son/daughter's interests and that reinforce their skills and talents.
- Stay on track with the summer reading and Math skills and encourage extra reading.
- Continue to encourage your son/daughter's involvement in personal, school, and community activities.
- Continue to investigate summer programs and support your son/daughter's participation in a summer activity(camp, volunteer, work, summer courses (college), and internships).
- Browse the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) if your son/daughter wants to play sports in college.
- Continue to keep an academic portfolio and co-curricular record.
- Research career possibilites.
Junior Year:
September
- Junior Year meet with your counselor to review your plans for the year.
October
- PSAT is in October. Junior year PSAT scores may qualify a student for the National Merit Scholarship Competition and the National Achievement and the National Hispanic Scholars Programs.
- Attend a College Fair
November
- Junior year grades are extrmemly important in the college admission process, because they are a measure of how well you do in advanced, upper-level classes. Grades also are used to determine scholarships and grants for which you may be eligible. Keep your grades up!
- If you will need financial aid, start researching your options for grants, scholarships and work-study programs.
December
- PSAT scores arrive mid December. Read your score report and consult with your guidance counselor to determine how you might improve on future standardized tests. The PSAT is excellent preparation for the SAT Reasoning Test, which the student will take in the spring.
- If the student plans to take the ACT please make arrangements. Many colleges accept the ACT or both the SAT Reasoning Test and the SAT Subject Tests. Please check with the college and universities to find out what is reqiured for admission.
- Registrar for the SAT @ www.collegeboard.com and for the ACT @ www.act.org.
January
- Begin to make a preliminary list of colleges you would like to investigate further.
- www.collegeboard.com is an excellent resource to research colleges and universities.
- Plan to take the SAT I twice, back-to-back in the spring. Some selective universities require the SAT II. Plan to take the SAT II in the spring, if you need it. If your verbal score on your PSAT is stronger than your math score, plan to take the ACT as well. You should identify Antonian (CEEB Code: 446122) and colleges and scholarship programs as recipients of your scores. The counseling office has practice booklets for the SAT/SAT Subject tests and for the ACT test.. Continue developing your Extra-Curricular Activity resume. With the new SATI there is a new Writing section. Read and write as often as possible, reading also helps with your vocabulary and sentence structure, read, read, read
March
Presentation on College Admissions is usually held in March. Please watch and listen for announcements. It is important that you and your parents attend this presentation.
Summer
Visit colleges. Talk to college students. Attend classes, if possible. Become familiar with www.collegeboard.com it contains a wealth of info. Start working on your personal profile/resume. Don’t forget to list your honors, leadership and community service experiences. Visit the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation library of college and scholarship information.
Senior Year:
August
Welcome Seniors! Narrow down your list of colleges. Include colleges you know will accept you. Register for the ACT, SAT I, and/or SAT II if for some reason you did not do so in the spring or if you would like to improve your score. Complete your Extra-Curricular Activity Resume. Request two letters of recommendation from teachers or Counselor per application if you are going to need them. Work on your essays. Check the Bulitin board and look at available scholarships on our website throughout the year.
September
Finalize college choices. Meet with your counselor to plan for your senior year. Visit with College Reps. Plan for Senior Parent College Night. If the college or university you plan to attend uses the CSS/Financial Aid Profile, request the form now. Make sure you know all the entrance requirements for each college or university you are applying to. Make realistic college choices. How does your record SAT and ACT compare with the profile of the college you want to attend? If the university requires letters of recommendation or specific forms, now is the time to ask. Look at Admission Requirements. Application,scholarship and financial aid deadlines are critical. there no exceptions!
October
Watch those college application DEADLINES! Some deadlines are for “date received” and not a postmark. Please do not wait until the last minute. Complete early decision applications. Work on college applications.
November
Complete college applications for regular admissions. Watch those DEADLINES. College admissions deadlines can range from November to August. Due to the large volume of requests, allow at least 5 workdays when requesting transcripts.
December
Remember, school is closed over the holidays. Request transcripts in early December for applications that have deadlines through the 15th of January. Due to the large number of requests, allow the counseling office at least 5 workdays. PLEASE DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST DAY BEFORE THE BREAK. If you have Mid-Year Report requirements, give these requests to your counselor.
January
Attend the Antonian Financial Aid Night. Work on and/or complete the Federal Financial Aid Form. Filing period begins January 1st, but many colleges have earlier campus aid deadlines and will not grant their scholarships until the Federal Financial Aid agency sends your data. Early completion of applications is always helpful. Parents and students are encouraged to file their income tax as soon as possible, since the information for the FAFSA is derived from the 1040.
February
Very little time is left for the Federal Financial Aid Form to be mailed. If planning to attend a state school, you may have to take the THEA (formerly TASP), (unless exempt). The exempt requirement is a minimum 1070 SAT with a minimum 500 Verbal, 500 Math, or a Composite ACT of 23 with a minimum 19 English, 19 Math. Read the Available scholarships. Many scholarships, including the Baumberger Endowment & Ford, have deadlines in February.
March
College acceptance notices will arrive soon. Make a copy of all college acceptance and scholarship awards and offers for the Counseling Office. Please give to Mrs. Ramirez.
April
Study for final exams. Keep your grades up.Some students may need to take the THEA. Meet with your counselor to discuss your options.
May
May 1- Notify the college you choose, send deposit, and request a final transcript to be sent from the Counseling Office. (The Counseling office will provide you with a request form for your final transcript).
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