Acclimate yourself to the school. Build relationships with your teachers and other students. Seek out your advisor for advice and support.
Get into the habit of checking your email daily. Respond in a timely manner when warranted.
Establish good study habits and practice actively participating in class discussions.
Do as well as you can in all of your classes. Talk with your teachers if you need clarification or to chat about class assignments.
Look at your transcript. Understand how GPA is calculated. Notice that semester grades and final grades, only, are on the transcript. Understand that quarter grades and exam grades are used to determine semester grades and final grades, but quarter grades and exam grades are not on the transcript.
Get involved in the school community by joining a club, sports team, or another activity in which you have interest.
Learn about the many academic resources available to you including writing, math, world language help, and library resources.
Read, read, and read! Many students read only what is assigned in class. Reading is a life skill and will help you to grow as a learner.
Continue to develop as a student and speak with your teachers to ensure you are understanding class material and doing your best work.
Continue to explore interests and pursue hobbies outside of the classroom.
Take the official College Board PSAT in mid-October at GP and review the results when available.
Take a practice ACT around the same time as the PSAT (GP will offer this) and review the results.
Most high school students are best prepared to score highly on standardized tests at the end of junior year; tests during sophomore year are for practice and exposure, only.
Establish priorities for your search and begin researching colleges.
If you provide consent for colleges to contact you via the PSAT, you will start to receive information by post and email.
Consider visiting a college campus or two in an informal manner (attend a sports event or a guest lecture) to get to know colleges in a relaxed manner and get a feel for different types of institutions.
If you “discover” a college that intrigues you for whatever reason, sign up as a prospective student or future applicant on the college’s admissions office page.
Begin educating yourself on college costs and need-based vs. merit aid.
Students will receive counselor assignments.
During the GP course registration period in late winter, be mindful of choosing appropriately rigorous courses for junior year.
Think about classes for junior year and how they set you up for senior year success.
If you have identified possible areas of focus for college, or potential college majors, think about how junior year classes align with that interest (i.e. physics for students interested in engineering).
Consider using summer classes as a chance to maximize opportunities.
If you are seriously interested in colleges outside of the U.S., consider the relative importance of junior year courses that culminate in standardized tests or assessments.
The GP College Counseling curriculum begins in earnest in junior year. Pay attention to regular communication from the department (emails; newsletters; blurbs in the GP Weekly) so you can participate in all events.
Continue to do your absolute best in an academic program in which you can be successful.
Continue to stay involved in extracurricular activities in which you have interest and assume leadership roles, if possible.
Take the official College Board PSAT in mid-October at GP and review the results when available.
Take a practice ACT around the same time as the PSAT (GP will offer this) and review the results.
Look ahead to the winter and spring and plan how and when you will prepare for standardized tests (on your own; in a class; with a tutor one-on-one) according to a spring SAT (March, May or June) or spring ACT (February, April, or June) test date.
Attend GP Junior Jumpstart in late October; receive first college-related homework soon thereafter.
In November, submit college counseling homework and participate in the first one-on-one meeting with your designated counselor.
Spring Semester
Participate in regular G Day seminar meetings (including small groups and classwide gatherings) and submit college-related assignments.
Under the counselors’ instruction, students will be directed to approach two teachers for letters of recommendation; they will draft a resume/list of activities; and they begin the foundational work to write their college essay
In late January, participate in College Day in the District.
Schedule a family meeting with your designated counselor. Most families choose to have this meeting (which includes a college list brainstorming session) prior to spring break.
Visit colleges (in person or virtually) over the course of the semester; many juniors do this during spring break.
Take the SAT in March, May, or June or the ACT in February, April, or June.
Summer Between Junior and Senior Year
Participate in Summer Application Workshop
Review Admission Decision Forecast in late June, in which your counselor considers data to sort your colleges into different categories of selectivity (foundation; target; reach; reach plus).
Refine your college list. Finish your research and identify a list of 8 - 12 colleges that you would be happy to attend. As part of the research, pay attention to application programs and plans (e.g. Early Action, Early Decision) and deadlines; also research and prepare for required and optional application elements (e.g. test scores, essay prompts, interviews, other).
Prepare for and register for a retake of standardized tests (SAT in August or October; or the ACT in July or September).
Engage in meaningful summer activities beyond the college process, such that when a fall college application asks “What did you do last summer?” you have an answer. Get a job, conduct community service, deeply engage in a hobby, skill, or extracurricular activity, or enroll in an academic program.
Draft application essays and submit them to your designated counselor for review.
Meet with your designated college counselor in August to confirm plans, discuss options, and review application components.
Maintain solid progress in your courses; first quarter grade reports are infrequently a required part of the admission application, but every college on your list will get an updated transcript at the end of January after the fall semester has concluded.
By early October, meet with your designated college counselor to confirm your list of colleges and refine a strategy for applications.
Check in with your teacher recommendation-writers to confirm that they are ready to endorse your application and to thank them for their help.
File the FAFSA, for need-based financial aid. Confirm what else is needed in support of applications for aid.
Apply to colleges via early admission plans between October and December; regular decision application deadlines vary, falling from November through February.
The Prep College Counseling Office will ask you to make transcript requests (in Scoir) far in advance of college application deadlines.
Keep in mind that college application deadlines fall at relatively inopportune times (the end of the marking period/sports season; during Christmas), so plan accordingly.
When you receive admission decisions from colleges, tell your college counselor.
Choose one college of matriculation no later than May 1. If you are interested in a college that has offered you a spot on the waitlist, approach this with the help of your college counselor and be prepared for your process to potentially last into the summer months.
