Tools

It's never too soon to get ready for your days after high school. Arkansas Next gives you a few tips on how to prepare.

Freshman Year
• Keep your grades up. They qualify you for scholarships as well as admission into college.
• Schedule an appointment with your guidance counselor.
     ° Discuss your post-graduation options. Many of those can be found on Page 14.
     ° Create an education plan that suits your goals. Map out your classes for all four years of high school.
     ° Ask about AP and dual-credit courses, which can earn you college credit.
• Get involved with extracurricular and volunteer activities you’re passionate about. Plan to stick with them.
     ° Keep a list of all of your activities and volunteer experiences. You’ll need this to compile a résumé later.
• Begin thinking about careers that interest you.
• Talk to your parents about the cost of college. Create a plan of action and start saving.
• Request or download a real application from a university so you can get a feel for admission requirements.

Sophomore Year
• Sign up and take the PSAT (pre-SAT) or the PLAN (pre-ACT). Your test scores on the PSAT can qualify you for a National Merit Scholarship, and both tests highlight areas where you can improve.
• Start researching potential careers. Talking to people who work in these fields is especially helpful.
• Compile a list of schools that interest you. Consider things like area of study, strength of department, distance from your hometown, and campus size.
• Keep up with:
     ° Your grades.
     ° Your guidance counselor.
     ° Your extracurricular activities.

Junior Year
• Take the ACT and/or SAT. Check with your prospective schools to see which test they prefer. Plan to take both – most students do better on one than the other.
• Keep your grades up. Consider getting involved in an academic club.
• Narrow down your school choices.
     ° Start in-depth school research. Consider majors, housing options, financial aid and scholarship availability, tuition costs, and admission requirements.
     ° Begin campus visits. Talk to admissions representatives as well as real students.
• Find a volunteer position, apprenticeship, internship, part-time job or job-shadowing opportunity in your field of interest.
• Look for scholarships. Look online, check your school database and keep our list of Arkansas scholarships on Page 62 handy.
• Write your scholarship essays. Get them critiqued and proofread by a teacher.
• Compile a résumé. You can find more information on this on Page 78.
• Begin making a list of deadlines for things such as financial aid, admissions and scholarships.

Senior Year
First Semester
• Take the ACT or SAT again if you’re unhappy with your scores.
• Get letters of recommendation.
     ° Request them in the first few weeks of school.
     ° Choose teachers, advisers or employers who know you and your work well. No family friends.
     ° Assemble a packet for each recommender with a copy of your résumé, examples of your work such as graded papers, a list of schools you need letters for and stamped envelopes.
• Apply to your top three to five schools.
     ° Make sure your applications contain all the requested material.
     ° Proofread everything. Twice.
     ° Send in a neat, clean application.
     ° Make copies of everything you send in the mail. Keep your receipt or make a note of your check number just in case.
• Stay involved and keep your grades up.
• Continue looking for scholarships.
• Keep up with your checklists of places you’ve applied and application deadlines.

Second Semester
• Pick a school.
     ° Choose a school that fits your needs best. Remember to consider the university as a whole.
     ° Notify your chosen school of your decision to attend.
     ° Inform all your other choices that, although you appreciate the consideration, you will not be attending in the fall.
• Send transcripts of the first semester of your senior year if your college has requested it.
• Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid as close to Jan. 1 as you can to qualify for government grants and loans.
• Make sure all of the paperwork required by the university and its departments has been filled out and sent by the dates specified.
     ° Check to make sure all fees have been paid.
• Check on housing. Many schools begin housing assignments in May.