Summer Before Senior YEAR CHECKLIST

Study for tests: If you are taking the ACT or SAT, study over the summer. Go to Testing for more links.
Tour: Visit colleges when traveling. View the College Visits page for tips.
College list: Continue to refine or complete your college list. Learn how to build a good college list. An advisor in the College & Career Center can help you in early fall. Building your college list early helps you understand what work is involved in the application process. Use the College Spreadsheet to help you analyze these schools, and later manage your applications.
Understand college costs: Talk to your parents about college costs and use the online tools to calculate your "Expected Family Contribution", the amount of money your family is expected to pay out of pocket for your college. These tools are called "EFC Calculators" or "Net Price Calculators" and can be found on every college website, or use the College Cost Calculator.
Redo: If you received a grade of "D" or "F" in an academic a-g course, you will need to retake that course in summer school to make up that grade so that you can be eligible to apply to a California public college (CSU or UC). See your guidance counselor for more information.

College List: Start narrowing down your college list. By the fall, you should have 6-12 colleges on your list, including 2-3 safety schools (both academic and financial safeties), 3-6 match schools, and an optional 1-3 reach schools (or 1-3 more match schools if you do not want to apply to reach schools.)

EACH AUHSD SITE HAS DIFFERENT PROCESS

CAMPOLINDO -for Letters of Recommendation: If any of your colleges require a Letter of Recommendation, complete the following by October 1st.
1. 1. - STUDENT SURVEY : Survey for your Counselor to write LOR is on your MAIALearning dashboard.

TEACHER RECOMMENDATION LOR Form: MAIALearning/University/ Letter of Recommendation.

RESUME: Resume > Add/Update sections. See Building a Resume.
NOTE: It is best to write your statements in a Google Doc, then paste it into MAIALearning to be sure you don't lose any unsaved work

Scholarships: Research scholarships on Google, MAIALearning and Financial Aid & Scholarships page. Keep track of what paperwork, essays and deadlines are required.

Current Seniors refer to the Senior Guide to Naviance button below for information on how to perform these tasks.

Essay: Begin working on your Common App essays, UC Personal Insight Questions, and other supplemental writing required by each college. Remember that only one Common App essay is written and shared between all your Common App schools. The same holds for the Coalition App essay. Your one set of UC Personal Statements is shared with any of the nine campuses that you apply to. There are no essays for the CSUs. Many private schools ask for "Supplemental Essays," so be sure to look up those prompts to see the amount of writing you need to do and plan accordingly. See College Essays for guidance.
Attend Academy sessions for help with your college list and essays.

Applications: Prepare for your applications over the summer, especially if you are applying "Early Action" or "Early Decision." Look at the online applications so that you know what to expect. Once the online applications are open, you can begin inputting your information and save it until your application is complete, reviewed, and the filing period has begun. Find links to the various college applications on Apply to College.
Letters of Rec: If you didn't already do it in the spring, make a list of those you'd like to receive a letter of recommendation for both college applications and scholarships. Be sure to enter the teacher's name in MAIALearning and complete.

Counselor Report: Your counselor will be checking in with you to make sure of your college deadlines. If they have not, email or meet with them, so they know your plans and deadliens.

Financial Aid: Organize your financial aid information to make the process of applying easier:
- - - - list of aid sources
        requirements for each application
        list of deadlines
        For more information, see Financial Aid & Scholarships.

Applying in Summer: Some colleges begin accepting applications as early as August 1. Send your test scores over the summer. Transcripts can be sent after the first day of school. (Note: UCs and CSUs don't require SAT/ACT scores or transcripts.)

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