Four-year colleges and universities offer four-year programs that lead to a bachelor's degree in a selected major. These include universities and liberal arts colleges. CLICK HERE for a full description of the types of 4 year colleges, including liberal arts colleges, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) and for-profit schools.

While you are able to apply to college as an undecided major, it is often an advantage to choose a major when you first apply. It is not uncommon for students to change their major during college as their interests change.

To find college majors that may appeal to you:

1. Spend a little time on self reflection… What courses do you like? What are your academic strengths? Are any of your favorite extracurricular activities related to a possible major?

2. Find college majors related to your career pathway by looking at the District 214 Academic Programs and Pathways Booklet.

3. Use Schoolinks to review the results of your career assessments.

4. Log into your College Board account for many great resources:

   • Explore Careers

   • College Majors

   • Major and Career Search

5. Look at the Academic tab on college websites and find information about the majors you are considering. By viewing a 4-year plan of the courses required for a particular major, you will get an idea of whether that majors appeals to you.

6. Get an internship, apprenticeship or job in a field of interest.

7. Register for a senior year or summer school course to explore a potential area of interest.

8. Join a club or activity related to your interest.

ACT & SAT

• All colleges that require test scores accept either the SAT or ACT equally. 

• Some students choose to take both an SAT and ACT to see whether they score better on one. The SAT/ACT Concordance can be used to compare scores on these two tests.  

• All juniors will take the state SAT, a graduation requirement, in school in the spring.

• Juniors may want to sign up for an additional national ACT or SAT test on their own.

Test Optional

A test optional college lets students decide whether they want to submit ACT or SAT test scores with their application. Most test optional schools will consider scores if they are submitted, but focus on other factors they believe are stronger predictors of a student's potential to succeed in college. CLICK HERE for the list of over 1,600 four-year test optional schools. Please note, some are test optional temporarily due to Covid-19 and may require ACT/SAT scores in the future. 

Superscoring

Some colleges will superscore when the student submits multiple ACT or SAT scores. Superscoring averages the highest section scores from each test to obtain a new composite score that may be higher than any individual composite score.

AP Tests

Your AP test scores could earn you college credit. Use the College Board's AP Credit Policy Search to look up credit by school or by test.

RMHS and D214 Assessment Center Websites

Check these websites for the most up-to-date information about testing within D214:

• RMHS Assessment Center

• D214 Assessment Center

Create a list of “right fit” colleges that you plan to apply to factoring in academic fit, location fit, personal/social fit and financial fit.

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO: Choosing a College That Fits.

• College admissions representatives review seven criteria students should consider and rank when trying to find their “right fit” colleges.

Use the following resources to do a college search:

• Schoolinks

• College Board College Search

Visit college campuses to narrow down the following:

• Determine how far from home you’d be willing to attend college, which parts of the country interest you, etc.

• Determine the size of the college that most appeals to you.

• Determine the location of the college that most appeals to you (e.g. in a city or in more of a rural setting or college town).

Schedule a campus visit by visiting the admissions webpage of the college at least a few weeks in advance.

• School days off, spring break and even Saturdays can be great days to schedule campus visits.

• Many colleges offer virtual visits.

• If you need to miss a school day for a visit, click here for a visit absence form.

College Admission Rep Visits to the RMHS PSC

• Many college admission representatives visit the PSC in the fall and spring. These are a great way for students to find out more about a college, get questions answered and get to know the college rep assigned to Rolling Meadows.

• Check our Rep Visits spreadsheet for a complete list of colleges visiting the PSC (posted in your "Class of..." Schoology page).

• Follow the instructions on the spreadsheet to sign up at least one day in advance.