College Planning in the Junior Year

11th Grade To Do List

• Take the PSAT at Monticello in the fall.  This will help prepare you to take the SAT or ACT in the spring.

• Continue to challenge yourself academically.  If you are performing well in your classes, and think they are easy, you should consider taking a more challenging course load next year. Talk to your school counselor about 'increasing your rigor'.  We encourage you to consider taking a course in English, Math, Science, Social Studies and World Language every year.

• Register for the SAT or ACT.  To learn more about how to prepare for college entrance tests and to register, go to SAT and ACT Testing. Most SAT testing takes place on the weekend at other schools, but you will have one opportunity in the spring to take the SAT at Monticello. 

• Create your college list. You are likely going to want to have three types of schools on your list:

Likely Schools - Your GPA, SAT/ACT scores, and rigor of program are above their admission requirements. You are very confident you will receive an admission offer.

Target Schools - Your qualifications land you within the  middle 50% of their accepted applicants. You feel pretty good about your chances to receive an admission offer.

Reach Schools - Your qualifications are below the middle 50% of their accepted applicants, so you aren't confident you will get in, but you think you'd like to go there and want to see if you can get an offer of admission.

• Letters of recommendation.  It is highly likely that some of the colleges on your list require teacher and/or counselor recommendations.  Before summer break, you should ask two teachers to write letters for you. You can talk to your school counselor about the counselor letter of recommendation next fall.

• Understand scholarships and the financial aid process ahead of time.  In most cases, you won't actually start filling out scholarship applications until the fall of your senior year. MHS posts scholarships in your SchooLinks account. Other websites like FASFA, Fast Web and Scholarships.com are good online scholarship search tools.  Be sure to also check out individual college websites to see if they have a specific scholarship application. 

• Visit college/university campuses.  When planning your campus visits, make sure to call ahead and allow plenty of time to explore each college campus. While you’re there, talk to as many people as possible. These can include college admission staff, professors, and students. Take the official campus tour and, at colleges you’re serious about, make appointments to have interviews with admission counselors.  Remember you get two excused absences for college visits.

• Continue to research potential career paths & majors of study.  Having an idea of what you want to do after college will help shape your college choices.  Exploring areas of study early can help you choose activities and courses in high school that will prepare you for college.