August

• Update your student résumé to include freshman and sophomore year activities and accomplishments.
• To get a head start on the financial aid process, start researching scholarships. Some scholarships are available exclusively for high school juniors. Start looking on search engines like  fastweb.com or bigfuture.org.
• Student Athletes: Start reviewing the information on naia.org or ncaa.org for eligibility requirements, if you want to play collegiate sports, take the steps necessary in increase your eligibility and to market your athletic abilities to college coaches.
• If undocumented, please see csac.ca.gov/undocumented-dreamer-students more information on your options for college funding.
• Earn excellent grades this year. Junior year grades are the most important grades for getting into college. Junior year grades show college admission officers how well you do in advanced, upper-level courses and indicate if you are capable of handling college-level coursework.
• Make sure your fall and spring course curriculum is rigorous. Take Advance Placement (AP), Honors and/or Dual Enrollment classes. The level of difficulty of student coursework is one of the most important factors college admissions officers analyze when deciding on accepting applicants for admission. 
• Plan to meet with your high school counselor at least every six months to ensure you are on target for graduating high school and fulfilling college admission requirements for your selected colleges – Remember: Private and Out of State colleges may require different coursework.  The more your counselor knows about your college goals, the better prepared your transcript will be.
• Be a leader in a few extracurricular activities this school year; be an officer in a club, serve on student council, start your own organization, etc. Leadership is one of the most valuable student qualifications sought by college admission officers.

September

• Start to think about colleges and universities to which you may want to apply next fall. Write down college characteristics you prefer and discuss them with parents and friends. Complete CollegeMatch on Schoolinks  or go to bigfuture.org.
• Go to Kern County College Night.
• Consider college majors you may wish to study. Research careers that may spark interest in a specific major; talk with your parents and counselor. A good place to start is an interest profiler.  Try the one on cacareerzone.org, californiacolleges.edu, or Schoolinks.
• Focus your extracurricular interests a high level of involvement and accomplishment in a few activities is more important than participating in numerous activities on a surface level.
• Visit with college representatives who travel to your high school. Remember to be professional in all interactions with college and university representatives.
• Continue checking your grades in Studentvue. Remember a 3.0 GPA will open up college admissions and scholarship opportunities.
• Apply for California Scholarship Federation (CSF) and other Honors Clubs. Belonging to organizations that require student members to earn excellent grades and do community service will look good on your college and scholarship applications. 
• Sign up for the PSAT – see your counselor for availability and details.  The SAT is not needed for college admission in CA, but private and out of state schools still require it.  Also, taking the PSAT in Junior year qualifies for the Nation Merit Scholarship and you can release your score so colleges can recruit you.

October

• Meet with your counselor to talk about college majors and possible careers. Continue to develop a relationship with your counselor so he/she can get to know you and your interests.
• Take the PSAT if you are interested - The SAT is not needed for college admission in CA, but private and out of state schools still require it.  Also, taking the PSAT in Junior year qualifies for the Nation Merit Scholarship. 
• Continue to research scholarships for juniors. During your research, if you find scholarships for senior year students, you're interested in applying for next year, make notes for your future reference. Go to Raise.me or Appily.com for more information.  You should never pay for scholarship advice or information and never give out your SSN#.
• Begin thinking about who you will ask for recommendations next year. Think about teachers, counselors, coaches, employers, and community members you might ask for letters of recommendation. Work to build hard working, respectful relationships with these people.

November

• Begin the process of selecting a college major. Consider your interests, skills, talents, and personality. Go to bigfuture.org, californiacolleges.edu, or Schoolinks.
• If you're interested in attending one of the military academies, learn about the application process so you will be prepared to apply in spring semester.
• Learn about financial aid. Merit-based scholarships are awarded based on your GPA, so do well in your coursework. Go to Raise.me or Appily.com for more information.
• Log on to Studentvue to check out your grades and make improvements if necessary.

December

• Do well on your final exams this month. Junior year grades are evaluated very closely by college admission officers; earn the impressive grades needed to be accepted to your college of choice.
• Consider college summer enrichment programs for high school students. If you find a summer program of interest, start the application process next month.

January

• Earn top grades this semester - this is the last semester to earn excellent grades before applying to college next fall. Continue checking your grades in Studentvue. Remember earning a 3.0 GPA or higher is important for impacted colleges calstate.edu/attend/degrees-certificates-credentials/Pages/impacted-degrees.aspx.
• Update your student résumé. Include all accomplishments and activities from fall semester.
• Continue to think about college search. Try to find your dream school(s), at least three realistic choices, a fall back, and a community college.  Go to bigfuture.org, californiacolleges.edu, or Schoolinks for information on colleges.

• Based on last semester’s grades, apply for CSF. 
• Apply for college summer enrichment programs of interest or consider applying for summer classes at BC, CSUB, or other colleges or universities. Many programs get booked early so submit your application as soon as possible. 
• Continue participating in extracurricular activities (inside and outside of school). Dedicate yourself to a few extracurricular activities and work toward leadership positions. Sign up for leadership roles in clubs, organizations, committees, and other activities you are involved with this spring semester.

February

• Visit with college representatives virtually. Read information and ask questions to see if their school may be a good fit for you. 

March

• Continue checking your grades in Studentvue. Remember a 3.0 GPA is important.
• Sign up for AP exams at the finance office; see your AP teachers for information about the AP Exam Fee Reduction process.
• Start planning your senior year schedule. Be sure next year’s schedule includes required courses for both high school, graduation, and admission to top colleges and universities. Your senior year curriculum should be challenging to show college admission officers you are ready for the rigors of college-level coursework.
• PARENTS – Over the next several months, plan on attending college campus visits, college information nights and financial aid presentations with your student. Get informed to help with the important decisions that lay ahead.  bigfuture.org. 
• Complete your initial research for colleges and universities then select a range of schools to apply to next fall, include 4 year and 2 year colleges.
• Research opportunities for summer employment, internships, volunteering, or coursework. Use summer months wisely to develop and improve your student résumé.

April

• Continue to be involved with school and community activities to build your student résumé. 
• Plan your summer activities. Your activities should reflect meaningful and continued involvement in the things you are passionate about (and ideally have been involved with during your freshman, sophomore, and junior years).
• If you need to take the SAT/ACT for private and out of state colleges, start practicing/studying for the test and sign up at sat.org or act.org.

May

• Take AP tests this month. 
• Narrow your college choices and select colleges and universities to apply to and visit in the coming fall (if you haven't already done so).
• Volunteer for leadership roles during your senior year: Run for class office, start a new club, be student leader in a community organization, etc. Leadership experience is one of the most highly prized student qualifications sought by colleges.
• Take steps to obtain great recommendations from educators. Mention to teachers and counselors with whom you have established respectful, hard-working relationships that you plan to ask them for letters of recommendation this coming fall. They will appreciate being informed early and may place you on top of the stack of requests next fall. 
• Secure jobs and internships for the summer. Ask your high school counselor, local business owners and service clubs about summer jobs, volunteer positions and internships that involve your college major. Ask early – the closer time gets to summer, the more likely the preferred jobs and internships will be taken by other students.
• Plan to work hard this summer to impress your employers, supervisors or course instructors; these are people you may ask for letters of recommendation in the fall of your senior year . . . but only if you do an excellent job for them this summer.
• If you plan to major in Visual Arts, the colleges you apply to will require a portfolio of your best art work (or photographs). Save your best works of art from your junior year; you may have the opportunity to include them in your portfolio.
• Update your student résumé to include junior year activities and accomplishments.
• If you need to take the SAT/ACT for private and out of state colleges, start practicing/studying for the test and sign up at sat.org or act.org.

• Be prepared to implement your senior year application strategy. Work on your personal insight questions.   For those students planning to attend/apply to a UC school, work on your personal insight questions:

• If you want to play collegiate sports, take the steps necessary in increase your eligibility and to market your athletic abilities. Go to naia.org or ncaa.org for information.
• Consider taking a summer road trip to visit college campuses this summer. 
• Do well on your final exams. This semester is the last chance to boost your grade point average before applying to college in the fall. Your CalGrant GPA is does not include senior grades, so do the best you can to make sure you can qualify for CalGrants.  The higher the GPA the better opportunities you will have for state aid.

June

• If you need to take the SAT/ACT for private and out of state colleges, take the test this month.  Go to: sat.org or act.org for more information.
• Take part in activities that enrich your life by volunteering, working, taking a college class, traveling, or being part of church or community activities.
• Visit Colleges you are interested in attending – many have self-guided tours online and through their apps.
• Research Scholarships – Make a list of scholarships to apply to in senior year: fastweb.com- Bold.org - Scholarships.com - bigfuture.org- Appily.com- Raise.me.