College & Career Timeline

Grade Level Timelines:

9th/10th Grade

Work hard on your classes. You will be reporting A-G class grades to universities
- Consider taking a College Class! College classes give you college credit, improve your GPA, and make you a more competitive student!
Participate in extracurricular activities. Academics aren’t everything. Explore your interest in a sport, school club, program, or community volunteer activity. You can list up to 20 activities on the UC application and 10 on the Common App!
- Remember that colleges would rather see real involvement in one activity instead of a loose connection to several.
- If you were involved in a club ninth grade consider running for a position. Universities want to see student leaders!
Explore summer opportunities. Look for a job, internship, or volunteer position that will help you learn about a field of interest. Don’t let any summer go to waste!
- It is always a good idea to start saving for College
Continue brainstorming on what career you want in the future. Talk to people about it and do research!

11th Grade

Make lists of your abilities, social/cultural preferences and personal qualities. List things you may want to study and do in college
Work on your college research and begin narrowing down universities you are interested in. Students who qualify for a university application fee waiver can apply to 4 UC’s and 4 CSU’s for free.
Take an interest inventory to explore career options and college majors. Students can always apply to universities as undeclared but it is helpful if they know what they want to major in.
Work hard on your classes. You will be reporting A-G class grades to universities

February/ March

Think about sign up for the SAT and ACT. Students who qualify for Free or Reduced lunch qualify for 2 free SAT registrations and 2 free ACT registrations. They also qualify for up to 2 free SAT subject registrations.

April

All student athletes planning to participate in Division I or Division II sports in college must register with the NCAA eligibility center. http://www.eligibilitycenter.org

May

Students who plan to take a college class in the summer should have their college classes selected and should submit their special admissions form to their counselor. Community college classes are a huge way of improving a student’s A-G GPA and this will be the last chance to improve a GPA prior to the college submission deadline in November of their senior year.
Students take the SBAC which includes the EAP. The EAP measures Math and English college readiness for community colleges and universities within the California State University System. Doing well on this test can allow them to skip remediation and support classes and go directly to college level English and Math.
Create a résumé—a record of your accomplishments, activities and work experiences since you started high school.

12th Grade

August

August 1- UC Application opens as well as Common App for private and out of state universities
Review your career plans and decide which type of school is right for you. If you haven’t done so already finish your college research with your choice of schools

September

Ask teachers and counselors for letters of recommendations (only required for some private or out of state universities). The sooner you do this the better but remember that you should ask teachers a minimum of 2 weeks in advance

October

November

November 30th, priority application filing period deadline for CSU and UC, make sure you make or save a copy of your applications before you send them. EOP deadlines range by school, so we recommend that they get done early by the end of November to avoid missing deadlines.
Check filing deadlines for all colleges to which you are applying and write all financial aid and housing deadlines in your planner or google calendar.
Watch for deadlines- These could be listed as “Holds” or “To-Do” items on your web-portals

January/ February

Beginning January 1st- Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at FAFSA.gov and your CA DREAM app at https://dream.csac.ca.gov/ (submit as soon after January 1, as possible)
Rosemont Cash 4 College Event will be January 18th th from 6pm-8pm, attend to get help with your financial aid application.
Continue to check the Scholarship Bulletin for scholarships
Students to enroll in a UC will receive notification to register for the UC Writing Exam. CSU placement will be determined on their grades, SAT/ACT Scores and EAP Scores from state SBAC exam.
Watch for deadlines- These could be listed as “Holds” or “To-Do” items on your web-portals

March

March - Admission Decisions Begin! watch the mail/email/portal for decisions
March 2, deadline for FAFSA and CA Dream App - must be postmarked by this date
Start thinking about a summer job!
Watch for deadlines- These could be listed as “Holds” or “To-Do” items on your web-portals

April

UC bound students: In early April, students will receive a letter directing them to the test center at which they must take the UC Writing Test.
Check your web portals and compare the financial aid offers you receive. Discuss it with your family to select the best financial fit for you.
Watch for deadlines- These could be listed as “Holds” or “To-Do” items on your web-portals
Notify the other schools that you will not be attending.
Community College Students
- Submit CC Application
- Complete online orientation
- See eServices for class placement for English and Math
- Schedule a time to meet with a college counselor and go over classes.

May

May 1- your Intent to Enroll (ITE) to your college of choice is due. This is a good time to also accept your financial aid awards!
DREAMER Students must submit a nonresident tuition exemption to their university so that you are not charged out of state tuition (This is commonly referred to as AB 540).

June

June – Graduation!
CSU Bound Students: Make sure you are registered for your Early Start for Math or English if required! Note that you can take the summer requirement at ANY CSU or online. Students doing EOP will likely attend their Summer Bridge which will take place at the CSU and will include the required Early Start.
Community College bound students: If you are planning to attend American River College, Sacramento City College, Folsom Lake College, or Cosumnes River College your course fees and tuition may be due before the end of July. Check your fee requirements using this link. If you do not pay for your classes on time, you will be dropped from your courses.
Update your Cal Grant graduation date on MyGrantInfo so that your money can disbursed to the correct college.
Send your AP scores to your university via apscore.org (after July for exams taken 12th grade).

Community College Admission & Enrollment Steps

Los Rios Colleges: Click HERE

Sacramento State Admitted First-Year Checklist