Four Year Plan

4-Year Plan: Freshman Year

From a college admission standpoint, your freshman year is very important. By observing your freshman achievement, admission counselors are able to gauge your ability to adapt to changing levels of academic rigor, responsibility and social pressures. A successful freshman year may help to make you a more attractive applicant.

In addition to showcasing your ability to adapt to a new way of life, your freshman year is also the time when you will develop the habits that determine how successful a student you will be. Balancing the increasing demands placed on you to achieve academically while growing socially can be very difficult for the new high school student.  Every student should meet with their academic and social emotional counselors to develop a solid study/ student life plan which allows plenty of time to balance high academic achievement, with social obligations. If a student is able to master this balance, then he or she will be well on their way to becoming the well-balanced and multi-faceted student college admission counselors look for.

 

College Timeline: Freshman Year

  • Work Hard In All Of Your Classes! This is the most important way you can prepare for college admission. While a lackluster freshman year will not necessarily hinder college acceptance, your chances of being accepted to the college of your choice will increase greatly if you show a steady rate of achievement through all 4 years of high school.
  • Start researching colleges and universities. Begin to think about whether or not you want to go away to school or attend a local college.
  • Make time to talk with your parent(s) or guardian(s) about college. See if you’re on the same page. This is a great time to let them know that you are thinking of going away to school. This is also a great time for you and your family to start saving for your college education. Families are expected to contribute at least some money toward your education. This burden is lessened if families create a realistic financial plan that allows for college savings over a period of years.
  • As you continue to plan for upcoming academic years, keep in mind that many colleges and universities require academic achievement that exceeds state and school standards. For example: Williamsburg Charter High School students will be required to complete only two years of a foreign language, but most competitive colleges will require students to study a single foreign language for 3 or more years. Become familiar with your dream colleges’ academic requirements and discuss them with you academic advisor before you are programed for the upcoming year.
  • Begin to get involved in extra-curricular activities. Find a few activities that you enjoy and intend to stick with for a few years.
  • Begin to form relationships with your teachers. Keep in mind that these are the people who will be writing your letters of recommendation. A letter of recommendation from a teacher who knows you well and has several positives examples of your behavior, maturity and leadership potential, will go a long way toward making you an attractive applicant.
  • Begin to prepare for the SAT, SAT Subject Tests and ACT. Even though these tests are two years away, you should begin to prepare now. Remember these tests require that you pull upon several years of acquired knowledge to successful score in a desired range. The best way to prepare for these tests now is to pay particular attention in your Math and English classes. You should also spend more time reading for pleasure. And I do mean pleasure. Find a genre you enjoy (horror, mystery, science fiction, romance, classics), then devour as many books as you can. Remember the more you enjoy a book the more you will look forward to reading.
  • Finally take advantage of school breaks and summer vacation to visit colleges and universities. Actually spending time on a college campus is the best way to research a school. You will have the opportunity to meet current students, faculty members, eat in the dining halls, visit classrooms and public facilities and sometimes even sit in on classes.

 

4-Year Plan: Sophomore Year

Congratulations! You’ve survived freshman year and mastered the art of balancing academic achievement with social growth. You have a good study/ student life plan and you are well on your way to beginning the college application process. Sophomore year can be very exciting; this is the time when your academic achievement becomes even more important. College admission counselors know how difficult the transition from middle school to high school can be, so they are often inclined to overlook some academic slippage in your freshman year. Unfortunately, you will not be given any slack for poor performance this year. You are expected to continue to perform well, or improve academically, while challenging yourself by taking advanced classes.  This is also the time when you should delve deeper into your chosen extra-curricular activities and build a strong bond with your school community.

 

College Timeline: Sophomore Year

  • Continue to work hard in all of your classes. You are expected to perform even better in your sophomore year. Colleges and universities look for steady progression of achievement. Now is not the time to allow your grades to fall.
  • Begin to challenge yourself by taking some demanding classes. Consider applying for College now, or adding an AP course to your schedule. But be careful, don’t overwhelm yourself. Remember the academic achievement/social growth balance.
  • Take SAT Subject tests. If you are interested in attending a school that requires SAT Subject tests for admission, you should see whether the school requires a specific sequence of tests, or if you mat choose any test you wish. Typically schools will request between 2 or 3 subject tests in an area of your choice. You can check this requirement by logging onto the CollegeBoard website, or visiting your college counselor.
  • Prepare for the PSATs. Pay attention in your Math and English classes, purchase a prep book and read all the novels you can.
  • Continue to research and visit colleges. As you mature you may find that you have changed your mind about possible colleges or majors. Remain flexible; try to focus on a college’s characteristics, philosophy, academic process and policies, rather than on a particular college. Many colleges and universities share philosophies and processes, allowing you to considered several options, and avoid being disappointed if you don’t end up at your “dream school”.
  • Begin to seek leadership roles in one or two of the organizations or teams of which you are a member. Colleges and universities are more impressed by students who are seriously committed to few organizations, than by students who belong to dozens of clubs and activities on a superficial basis. In addition, taking on leadership roles will allow you to become comfortable with making important decisions and taking control.
  •  Consider doing some volunteer work. Community service is a great way to get involved with your community. In addition to helping people, the environment and you community, volunteer work simply feels good. The best way to feel better about yourself is to help someone else feel better.
  • Try to meet with your college counselor. Although counselors are usually very busy working with senior junior students, they are always happy to see that their future students are excited about college and already beginning to prepare. They will be able to set aside some time usually later in the school year) to guide you in the right direction and offer helpful hints.
  • Do something productive with your summer. You should consider attending summer camp, a college summer session, traveling, volunteering or working over the summer. Colleges look for students who like to fill their time with productive worthwhile activities. Remember, admission counselors are trying to build a community and individuals who keep to themselves while sitting at home watching television don’t add all that much to a community. But please keep in mind that this is your vacation and you do need to have some down time. Remember to have fun and enjoy your summer.

 

 

4-Year Plan: Junior Year

This is it, YOUR MOST IMPORTANT YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL —yes, it’s true, and this is the year that stands out the most (although all 4-years will be used to evaluate your application). College Admission officers will pay particular attention to your progress in the 11th grade. At this point you are consider a full blown young adult who should have an understanding that your actions have consequences. You should use this year to showcase you academic and social abilities. You will be expected to continue to achieve academically and challenge yourself even more by taking several Advanced Placement courses.  

This is also the time when you start to make concrete college plans and begin the early stages of the application process. You should also make an appointment to meet with your college advisor in the spring.

 

College Timeline: Junior Year

September-November:

  • Begin to prepare for the PSAT/NMSQT. Our school will be hosting the PSAT/NMSQT on Wednesday, October 13, 2010. This test is very important; if you score high enough you may be qualify as a National Merit Scholarship finalist (Only PSATs taken in your junior year will be considered for the NMSQT).
  • Create a preliminary college list. When choosing perspective colleges you should make sure that you match your needs and wants with the college’s offerings. It is also important to be realistic. Make sure that your numbers match or are near those required for admission. Try to remain flexible and focus on a college’s characteristics, philosophy, academic process and policies, rather than on a particular college.  That way you will optimize your chances of finding a school that fits your needs.
  • Learn about financial aid. Become familiar with the FAFSA and CSS Profile. Talk with your parents about college costs. Come up with a viable plan to meet any shortfalls between the cost of attendance and your financial aid award. You should expect that your family will have to make some financial contribution toward your college education.
  • Begin to save for the college application process. Some students may be eligible for fee waivers and other financial assistance, but the income thresholds for these aid programs are low and they rarely cover all costs. Most students can expect to pay upwards of $600.00 to complete the college application process.

 

December-January:

  • Create a CollegeBoard account, if you don’t already have one. Be sure to memorize your username and password, and keep a written record of both your username and password in a safe easily accessible location. Remember you may only ever have 1 CollegeBoard account.
  • Log onto CollgeBoard and register to take the June 4, 2011 SAT.
  • Sign- up for the SAT preparation course offered at our school.
  • Consider registering for the June 11, 2011 ACT exam. Many students prefer to take the ACT in addition to, or in place of, the SAT exam. Just remember that you must take the ACT with writing (please see your college counselor to see if you may qualify for fee waivers to cover the cost of registration).
  • Prepare to take A.P. exams.
  • Visit perspective colleges over winter breaks. When ever possible request to join a tour and information session. You should also consider requesting an on- campus interview with an admission representative.
  • Remember to keep your grades up, and choose the most demanding classes possible.

 

February- March:

  • Make an appointment to meet with your assigned college advisor. At this meeting you will get to know the person who will act as your personal college advisor. Together you will create preliminary and final college lists, complete admission applications and financial aid forms. Your college advisors have years of experience helping students find the college or university that best fits their needs. Use their expertise to help you with the college application process. Remember, your college advisor is there to help guide you and your family, but this is your college process and all decisions should be made by the student with help and input from his or her family.
  • Research the colleges on your college list. Whittle the list down to approximately 16 schools. The general break-up should look like this: 4- SUNY, 6- CUNY and 6- private schools (please refer to the College Life Guide for more details). Remember to be realistic, but don’t be afraid to dream as well. You should have a good balance of “Reach”, “Match” and “Safety” Schools on your list.
  • Continue to prepare for the SAT or ACT. Make sure that you are signed up for SAT/ ACT Preparatory classes. Take advantage of the CollegeBaord and ACT websites to complete practice tests. If possible enroll in an SAT/ ACT test prep course on your own.
  • Meet with your academic advisor to discuss your academic progress. Achieving academically is very important this year. Admission officers will assign a lot of weight to this year when making admission decisions. This is the time to make sure you do as well as you can in all of your classes. If you are falling behind, come up with a realistic plan to catch up. If you are doing well, continue to challenge yourself in the spring semester.
  • Continue to seek positions of leadership and responsibility within your organizations, clubs and sports teams. Once again, colleges are much more impressed with students who commit themselves fully to a few originations, clubs or sports, than they are by those who participate in many on a superficial level. Don’t forget that colleges and universities define extra-curricula activities loosely. They recognize the fact that many students must either work, or return home after school to care for younger siblings. They are as impressed by these activities as they are by students who spend hours playing football or cheerleading.

 

April – May

  • If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to register for the June 4, 2011 SAT, or the June 11, 2011 ACT. Please check with the CollegeBoard and ACT for registration deadlines.
  • Meet with your college advisor to finalize your college list. By now you should have researched and visited most of the colleges on your list. It’s time to decide which colleges will make it to your final list.
  • Begin to acquaint yourself with Naviance. During your first college meeting you will be registered for Naviance. You should memorize your username and password, and keep a written copy of your username and password in a safe and easily accessible location. Naviance is a great way to manage your college application process.
  • Ask teachers with whom you have a good relationship to write letters of recommendation for you. Remember these letters must come from core academic teachers. Teachers who teach the following subjects: Math, Science, History, English and Latin. Additional letters of recommendation may be secured from teachers in other subjects such as Art, Health and Theatre.
  • Plan for the summer. Apply for summer college programs, take advantage of study abroad programs or apply for work.

 

June-July

  • Begin to work on your college essays. Very often colleges will allow students to write an essay on the topic of their choice. You should write an essay that can be easily adapted to different colleges. If a program like Essay Busters in available students should participate to ensure that they provide an essay of the highest possible quality.
  • Take the June 4, 2011 SAT, or the June 11, 2011 ACT exam.
  • Prepare for your senior year. As you decide which classes to take senior year keep in mind that you must continue to achieve academically and challenge yourself by taking as many advanced placement courses as possible.
  • Continue to visit colleges and universities. Most colleges receive upwards of 30,000 applications a year. Taking the time to visit a campus and meet with an admission officer is a great way to stand apart from the crowd and show them that you are seriously interested in their school.
  • Review your SAT/ ACT scores. If you are disappointed, make a realistic plan to raise your scores. Use the summer to prepare for the fall sitting of these exams(Yes, you have to take them again)
  • Be productive this summer, but as always make sure you get plenty of rest and have fun.

 

 

4-Year plan: Senior Year

Phew, you’ve made it! After 3 long years of high school you’re at the finish line. Unfortunately, there’s no time to sit back and look at how far you’ve come. This will be the most demanding year yet. In addition to maintaining a high level of academic achievement, while continuing to challenge yourself academically, you will also have to devote a great deal of time to the college application process. The stress can be overwhelming at times, but Careful preparation and a realistic time management schedule will go a long way toward helping you cope with the stress. You should maintain close relationships with you academic, social emotional and college counselors. Their input an expertise is an essential if the application process is to be productive, efficient and enjoyable.

 

College Timeline: Senior Year

 

September – November

  • As soon as you return to school make an appointment to meet with your college advisor. If you have not done so already, you should create a college list. If you have decided to add or delete schools from your final list make sure you tell your college advisor, now is the time to finalize your final list.
  • Meet with any teacher who agreed to write a letter of recommendation for you. It is your responsibility to make sure that your teachers have written these letters and delivered them to your college advisor. If you have not asked any teacher to write you a letter of recommendation, now is the time. Keep in mind that many teachers may be too busy to write letters, or they may not be able to complete them before you have submitted your applications.
  • Begin to register with the application websites for the schools you are applying to. Now is the time to begin filling out applications. It is best to do this slowly, when you are relaxed and can dedicate at least 1- hour for each application. Many of the school to which you will apply, will be found on applications that allow you to apply to more than 1 school using a single application, such as SUNY(4), CUNY(6) and in some cases the Common Application. Your college advisor will help you find the appropriate websites for each school and advise you if you will be able to use a single application to apply to several schools.
  • Attend Application Workshops. Counselors will be on hand at these workshops to help you with your applications.
  • If you haven’t already done so write your college essay. Ask someone to proof read your essay. This is one of the most important aspects of your application. This is your chance to convince the admission committee to accept you instead of all those other applicants. A sloppy essay shows the admission committee that you aren’t taking this process seriously. It may also raise red flags if the admission committee feels that your writing ability isn’t up to par.
  • Complete the FAFSA4Caster www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov . Although you can’t complete the FAFSA before January1, 2011, you can get a head start by completing the fafsa4caster. This will allow you to estimate (loosely) the amount of financial aid you may be entitled to. If you and your parents apply for a FAFSA pin, make sure to memorize the pin numbers, then write them down and keep them in a secure and easily accessible location.
  • Register to take the November 6, 2010 SAT, and /or the October 23, 2010 ACT. Please log onto the CollegeBoard www.collegeboard.com or the American College Test Corporation (ACT) www.actstudent.org/regist/index.html, Check deadlines and register. Check with your college advisor to see if you qualify for a fee waiver to cover the cost of registration. At this time you should also arrange to have score reports sent to the colleges you are applying to.
  • Make an appointment with your college advisor to review your applications. Your applications should be completed by Friday, November 5, 2010. After you and your college advisor review your applications you should submit your applications along with all supplemental materials, including supplemental applications, essays and resumes (if requested).
  • Submit your applications. It is particularly important to get all rolling applications in as early as possible. These schools evaluate applications as they come in. If you wait too long to submit your application all seats may be filled and there may be more competition for remaining seats. In addition, programs like HEOP, EOP, SEEK and College Discovery fill up fast and you don’t want to miss out.

 

 

December- January

  • Make sure you have given your college advisor a complete list of every college and university you are applying to. This is the only way your college counselor will know where to send your supporting documents, including transcripts, letters of recommendations and secondary school reports. You must also update your Naviance account, moving all colleges you’ve applied to, from the perspective college list to the active application list.
  • Contact all of the colleges and universities you’ve applied to; make sure that they have received your application and all supporting documentation. Keep in mind that it can often take 4 or more weeks for admission offices to match your application with your supporting documents. During that time you will probably receive postcards and letters requesting the supporting documents that have already been sent in by your college advisor. Often these requests are automatically generated and it is best to call the college or university directly to confirm that they have not received the documents. If after 4-weeks they still have not received your supporting documents ask your college counselor to send duplicate package to the school.
  • Complete the CSS Profile if required. Some colleges and universities require that in addition to submitting the FAFSA you also submit the CSS Profile. To find out if any of your schools require this application, log onto and search the list of schools that require CSS Profile submission. You may submit the CSS Profile before January 1, 2011.
  • After January 1, 2011 complete and submit the 2011-2012 FAFSA.  We will be hosting several Financial Aid Workshops, where counselors will be available to assist with the completion of this form. All students should complete their FAFSA no later than February 15, 2011; this is the priority file date for most schools.
  • Complete the Tuition Assistance Program TAP application (See College Life Guide)

 

February-April

  • Continue to work hard in all of your classes and challenge yourself. Admission committees will request mid-year and final grades for all students. They use these grades in their decision making process, a student who begins to slack off may not be as appealing as a student who continues to work hard through their senior year. Colleges are also allowed to withdraw an offer of admission if a student fails classes or fails to graduate in June.
  • Keep an eye out for mail from your colleges and universities. Schools with rolling admission policies will begin to send out admission decisions within 4 weeks of receiving an application. Read every piece of mail you receive thoroughly. If you don’t understand something make an appointment with your college advisor.
  • Inform your college advisor of all college acceptances, rejections and waitlist notifications. We need to keep track of all decisions made on your applications. You should bring a copy of all offers of admission to your college advisor. Check your Naviance account regularly; if we have not updated your application outcomes, or if there are inaccuracies, please let us know.
  • Visit schools to which you have been accepted. Take advantage of accepted student weekends. This is a great opportunity to see if you really want to attend a particular school. Remember, per NACAC agreement you are not expected to make a decision or submit a deposit to any school until May 1st. If anyone asks you to deposit sooner please let your college advisor know.
  • Look out for your Student Aid Report (SAR), request for verification, aid award letters and general information requests from schools. If you don’t submit required documentation by the requested deadline, your aid may be lowered or revoked. YOU MUST READ ALL COLLEGE RELATED MAIL THOROUGHLY. REMEMBER, SOMETIMES SCHOOLS WILL SEND THIS INFORMATION VIA THE INTERNET.

 

May-June

  • Decide where you are going to deposit.  You should accept the offer of admission and provide a deposit to the school of your choice by May 1 2011. Please keep in mind that you are only allowed to deposit at one college or university. Double depositing (with some exceptions) is frowned upon. If you are caught double depositing, each school has the right to withdraw your offer of admission. You should talk with your parents and college advisor before you deposit. You need to be as certain as possible you are making the right choice. Remember, this is where you will spend the next 4-years.
  • Make a final review of your financial aid award. Make sure you and your family are financially prepared for the upcoming year. College is expensive and you need to plan accordingly. If you are unhappy with your financial aid award , appeal the decision directly with the office of financial aid(see College Life Guide)
  • Make sure you have told your college advisor which school you will be attending. This is the only way we can ensure that your final transcript will be sent to the right place.
  • Prepare for life at your new school. If you haven’t already done so, make arrangements to spend a day or night at your new school. Review the student catalog (their version of the Student Life Guide); get to know what is expected of you. Research different majors and get generally comfortable with the policy and procedures of your new school.
  • Relax and enjoy your summer, You’ve certainly earned the rest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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