| August |
| • |
Use PantherHelp's
college selection guidelines
to help decide which college to attend. |
| • |
Check your credits
and schedule for the new year to be sure you are on track for graduation
and are meeting the requirements of the college you plan to attend.
Your transcript can be found on the report card you received at the
end of the year. Counselors do a graduation check, but the student
is ultimately resonsible for being sure he/she meets graduation
requirements. |
| • |
Check the HOPE GPA
on your report card that you received at the end of the school year.
Make sure you keep your grade pointaverage above the minimum. Learn
about the HOPE scholarship. |
| • |
Students should have
their list of colleges/technical
colleges narrowed to from 4 to 6. You should complete and
submit applications well before Thanksgiving. While some schools'
deadlines are in the spring or after, residence halls often
fill up early. Also, specific programs may have earlier deadlines.
Read tips
about writing application essays. |
| • |
If your applications
require essays, get started on them. Ask an English teacher to help
critique your work. |
| • |
Request scholarship
and financial aid information from each postsecondary institution
on your list. |
| • |
Look in the scholarship
file in the counseling office and check scholarship
information on the Internet. Write down all scholarships for which
you are eligible, along with their deadlines. Each time you obtain
an application, check immediately for needed recommendations, transcripts,
signatures, and take note of the deadlines. |
| • |
Most colleges, scholarship
organizations, and employers wnat to know about your activities in
high school. Create a resume for college application and/or employment
purposes. |
| • |
If you are planning
to participate in collegiate athletics and have not already registered
with the NCAA Clearinghouse, you should do that now. |
| September |
| • |
Complete college
applications and essays. Colleges and technical colleges that have
on-line applications prefer that you apply on line. Check
the college/technical websites to discover if on-line applications
are available. Read tips
about writing application essays. |
| • |
Request
transcripts from the counseling office be sent to schools to which
you are applying, or, bring your application and application fee to
the counseling office so that the transcript and application can be
sent as one package. |
| • |
Plan to visit the
colleges to which you've applied if you have not already done so.
You can obtain a college visit form from the counseling office. If
the form is returned at least seven days before your visit, a college
visit does not count as an absence from school for attendance or exam
exemption. Print
the college visit checklist from the College Board. |
| • |
If you are applying
to a technical college, take the ASSET test the college gives rather
than the SAT or ACT. The ASSET is given by the technical colleges. |
| • |
Know
the deadlines and test dates for the SAT and ACT. See
the dates and register on line.
|
| • |
Continue to check
the scholarship links in PantherHelp
and the files in the counseling office to see if new scholarships
have arrived. |
| • |
Sign up in the counseling
office or contact us via E-mail to meet with college representatives
as they visit Jackson County Comprehensive High School. To know when
they are coming, pay attention to the JCCHS televised and intercom
announcements. |
| October |
| • |
Keep
working on college applications if you have not completed them. Colleges
and technical colleges that have on-line applications prefer that
you apply on line. Check the college/technical
websites to discover if on-line applications are available. Read
tips
about writing application essays. |
| • |
Continue to check
the scholarship listings in the counseling office to see if new scholarships
have arrived. |
| • |
Know the deadlines
and test dates for the SAT and ACT. See the
dates and register on line.
|
| • |
Take the writing
portion of the Georgia High School Graduation Tests, if necessary. |
| • |
Plan to attend the
Athens Area PROBE Fair at Oconee County High School on Monday, October
4, or the North Georigia Fair at the Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville
on Tuesday, October 12. Both fairs will be held from 6:30 p.m. until
8:30 p.m. Representatives from over 100 colleges and technical colleges
will be there. |
| November |
| • |
College
applications should be completed and submitted. Colleges and technical
colleges that have on-line applications prefer that you apply on line.
Check the college/technical websites
to discover if on-line applications are available. Read tips
about writing application essays. |
| • |
Check to be
sure all recommendations have been completed and mailed. |
| • |
At the beginning
of the new year (after January), you should submit the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Parents and students should begin gathering family income information
for tax preparation now (November). In order to complete the FAFSA,
you must have your income taxes for the previous year completed. For
example, for the 2004/2005 school year, income tax information for
2003 is used. (The income tax forms do not have to be submitted before
completing the FAFSA.) |
| • |
Know
the deadlines and test dates for the SAT and ACT. See
the dates and register on line. |
| December |
| • |
Your
college applications should have already been submitted. If they haven't
been mailed SUBMIT THEM NOW! Read tips
about writing application essays. |
| • |
Continue
to gather information for the FAFSA. (See November for more information.)
The FAFSA application should be available in the counseling office
in December and you should obtain one. The FAFSA can be completed
on line, but it is
helpful to see the form ahead of time. Remember, the FAFSA can only
be completed after income tax information is known. |
| • |
Write thank
you notes to those who wrote recommendations for you. |
| • |
Know the deadlines
and test dates for the SAT and ACT. See the
dates and register on line.
|
| • |
Make sure you do
not lose credit due to excessive absences under the JCCHS attendance
policy. If you've missed over five days from any class for any
reason you must file an appeal. Information about the appeals process
will be available on the televised announcements, told to you by classroom
teachers, and distributed through PantherHelp's E-mailed newsletter.
|
| January |
| • |
Ask
the counseling office to mail mid-year grade reports to your colleges
if any require them. |
| • |
Be sure
you are still on track for graduation
and meeting the requirements of your colleges by checking your transcript
found on your end of semester report card and your schedule for second
semester. |
| • |
Check your HOPE GPA
on your report card to be certain you still qualify for the HOPE
scholarship. You can see the eligibility requirements by clicking
here. |
| • |
Continue to
work on gathering income tax information so you can complete the FAFSA
(Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The FAFSA should be completed
as soon as possible and can be completed on
line. For most people, it can't be done until early February after
W2s are provided by employers. For more information, see February. |
| • |
Know
the deadlines and test dates for the SAT and ACT. See
the dates and register on line.
|
| February |
| • |
Be
certain the FAFSA is completed and mailed or completed on
line. |
| • |
Know the deadlines
and test dates for the SAT and ACT. See
the dates and register on line.
|
| March |
| • |
Complete
the E-HOPE online application, or the paper
application. |
| • |
Be sure you
have mailed the FAFSA, or that you have completed it on
line. |
| • |
If
you receive acceptances from colleges, read the material carefully.
Many colleges require hat you return a signed acceptance of financial
aid by a deadline. Failure to do so may result in your losing financial
aid. |
| • |
Take the Georgia
High School Graduation Tests, if necessary. |
| • |
Know the deadlines
and test dates for the SAT and ACT. See the
dates and register on line.
|
| April |
| • |
Make
the final decision about postsecondary plans and/or institution. |
| • |
Know the deadlines
and test dates for the SAT and ACT. See the
dates and register on line.
|
| May |
| • |
Notify
colleges of your decision to enroll or not to enroll. |
| • |
During graduation
practice, sign up for the final transcript to be sent to the college
of choice. |
| • |
If you intend
to play college athletics, be sure the counseling office knows to
send your final transcript to the NCAA Clearinghouse. |
| • |
Know the deadlines
and test dates for the SAT and ACT. See the
dates and register on line.
|
