• Sign up with your counselor the beginning of the school year.

• Check your senior year curriculum. Are you meeting the admission requirements for the schools in which you are most interested?
• Meet with your counselor, with or without your parents, to discuss colleges you are considering and review admission requirements for each of them.
• Review your career plans and decide which type of college is right for you - large or small, public or private, two-year or four-year. Narrow your choices to the top 3 or 4 colleges in which your are most interested.
• Visit the counseling department for in-state, and out-of-state college catalogues, college applications, financial and scholarship information.
• Begin your scholarship searches now.
• Register to take the SAT I or ACT at the earliest dates. If you must take the SAT II test, take the SAT I in November and the SAT II in December.
• Check to see which is the preferred test for your colleges.
• Athletes who plan to play Division I or II sports at NCAA institutions should file the initial eligibility forms at this time. You will need to meet GPA and core course requirements to qualify.

SAT and ACT test dates vary from year to year.

Visit the counseling office for specific dates.

Dates will also be given to seniors during his/her senior contract at the beginning of the school year.

Thomas Jefferson School Code is 060-457

To register online for SAT go to www.collegeboard.com

To register online for ACT go to www.actstudent.org

October

• Attend the Out-of-State College Night.
• Attend the workshops at Cherry Creek High School
• Attend the In-State College Fair at TJ.
• Make sure you give recommended forms to your counselor and teachers AT LEAST 2 weeks before the application deadline.
• Even if you are not applying for early decision, apply as early as you can to the colleges of your choice. Obtain financial aid information from those colleges: review information, application procedures and deadline dates carefully.
• When asking someone to write a recommendation for you be sure to provide an addressed, stamped envelope with the forms.
• Be sure to express your thanks to those who spend a great amount of time required to write these recommendations.
• It is a good idea to outline your essay this month.
• Search for community based educational grants and private scholarships.
• If you have not yet narrowed your choice of colleges, now is the time to do so.

November

• November 1-15: Applications are due at most colleges that use "Early Decision" admissions
• Remember, teachers and counselors must have a minimum of 2 weeks to write your recommendations.
• Before completing the final copy of your essay, please allow your English teacher to critique it.
• If you have not already written for college applications for out-of-state colleges, it is time to do so.
• All applications to colleges should be submitted through your counselor.

December

• Continue submitting applications to colleges in which you are most interested.
• If you have a January 1st deadline date to submit an application, recommendation forms should be in the hands of the teachers and counselors by December 1st. DO NOT EXPECT TEACHERS AND COUNSELORS TO SPEND THEIR WINTER BREAK WRITING RECOMMENDATIONS! IT WILL NOT HAPPEN.
• Pick up your financial aid application, (the FAFSA), from the counseling office or go to www.fafsa.ed.gov (DO NOT COMPLETE UNTIL AFTER JANUARY 1).
• Assemble family W-2s and initiate completion of federal tax returns for use in completing the FAFSA.
• Watch the mail for admission decisions or requests for additional information. Replying to requests for additional information promptly will speed up the admissions process. An application can be placed on "terminal hold" while waiting for additional information to be submitted.

January

• Complete and submit your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon after January 1 as possible.
• Check with your choice of colleges on additional financial aid forms that may need to be submitted.
• Attend financial aid programs in your area to get additional financial aid questions answered.

February

• Men who are 18 years old must register for the draft. You must prove draft registration in order to receive financial aid.
• Make sure that your mid-year transcripts are sent to the schools to which you have applied. DO NOT PUT YOUR RETURN ADDRESS ON THE ENVELOPE.

March

• Review your Student Aid Report (SAR) for accuracy and make any necessary changes.
• Continue to apply and search for scholarships, summer jobs and internships.

April

• Watch the mail for college acceptance letters and financial aid award letters.
• If you have listed your schools in order of preference and you have a positive response from the school that is your first choice, you can now "confirm" your intent to attend that institution. If you are still undecided, you should make arrangements to visit your top choices once more.
• If you have been put on a waiting list by a college of choice you may want to consider calling the admissions office to see how you may strengthen your application.

May

• You must confirm your intent to attend a college by May 1st and submit your admission deposit as soon as possible.
• You also may have already received a financial aid award letter from each of your choice institutions by this time. With this information and the information you already have regarding your schools you should be able to make a final decision as to where you will go to school.
• Notify the colleges you decide not to attend.
• Notify your college about outside scholarships, grants or other funding you have been awarded.
• Fill out request to send final records to the college you have chosen.
• Keep your eyes on the mail for information about housing and orientation schedules. Be careful, to meet all deadlines set down by the institution for submitting required materials.

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