What are things you must do your senior year?

Welcome to Fluther.

As soon as school starts, talk to your counselor about the college application process and timing. Ask you counselor on guidance on choosing schools, especially if you have an unusual area of study you’re looking for. They can also help with financial aid and finding scholarships.

Also, find out now when the various tests are and get signed up. Take the SAT early if you haven’t already, so that you can take it again if you need to. Depending on how you have done in the past, at least get an SAT prep book with practice tests, or, if you can afford it, take a prep course.

Two important things: be as involved in everything as much as you can- go to dances, get to know the opposite sex if you haven’t dated, enjoy it as much as you can. But don’t let your grades down.

This is a year of bonding and separating. Create good memories, enjoy your life, and get ready to fly off your own next summer.

Umm, I was coming in to say you must participate in Senior Skip Day.

Okay, so you need to fill out the FAFSA. That is probably the main determining factor for Federal student financial aid eligibility – loans, Pell Grants, work study. A lot of colleges use that for awarding their own scholarships and grants, too. Apply ASAP after January 1 of your graduation year.

You should also research local scholarships and grants. There are a lot given out by counties, foundations, companies, community organizations. They may not be large sums, but even $500 will pay for books. (Your guidance counselor should know about many of these.) Look for ones directed toward your intended course of study.

I wouldn’t worry about a resume right now. In fact, I would wait until you have almost graduated unless you need one to apply for internships – but I still wouldn’t worry about it now or during the beginning of Freshman year.

Have fun and enjoy this time of your life as much as you can.

Graduate.

I think most importantly, when it comes to preparing for college, don’t let anyone tell you where you should go to school, what you should study and major in, what your alternative schools should be, what clubs you should join or how you should plan out your college experience. This is your life. It’s not up to your guidance counselors or your parents. Follow your passions and do what’s best for you and your happiness and well-being.

And if I can just be a bad influence for a moment, teepee all of the school administrator’s homes after graduation. That’s what I did in place of the Senior Cruise. In fact, fuck the Senior Cruise. It’s cliquey and boring.

Good luck!

Talk to your counselor, apply for scholarships, a lot of scholarships, even if its a 500 dollar scholarship, it’s money! Apply for the FAFSA and any other financial aid your counselor advises you to apply for. Visit the campuses you’re considering if it’s possible. And most importantly, don’t screw up now! Do well in all your classes and don’t do anything that may jeopardize your admission to a campus. You already have a head start by showing that you care so don’t worry too much about it. Take care of business but also make sure you enjoy your senior year. Someday you will miss it so make it memorable.

My answer’s gonna assume you’re in the US because…well…I don’t know what the process is elsewhere!

If you haven’t already, take the SAT or ACT until you get a score you’re happy with.
Visit schools you’re interested in and take tours and ask questions. Learn as much as you can about them and start figuring out which ones suit you best, offer what you want, etc. Make sure you have a “safety school” that you can definitely get into and afford.
Apply for scholarships. Check out websites like cappex.com (verify their validity first), and ask your guidance counselor if there are any local scholarships you can apply for. Apply for loans if you need to. Fill out the FAFSA and, if needed, the CSS Profile.
Apply to the colleges. The deadline is usually around the new year. Get some favorite teachers to write your recommendations, and look over your essay and make suggestions.
Once your acceptances and financial aid packages come in is when you have to make the Big Decision. It isn’t easy! Weigh affordability vs. how well the school matches the criteria that are important to you. You usually have to decide by May 1.
It’s smooth sailing from there. :) Good luck!

Everyone else has really laid out the particulars, but I would further stress the importance of visiting the prospective institutions and talking to currently enrolled students as well as faculty. Try to find a student aside from the one giving you the tour; the work study students may be a little biased in terms of their “sales pitch” (i.e., they want you to come to their school). I teach at a small liberal arts college in NH and in my conversations with potential students I’m often not so much trying to glean their interests/career goals, but rather how they view the world. Although academic majors, career aspirations, personal interests and the like will shift, there are overarching methods of approaching higher education at different institutions. Consequently, if a student doesn’t feel they are a good match for our particular school and its mission, I encourage them to explore personally why that is and how they might benefit from being in an environment that will challenge their systems of belief, their perspective on the world, etc. all in the aim of cultivating critical thinking skills. These are more abstract notions of preparing for college but they are, in my opinion, of equal importance. Good luck and the fact that you’ve even asked these questions shows to me you are invested in the importance of the overall decision – no doubt you’ll do great!

Everyone has given great suggestions- take them seriously. I teach high school seniors, so my suggestions come from watching year after year of seniors troop through.

Relax your worries about what other people think and have fun. Dance hard at your homecoming and prom. Laugh hard with friends. Go to the games and cheer loudly. Don’t be afraid to be goofy. Try a new sport or club you’ve been looking at. If you’re in choir, sing hard. And keep your grades up.
I can’t advise you to party hard… I lost some good friends that way over the years, but yes, enjoy your last year of “freedom.”
Next year, people will expect a lot from you. School will no longer be free. Your friends and you will have to put responsibilities before fun. Consequences will be more severe. Don’t waste your last year worrying about drama, gossip, what people think, backstabbers, the eye-rollers who tsk tsk tsk everything. In a year, those will be gone too! :)