Junior Survival Skills for College Admissions Copyright © 2008 Panhandle-Plains Student Loan Center All rights reserved Skills and planning tips to prepare for the college admissions process.

Review Your Course Plan  Meet with your Guidance Counselor.  Review general admissions for your preferred colleges. (see  Add Dual Credit and/or AP courses.  Start thinking about reference letters.

Continue to Work Hard.  Stay focused on your courses and academics.  Keep volunteering.  Continue extracurricular activities

Those Pesky Tests.  PSAT®, NMSQT®, SAT®—  ACT®—  Visit the websites and stay in touch with your counselor.  It is recommended that Juniors start taking the ACT/SAT in the spring of their Junior year. Talk to your counselor.

Keep Reading  Read Daily— include a variety of material.  Keep up with current events, nationally, and world-wide.

College Fairs and Financial Aid Nights  Attend! Both you and your parents.  Listen carefully, ask questions and take notes.  Pick up information.  Use collected materials to narrow your list of possible colleges.

“Spring Things” to Do  Contact the colleges on your “short list”.  Pay attention to admission requirements and deadlines for admissions and financial aid.  Ask about scholarship application procedures for ALL types—general, unique, targeted, departmental, etc.

Why January 1 st is an important date.  The FAFSA and the Fafsa4caster become available.  Complete the fafsa4caster—  As a senior next year, you will need to complete the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1—

You and Your Parents Will Need a PIN. (Personal Identification Number)  This number is necessary for you to apply online electronically for both the fafsa4caster and the FAFSA.  Apply at  PIN numbers are now issued immediately after your request is submitted.

Beware!  There are websites that have FAFSA in the name.  You will be charged a fee, if you use these sites.  Never, pay for financial aid advise or to file a FAFSA.  The official FAFSA site is

Scholarship Searches  Continue your search for scholarships.  Pay close attention to qualifications and application deadlines.  Use free searches. Adventures in Education free search  College Board search 

Campus Visits  Plan visits to the schools on your short list.  Work with your guidance counselor for contact information and for advice in setting up the visit.  Check out the college Website Home Page for “Virtual Tours” possibilities.  Schedule visits to key departments: admissions, financial aid, housing, and academic departments.

Update your “Pre-College file”  Add reports of grades, volunteer, extracurricular activities and other relevant information.  Include brief descriptive notes of each activity—note the value you received.

Continue to do investigation into scholarships.  Don’t forget to look locally. Civic clubs, booster clubs at your high school, non-profit organizations.  Always use free scholarships searches Never pay for scholarship searches or financial aid advice.  Search free at: Adventures in Education  College Board 

Web Resources:  Adventures in Education, a Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corp. (TG) supported site — FAFSA information, calculators, financial aid calendar, weekly newsletter, FREE scholarship search, web resources, state resources, check lists, and planning guides.  Also powered by AIE— —contains excellent information on college planning, career information, finding a college, and paying for college.

More web resources:  Know How 2 Go. A site sponsored by the American Counsel on Education (ACE) and the Lumina Foundation for Education.  Planning tips for college by grade level.  Windows on State Government. Supported by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.  Link to the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation: Compendium of Texas Colleges and Financial Aid Calendar. The Compendium gives admissions and financial aid information for individual colleges and universities in Texas. It is a good planning tool.

More website resources:  Websites with information on Texas colleges:  There is valuable information on preparing for, applying for, and paying for college. Information for students and parents is also available on the site. It is worth the time you would spend on this site. Supported by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.  Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation: Compendium of Texas Colleges and Financial Aid Calendar. Sponsored by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

This program sponsored by Panhandle-Plains Student Loan Center.  For more information visit:  Click on the student or parent tab for helpful planning information.