• Familiarize yourself with high school graduation requirements and college prep opportunities. 

• Develop an EDP (Educational Development Plan) for your four years of high school and beyond. 

• Take advantage of elective classes to explore interests that may lead to career possibilities. 

• Start doing volunteer work for your 40-hour requirement; this is another opportunity to find out about the world of work.

• Attend Financial Aid Night.

• You can get a "reality check" with the PSAT 8/9, which is given to all freshmen in April. This is a pre-SAT test and is designed to benefit all ninth grade students. The experience of taking the test, combined with sound course selection, will help you perform your best when you take the SAT assessment for college. It also provides excellent feedback on your academic progress. Your teachers will assist you in making the best use of your results, and you will have Khan Academy to help improve your skills.

• You will take the PSAT 10, which is given to all sophomores in April, and you will be able to assess and improve your academic performance.

• Find out what the entrance requirements are for the colleges in which you are interested or what skills are needed for the job you want to do after high school. Make sure you're on track. Attend College Planning Night and Financial Aid Night.

• Consider finding employment for the upcoming summer, or look into enrichment opportunities at colleges or camps for high school students. The Counseling Office maintains a list of these as they come to our attention.

• Start or update an academic resume.

• Consider putting together a portfolio that highlights your special skills and talents

• 
  This is the year that you can start attending the meetings with college representatives. Check the Daily Announcements to find out when the representatives from various colleges and the military will be coming to speak with prospective students. Teresa Bonamie sends emails to you with links to the sign-up forms.

• Check the announcements daily for information on seminars offered by the Counseling Office on topics such as the common application and college essay writing.

• This year you will take the SAT in April. Make sure to take advantage of the A.C.E. class to help you prepare to do your best.  

• Visit the colleges you are considering. Many of them offer special days for prospective students, and all of them will be happy to set you and your parents up for a campus tour if you call the admissions office.

• Check the large scholarship databases for scholarships, and prepare your applications during the summer.

• Consider taking a course at the Career and Technical Education Center at Wexford-Missaukee. Courses are also described in the Curriculum Guide and range from auto mechanics to health occupations. This is a great way to get a "jump start" on a career.

• Sign up to take the ASVAB if it is necessary for your future plans.

• Attend Financial Aid Night.

• Explore your options with Xello (formerly careercruising.com) and other websites; stop in the Media Center and look at the vocational biographies; check out the career books in the Counseling Office.

• Attend "Meet the Grads" on the day we get out for Christmas break.

• Talk to your teachers and other adults about the colleges they attended or the jobs that they do. Adults love to give you advice.

• Make sure you have completed all the graduation requirements.

• Apply early in the fall to the colleges of your choice.

• Ask for personal references from teachers, school counselors or employers early in the year or at least two weeks before application deadlines.

• Check the list of scholarships which is posted on this website. Also check online with www.fastweb.com and other such sites. (See the "Websites for Parents & Students" page.)

• Local scholarship applications will be available in late February. Check in the Counseling Office.

• Attend Financial Aid Night. File a FAFSA as soon as possible after October 1.

• Keep working hard all year: second and third trimester grades can affect scholarship eligibility.

• Ask the Counseling Office in January to send second trimester transcripts to schools where you applied. In May, ask them to send final transcripts to the college you will attend.

• If you are going to college, attend the "Surviving College" seminar put on by the counselors in May.

• If you are entering the workforce, prepare a resume that highlights all the skills and knowledge that you will bring to your employer. Start applying for jobs.

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