Senior Year Checklist | MCS Counselor

1.

SENIOR YEAR

College & Career Checklist

Summer- October

Visit colleges that interest you! With the recent pandemic, COVID-19, there are now many colleges that are doing virtual tours. If you are unable to visit campuses, try these sources for virtual tours:

Submit Your FAFSA!!! You will be able to submit your FAFSA starting October 1st! This step is VERY important for grant money. Money is first come first serve. This needs to be done to meet school and state aid deadlines and to be eligible for the most amount of aid. Go to www.fafsa.edu.goc. Remember the FAFSA is FREE to fill out. NEVER pay a fee to submit your FAFSA. Keep copies of all the forms you submit. You will need your prior, prior taxes done before you can complete the FAFSA. A parent and student will have to fill out the FAFSA information online. KEEP YOUR LOGIN INFORMATION! You will need it EVERY YEAR to fill out the FAFSA again. If you are unable to fill out the FAFSA online, there is also a paper form.

Finalize your list of colleges. Be sure your list includes "safe" schools as well as "reach" and realistic schools. Go to college websites and be aware of ALL ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS (Be aware that all colleges are different). Contact colleges to let them know you are interested. Gather application materials for colleges and scholarships. Organize materials into separate files by the college. Consider creating and keeping a spreadsheet to track college and scholarship information.

Create A Common Application account at www.commonapp.org. Depending on where you are wanting to apply- this application can cover several colleges with one app! BUT make sure the colleges you are interested in are on this site. If they aren't there is no need to fill this out!

Keep a calendar of all admission and scholarship deadlines and other important dates. PAY ATTENTION TO DEADLINES!

If you plan on competing in Division I or II college sports and want to be eligible to be recruited by colleges, you must register with the NCAA Clearinghouse here.

Take part in activities you enjoy and add them to your college and scholarship applications, ie: volunteering, jobs, internships, passions, etc...

If an essay is required or recommended for a college or scholarship application, work on it now! This will save you a great deal of time during your busy senior year.

Keep your grades up! Fall grades are important for mid-year reports!

Be careful not to slack 2nd semester! Some colleges will take back scholarships if your grades decline too much 2nd semester.

Start working on a resume. Some colleges will ask for this.

Research college majors and careers. You can do this at Alabama Kuder. Your username is your first name middle initial and last name altogether as one word. Your password is leopards (lowercase).

Continue to take the ACT, SAT, or the CLT Exam. This is the #1 way to receive college scholarships! More on this in the testing section of this website.

Research College Scholarships at: Current website, emails from your counselor throughout the school year, the MCS Counselor Connection Facebook Page, Remind 101 app (I will need your cell phone number for this), Financial Aid and Scholarships webpages of your top choice colleges, www.fastweb.com, www.scholarships.com, www.cappex.com.

Scholarship deadlines are typically between October and April of your senior year.

Get started on your applications right away if you plan to apply through an Early Decision or Early Action Program. Deadlines for early applications tend to fall in October or November.

Mrs. Shay Moore (your Life Skills teacher) and Kara Hodges can assist you through the application process if needed, so keep us informed!

Get organized! If you haven't already. Organize your spreadsheets of colleges, scholarships, etc. Create a calendar of deadlines!

Begin asking for letters of recommendation to include with your admissions and or scholarship applications. Ask advisors, teachers, coaches, and employers. Give them plenty of time to meet your deadlines and make sure to provide them with stamped and addressed envelopes. Ask people who KNOW YOU WELL. They are the ones that can write the best recommendation letters and make them personal!

Attend college fair events! MCS is supposed to host the 2020 college fair. It will be in the fall. No dates are set at this time.

Meet with Admissions Representatives from colleges and universities. They will be coming to your lunch waves.

Continue or Start working on your college essays. Write essays that focus on your experiences and make you stand out from the crowd.

Update (or continue) working on your resume.

Take charge in your extra-curricular activities and continue to demonstrate leadership.

Study, practice, and CONTINUE to take the ACT, SAT, or CLT! Continue to try to raise your score!

Visit your top school choices/ go on their virtual tours. Talk to some current students, faculty, and staff if possible.

Find out which financial aid applications your college choices require. Their admission advisors can tell you this.

NOVEMBER

College Application Deadlines are approaching. Make sure you know and follow the deadlines to have paperwork turned in.

Make sure you are working on your community service hours (a graduation requirement)! Log them in your Mobileserve app. You can find Mobileserve information in the Resources Tab.

Search and apply for scholarships. Check in the Scholarship Tab for Local scholarships. Also, continue to check in the Senior News email and the MCS counselor Connection Facebook page for updates.

Double-check college admission and financial aid priority deadlines. Colleges will not determine financial/scholarships until you have been admitted.

Remember student and parent should create an account on FAFSA. Go to https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa to create your accounts. Also, remember to KEEP YOUR LOGIN INFORMATION! You will need it every year.

All males must apply for Selective Service Registration to receive financial aid. More details at www.sss.gov

DECEMBER

Confirm materials have been received by colleges, including letters of recommendation, official test scores, and transcripts. You can contact the admissions office at the college you will be attending. They do not let me know what all they have received.

You can find free Financial Aid Calculators on many college websites.

Watch deadlines for scholarship applications. Continue to search and apply for scholarships.

Some colleges include your first-semester grades as part of your application folder. This is called the mid-year grade report.

To request transcripts from MCS to be sent to colleges, please go to www.parchment.com. For information about creating your Parchment account, please go to the Resources Tab. For college/DE transcripts, you can go here. You can get your 10th and 11th grade DE classes sent as well. The website will give you step by step instructions on how to request them. You will need to wait until May when your final grades are in to request any DE transcripts from Senior Year.

FEBRUARY

Contact your college and confirm that all necessary application materials have been received.

Rolling admissions may be an option but WATCH February 15th financial aid deadlines, some scholarship deadlines are even earlier. make sure you know and follow the deadlines to have paperwork turned into the college ou are applying.

Be careful with Senioritis! Colleges want to see strong second semester grades!

Community Service Deadline is quickly approaching! Make sure you turn your hours in (20 per year for Honos, 10 for College Prep).

MARCH

Visit colleges to which you have been accepted if you still need help making a decision!
Turn your community service hours in! Remember this is a graduation requirement!
Take to ACT again if needed for extra scholarship money.

APRIL

Many award decisions and financial aid award letters arrive this month, read everything you receive carefully, as some of it may require action on your part.
Didn't get into the college you wanted? On the Waiting List? Call the admissions office and ask if you can be admitted conditionally. Let them know of your continued interest in the college and update them on your spring semester grades and activities. Fill out the necessary paperwork to do so and get it back to them ASAP!
Compare Award letters from colleges.
Make a final decision on a school and submit enrollment forms and deposit checks before May 1st!
Sign and return award letter/financial aid packages by the deadline.
Notify each of the schools to which you were accepted that you will not be attending in writing so that your spot can be freed up for another student. Send them a thank you for helping you with this process.
If you are not planning on going to college, meet with me to let me know your plans and discuss your options.

MAY

Study hard for final exams!
Request from MCS, Faulkner University, and the University of Mobile (if you took DE classes) your final transcripts. Let us know what college you will be attending so we can send the transcript to the correct college! MCS transcripts- request through Parchment. Student Clearing House for college transcripts.
Take the ACT again if there is a possibility for more scholarship money.
Make sure you have turned in ALL your service hours for graduation!
Thank your advisors, teachers, coaches, and anyone else who wrote you recommendations or otherwise helped with your college applications.
Finalize summer plans: work, internships, travel, community service, etc.
Finalize your housing plans for next year and shop for items you will need.
Sign up for and attend orientation (even if it is online orientation!) at the college you will be attending in the fall.
Graduate!