College Planning Guide

College Planning Calendar for Seniors

COLLEGE ADVISOR: See your college advisor early. An early consultation can help you avoid certain pitfalls that cannot be identified in catalogs and other college materials. Examples include:

• schools of business, engineering, journalism, drama, and other special programs that might close well before the official application deadline
• schools where housing fills very early
• schools that sometimes stop processing applications before the deadline
• schools with “priority deadlines” that allow you to learn of an admissions decision sooner

EARLY APPLICATION DEADLINES: Be sure you tell your college advisor if you are planning applications involving any of the following:

• Early Action, Early Decision, Early Notification
• applications to colleges or universities with rolling admissions
• any other applications with especially early deadlines

COLLEGE APPLICATIONS: It is the student’s responsibility to obtain applications and any other materials which might be required from a college in which you may have a serious interest. Applications can sometimes be found in the College Guidance Office. Many colleges enable students to download applications or file applications on-line, and the computer in the Student Lounge is available to students for those purposes.

**Special Note : If you apply on-line, we strongly urge you to download and print-out a hard copy of the application so that you may read, in full, the section that includes directions to applicants. This section contains critical information regarding the number of teacher recommendations required, how one should submit board scores, etc.

A MERICAN C OLLEGE T ESTING PROGRAM: The ACT is an alternative testing program that is different from the SAT and growing in popularity with students and colleges. Unlike the SAT, the ACT has a section on science. Another difference is that the ACT does not subtract fractions of points for incorrect answers – in other words, guessing is encouraged after one narrows down the answer choices. Interested families may consult with their college advisor about the appropriateness of taking this additional test. Like the SAT, the ACT has several national test dates, and there are a few testing centers in the area. Registration materials are available at www.act.org

SAT: Register for the October SAT. We advise most seniors to take the SAT at least once during the senior year because research shows that this is the time when most students receive their highest score.

COLLEGE REPRESENTATIVES: Confer with college representatives visiting Steiner. This is the closest experience to an interview that some colleges grant. Many visiting representatives tell us that when they are considering candidates in committee meetings, they remember students from these sessions. It is especially important to visit with a representative if you have a strong interest in the college, and a follow-up thank-you note would also help to reinforce your interest. A list of colleges visiting the school, including date and time of the visit, is available on the College Guidance web site.

COLLEGE FAIRS: Listen/Look for announcements reminding you about high school college fairs that take place in late September.

NCAA CLEARINGHOUSE: Seniors who expect to play Division I or Division II sports at the college level and who have not yet registered with the Clearinghouse should register on line at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net.

October

ACT: Register for the December ACT, if required or recommended by the college of your choice.

SAT: Register for the December SAT Reasoning Test or SAT Subject Tests if you are planning to take either. It is the student’s responsibility to know whether his or her colleges require particular achievement tests for admission; e.g. Writing, or Chemistry and/or Physics for engineering or science.

COLLEGE APPLICATIONS: You should be well into the business of getting college applications underway. November 1 and November 15 are the most common early deadlines. Your requests for supporting documents from the college office should be submitted as soon as you can, but no later than three weeks before a deadline. It is also important to begin meeting with your college advisor as soon as possible in order to allow plenty of time for the gathering of information that will be helpful in presenting you to colleges.

COLLEGE REPS: Continue to meet with college representatives visiting Steiner.

REPORTING SCORES TO COLLEGES: Most colleges require that you have your official test score report sent directly and electronically to the college from the College Board or the ACT. College Board sends scores to four colleges as part of the test fee (you designate these four colleges on the registration form). For a fee, additional reports can be sent to other colleges. Failure to have your scores sent to colleges that require them will delay processing or make you ineligible for consideration. Some colleges make it a practice to notify students if scores are missing, but many do not. Please remember to keep track of each college’s requirements and deadlines.

It is not possible to send only certain parts of your SAT-I scores to colleges. However, most colleges will use your highest verbal and your highest math when considering your application, even if these scores were not generated on the same test date.

FINANCIAL AID: Check once more to verify any financial aid deadlines you must meet. The federal form you need to apply for financial aid (the “Free Application for Federal Student Aid”, commonly referred to as the FAFSA) usually becomes available about this time of year. Both the FAFSA(required by all colleges) and the College Scholarship Service’s “Profile” (required by only certain colleges) are available in the Guidance Office. Parents may also complete the on-line version of the FAFSA after January 1 st at www.fafsa.ed.gov. You may not submit the FAFSA until after January 1 of the student’s senior year because you will need your current year W-2 and tax information to complete the form.

December

APPLICATION DEADLINES: Ideally, most applications should be submitted to your college advisor for processing by December 1. December 1 is also our deadline for material due to the colleges by January 1, and December 15 is our preferred deadline for material due January 15, although January 15 materials can be submitted the first day school resumes in January. In general, we need three weeks to completely process the supporting documents associated with your application. Students who have not met these in-house deadlines should be sure that their own portion of the application reaches the college by the due date, and the Guidance Office will submit its portion as soon as possible. School-processed materials may reach a college beyond a stated deadline, but the student's application must be received by the college on time.

January

APPLICATION DEADLINES: January 1 and 15 are the two most common deadlines that occur this month. The first day back from the holiday break is our deadline for material due to the colleges on February 1.

COLLEGE DECISIONS: Some students will begin learning of decisions from certain colleges. Notify your college advisor of these decisions, as it is important that we have a current idea of your standing.

GRADES: First-semester grades will be sent to any colleges to which you have applied that have not yet informed you of a decision.

February/March

CLASSROOM WORK: It is important to maintain the level of academic and extra-curricular performance that resulted/will result in your being accepted by colleges. Most of your acceptance letters will advise you that the college may withdraw its offer of admission if your performance deteriorates. This is not an idle threat on the part of colleges--several students in the past have had offers of admission rescinded after the college has received a final transcript in June.

COLLEGE DECISIONS: Continue to notify your college advisor or the Registrar of admission decisions. If you accept a college's offer of admission, call, write, or e-mail all of the other colleges to which you have applied and withdraw your application from consideration. Doing so is not just a courtesy--it is an expectation outlined in the Student's Rights and Responsibilities section of the NACAC's Statement of Principles of Good Practice. By withdrawing your application from a college, you are opening up a spot for another deserving student.

April/May

COLLEGE DECISIONS: April is the big month for many college decisions. If you have not already done so, you must decide on what college to choose (see “College Replies” section below). You must also notify colleges whose offers of admission you will not be accepting.

CHOOSING YOUR COLLEGE: Choosing a college is a student and family decision. Your college advisor cannot decide the best college for you, but the advisor can be supportive and helpful while you deliberate. Most college admission professionals believe that it is essential for prospective students to spend an overnight on campus as part of the decision-making process.

The college advisor also cannot decide which is your best financial aid offer but is willing to help you deliberate.

COLLEGE REPLIES: The normal deadline for replying to most colleges is May 1. We urge you to reply as early as possible. Some colleges insist that the reply reach them by May 1 rather than being postmarked by May 1. Be certain to return all the necessary forms to the college you plan to attend. These include housing forms and questionnaires, health forms, and occasionally a course selection preregistration form.

DOUBLE DEPOSITING: You will need to make a deposit somewhere by May 1, even if you are waiting for the results of a waiting list at another college. However, it is unethical to make deposits at more than one college and wait until later in the summer to make a final decision. We will not send more than one final transcript on behalf of a student, and if we become aware of double depositing, we are obligated professionally to notify both colleges. The typical response from colleges is to withdraw both offers of admission. Many colleges are now sharing their deposit lists.

WAITING LISTS: Being on the "wait list" at your highest-choice college is a frustrating experience. You must deposit at a second-choice college and then wait for your wait-list college to decide whether it needs to turn to its wait list in order to fill its class. Professional standards pressure colleges to make all of their wait list decisions no later than August I. Unfortunately, there is often a lot of wait list activity during August. This guide is not the place to detail the unacceptable behaviors on the part of colleges relative to wait lists, so be sure to work closely with your college advisor to understand your situation and to avoid certain pitfalls.

INFORMING US OF YOUR DECISION: Be sure to tell your college advisor of your final choice of college. We will automatically send a final transcript to the college you will attend at the end of June. Your choice of college, and the other colleges to which you are accepted or denied, are considered a private matter, so we do not release any information about college decisions without the expressed permission of each senior.