Trying to put together the plan for high school and college. Check out this website at Knowhow2go.org to plan and see success stories. Take it from a peer!
Below find a yearly plannning tool which is a little more specific to JCHS.
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·Building
a flexible schedule of classes based on career goals. Get in to college
prep classes. Don’t fall in the trap of thinking taking easier classes
will help you get a higher GPA. Taking challenging courses looks
better on a college application. Classes you take freshman year are
just as important as the ones you take senior year.
· Consider taking interest
inventories to explore your career interests. There are many free
inventories on-line. Visit Kuder
or Tennessee Career Interest Inventory.
Still unsure of a career direction then try job shadowing a person to explore
options. See Mrs. Potter in the Career Technical Education office
for more details.
· Get involved!
Join extracurricular activities and community service organizations.
Look for flyers advertising meetings, visit clubs during activity period,
use your handbook to find out who sponsors various clubs.
· Start building your
School Profile or Resume. Keep track of activities, awards, and involvement
in school and around the community. This is a great tool when completing
scholarships, college applications, and when asking for recommendation
letters.
· Get to know your teachers,
upperclassmen and your school counselor. Use teachers and older students
as mentors. They know how things work around the school and know
what it takes to prepare for college. Your counselor assists you
with what you need to do over the next four years to prepare for post secondary
training.
· Find out about summer
jobs and/or volunteer experiences.
· Begin scholarship search.
Federal, state, college/technical school, private funding. Many scholarships
for freshman revolve around academics (reading a book and writing an essay),
community service (volunteer work), essays based on your opinion or creative
writing samples. Pace yourself-fewer students put forth the effort
for these scholarships so your odds are higher!
· Re-evaluate your class
selections to make sure you are meeting college/technical school requirements
for admission. Find out about AP classes. Be sure to take advanced
classes to qualify for Beta or Honor Societies. Ask about articulation
of coursework to local community colleges or technical schools.
· Take the PLAN-an interest
inventory created through ACT that helps you begin to link classes with
careers. Consider Job Shadowing so you can get an idea of various
careers. You can spend a day with a professional who can offer valuable
insight about their job and what training is needed to succeed.
· Explore college catalogs
and other materials including financial aid. Use the Internet to find out
what schools offer your preferred major. Start thinking about priorities
for school-size, location, cost, degrees offered. Visit schools over
the summer.
· Update your School
Profile with awards, honors, and athletic information. Focus in on
a few extracurricular activities and really make a difference.
· Continue participation
in enrichment programs-leadership, volunteer, summer jobs. Sign up
for Leadership or Service Learning class when registering for classes.
· Keep thinking about
scholarships!
· Interested in military
academy-start making contacts now. Military academies require a nomination
from a Congressman or State representative. Establish these contacts
now and begin the screening process for nominations.
· Consider Governor’s
School as a summer activity. Sign up in November with a school counselor.
·
Take
the PSAT to prepare you for college entrance exams. This test
may also qualify you for certain scholarships. National Merit Scholarship
is based on PSAT scores.
· Take SAT and/or ACT
test to practice taking entrance exams. Take ASVAB Career Exploration
to help you develop your career interests. Use PLATO practice tests or
visit prep websites for additional preparation materials.
· Maintain your grades.
Many colleges base GPA for entrance on end of junior year. Be sure
required classes are nearly completed.
· Develop a list of postsecondary
schools. Talk with admissions representatives during college fairs.
(Smoky Mountain Counseling Association College Fair held in Knoxville in
the evening mid October.)
· Make an impact in your
club or organization-run for office. Colleges are looking for students
with leadership skills.
· Scholarships!
Many are designed specifically for juniors on the ball! (Discover
Scholarship)
· Athletes-NCAA Clearinghouse
eligibility-check out the requirements. Write to coaches at your
target schools. Create a highlight tape and relevant articles.
Art, drama, engineer, architect-start
developing your portfolio, audition tapes, writing samples or other evidence
of talent. Update your school profile.
· Develop contacts in
school and community for writing recommendation letters. Remember
to keep your school profile handy to assist the author of these letters.
· Try Job Shadowing a
professional in a similar line of work or setting to compare work duties.
· Military academy: make
contacts with admission boards. Contact Congressman to finalize paperwork
for nominations.
· Read college mail you
are starting to receive. Over the summer visit schools for your interest.
· Spring: Review
previous SAT and/or ACT scores and sign up to take test again. As
you sign up for seniors year classes remember to explore AP class options
and/or dual enrollment courses. (TSAC education lottery money is
available to assist with cost of dual enrollment classes.)
· Summer: Practice writing
essays for college admissions. Decide if you are going to apply for
early admission to a college. Check deadlines for admissions for colleges.
Make a timeline of deadlines for Senior year. Consider Governor’s
School or other Leadership development activities.
· September-registration
deadline for October ACT/SAT. Ask your school counselor about the
one time fee waiver offered at JCHS. NMSQT semi-finalist announced.
Considering graduating early then see Mrs. Stacie France in counseling
office for details.
Review transcript and courses
to be sure you have met all requirements for graduation and for your particular
college admissions or technical school admissions. Narrow down your
lists of schools. Be sure you have “safe” and “reach” and realistic
schools. Request applications from schools early.
· October-College Fairs
(Carson Newman and others in the area) VISIT! Make final contacts
with Admission representatives.
Request teacher and counselor
recommendations. Provide a copy of your School Profile so your recommendation
can be personalized.
Complete Early Action/Early
Decision applications. Many merit based scholarship applications
due at this time also (i.e. UTK)
Prepare for and take ACT/SAT.
Be sure you have scores sent to your top schools.
Make contact with recruiting
officers for military options. Apply for ROTC options at various
colleges. Sit for Boards for military academies.
Scholarships search is
ongoing!
· November-Registration
for SAT subject tests. Registration for December ACT/SAT.
Attend Financial Aid night at
JCHS usually held end of October.
Attend Career Fair at Expo Center
(in conjunction with TTC and WSCC) Career Expo is a great way to
find out about apprentice programs or on the job training programs.
Assist parents with CSS Profile
for colleges that require it.
Continue to request recommendations
for applications.
Remember to keep up your grades.
Schools do not want to see Senioritis affects.
Consider job shadowing with
professional. See Mrs. Potter for details.
· December-Write essays
and complete applications for colleges with January/February deadlines.
Remember JCHS is closed over Holidays so request needed information early.
Talk with visiting high school
alumni about their college experiences. Finalize references and turn
school profile into a working resume.
· January-Students and
parents can submit FAFSA. Send in early. FAFSA also qualifies
you for Education Lottery Scholarship money from TSAC.
Continue searching for scholarships.
Contact colleges and technical schools directly for financial aid.
· February-Be sure all
necessary information is sent to colleges. Follow up on your application
packet.
· March-You will begin
to receive financial aid award letters. Perhaps re-visit your top
choices.
Many local scholarships have
Spring deadlines.
· April- Choose a school
that fits your needs. Review financial aid packages and talk with
financial aid officers. Notify college of your decision to attend and send
deposit.
· May and June-Thank
teachers who wrote recommendation letters. Notify colleges you did
not choose so they can admit others.
Make final preparation contacts
for military service.
Ask JCHS to send final transcript
to school of your choice.
· July and August-Work
to help pay for college and have spending money!
Read and stay ready for college
or technical school.
Attend orientation meetings
offered by college or technical school.