No matter what year of high school you're in, you can use this calendar of sorts to know what you need to do and when to do it!

Freshman Year

•  Keep your grades up. They qualify you for scholarships as well as admission into college. In fact, ninth-, 10th- and 11th-grade are the most important years (and the main ones looked at by colleges) for getting good grades.
•  Schedule an appointment with your guidance counselor.
•  Discuss your post-graduation options. 
•  Create an education plan that suits your goals. Map out your classes for all four years of high school, including all the Smart Core classes.
•  Ask about extra STEM courses, Advanced Placement (AP) and concurrent credit courses, which can earn you college credit.
•  Get involved with extracurricular and volunteer activities you’re passionate about. (See how volunteering can really beef up your résumé.)
•   Keep a list of all of your activities; you’ll need this when you create a résumé later.
•  Begin thinking about careers that interest you; get ideas on where the jobs are.
•  Talk to your parents about the cost of college. Create a plan of action and start saving.
•  Request or download a real application from a university so you can get a feel for the process and admission requirements.

Sophomore Year

• Sign up and take the PSAT (pre-SAT) or the PLAN (pre-ACT). Your test scores on the PSAT can qualify you for a National Merit Scholarship, and both tests highlight areas where you can improve.
• Start researching potential careers. Talking to people who work in these fields can be especially helpful.
• Compile a list of schools that interest you. Consider things like area of study, strength of department, distance from your hometown and campus size. (Review all Arkansas colleges in our College Catalog.)
• Keep up with:
  
  • Your grades.
  • Your guidance counselor.
  • Your extracurricular activities.

Junior Year

• Take the ACT and/or SAT. Check with your prospective schools to see which test they prefer. Review test dates and practice questions.
• Keep your grades up! This is the most important – and last – year they’ll make an impact on admissions boards and scholarship committees.
• Narrow down your school choices.   
  
  • Start in-depth school research. Consider financial aid and scholarship availability, tuition costs, admission requirements, housing types, different majors/degrees and study abroad opportunities.
  • Begin campus visits. Talk to admissions representatives as well as real students. 
• Find a volunteer position, apprenticeship, internship, part-time job or job-shadowing opportunity in your field of interest.
• Look (and apply) for scholarships — lots of them! Look online, check your school database and keep our lists of Arkansas scholarships handy.
• Write your scholarship essays. Get them critiqued and proofread by a teacher. Twice.
• Compile a résumé. We’ll show you how. And learn how to ace those scholarship and internship interviews with a little help.
• Begin making a list of deadlines for things such as financial aid, admissions and scholarships.

Senior Year — First Semester

• Take the ACT or SAT again if you’re unhappy with your scores.  
• Get letters of recommendation.
  
  • Request them in the first few weeks of school.
  • Choose teachers, advisers or employers who know you and your work well. No family. No friends.
  • Assemble a packet for each recommender with a copy of your résumé, examples of your work such as graded papers, a list of schools you need letters for and stamped envelopes.
• Apply to your top three to five schools.
  
  • Make sure your applications contain all the requested material.
  • Proofread everything. Twice.
  • Send in a neat, clean application.
  • Make copies of everything you send in the mail. Keep your receipt or make a note of your check number just in case.
  • Your grades and involvement still matter.
• Continue looking for scholarships (in fact, try to go to college for FREE).
• Keep up with your checklists of places you’ve applied to and application deadlines.

Senior Year — Second Semester

• Pick a school. Still not sure? Explore our College Catalog.
  
  • Notify your chosen school of your decision to attend.
  • Inform all your other choices that, although you appreciate the consideration, you will not be attending in the fall.
  • Send transcripts of the first semester of your senior year if your college has requested it.
• Fill out the FAFSA as close to Jan. 1 as you can in order to qualify for government grants and loans. Learn more about this here.
• Make sure all of the paperwork required by the university and its departments has been filled out and sent by the dates specified.
  
  • Check to make sure all fees have been paid.
• Begin researching (if interested) Greek rush requirements at your college of choice.
• Check on housing. Many schools begin housing assignments in May.
  
  • It’s time to start thinking about moving. Get some dorm tips.
• And finally, get a sneak peek at what’s in store for you at college — like who’s going to be there and where all the key spots are on campus!