12th GRADE This is the year when the college search can feel like a full-time job, with all of the toil, tedium, and triumphs that that implies. September: ____Plan a special evening out (e.g., dinner at a favorite restaurant) with just the college-bound child. Discuss plans and goals for the months ahead; pros and cons of target schools. ____Look ahead to SAT or ACT registration deadlines for the tests your child plans to take. ____Have your child ask appropriate teachers to write letters of recommendation for application packets if he/she has not already done so. Again, we recommend that students gather 2 to 3 formal letters of recommendation. We encourage students to get at least one character or personal reference, since this may often be required for scholarship applications. In addition, your child?s Guidance Counselor will write a recommendation to accompany the School Report section of the applications. ____Ask the guidance department about college fairs in your area and college admission representative visits to the school. Make certain that your child attends fairs and sessions with reps at school. ____Visit more college Web sites. ____Ask about Parents' Night or other high school-sponsored parents' events. ____Finalize fall college visit plans. Include campus overnights, where possible. Visit! ____Request additional publications ____Determine if your child will be using online or paper applications. If it's the latter, make sure you have them or request them. October: ____Look ahead to SAT or ACT registration deadlines for the tests your child plans to take. Are you about to miss one? Mark appropriate test and registration dates on your calendar. ____Discuss Early Decision and Early Action options. ____Help your child draw up a master schedule of application and financial aid due dates, and put them on the family calendar. ____Oversee the start of applications. Your child should be considering essay topics and looking for overlap to reduce workload. ____Make sure your child requests teacher recommendations, as needed. ____Visit colleges. Include interviews on campus (or with local alumni representatives), if appropriate. ____Attend college fairs with your child. ____For another look at college life, rent a movie like Animal House or School Daze ____Plan an "adults only" night out--no college talk, no kids! November: ____Look ahead to SAT or ACT registration deadlines for the tests your child plans to take. ____Nag about early application deadlines, as needed. ____Reduce target college long list to a short list, where applications will be made. ____Plan a Thanksgiving break that includes college visits (to almost-empty campuses) OR plan a Thanksgiving break where no one mentions the word "college." ____Check up on application completion. Volunteer to proofread, and steel yourself for a wide range of reactions. December: ____Look ahead to SAT or ACT registration deadlines for the tests your child plans to take. ____Get financial aid material from guidance office and Web, and attend planning workshops, if available. ____Nag about completion of all applications due in January or February. ____Have your child make sure that teachers and guidance staff are up-to-date with reference forms, and that transcripts are being sent to all short-list colleges. ____Usher in the New Year with a family toast to the future--whatever it may bring. January: ____File income taxes if you can, and then begin filling out financial aid forms. Finish and mail these forms as soon as possible--and NEVER LATE. ____Encourage completion of all applications, including those with later deadlines. Don't forget to photocopy everything that's put on paper or print out online materials, and save all in accordion files. ____Celebrate with the whole family when the last application hits the mailbox. ____If SATs are being taken this month, are "Rush" scores required? Ask target colleges, if you're not certain. February: ____The Guidance Office receives confirmation cards from the colleges students have applied to. Feel free to check that cards have been received for your child's applications and if they haven't, consult colleges by phone or via cyberspace to check on completion of applications. Record the name of any contacts. Track down missing records. ____WAIT! March: ____Your wait is nearly over. Some decision letters will arrive this month. April: ____Take a cold shower and resist the urge to open letters addressed to your child. (Holding them up to the light is permissible). Keep in mind that thin letters aren't always rejections. Some schools send out enrollment forms later. ____Applaud acceptances; help put rejections in perspective. For example, try saying "It's an extremely competitive college, and your math test scores must have hurt." (But not "Those admission folks at that school seemed like a bunch of Bozos from the get-go.") ____Plan crunch-time visits to campuses, as needed, to help prompt final decisions. ____Compare financial aid decisions, where applicable. Contact financial aid offices with questions. Appeal aid packages, if appropriate. ____Make sure your child returns wait-list cards, as needed. Contact admission offices to check on wait-list status. Send updated records and other information, if available. Encourage your child to write an upbeat "Please take me, and this is why you should" letter. ____Is the verdict final? Send the required deposit. Don't dawdle and miss the May 1 deadline, or colleges can give away your child's place. Also notify those schools your child won't attend, especially if an aid offer was made. May: ____Make sure your child takes AP exams, if appropriate. ____Write (or urge your child to write) a thank you note to anyone who may have been especially helpful. Guidance counselors are often unsung heroes. Don't forget teachers who wrote recommendations, scholarship agencies, admission counselors, fiancial aid officers, secretaries, tours guides, or other students. (Of course this isn't obligatory, but recipients are sure to be pleased and surprised.) ____Stay abreast of housing choices, etc. When will forms be mailed? Should your child be investigating living situation options? When is freshman orientation? (Some schools have spring and summer programs). When is course registration? June: ____Organize a file to keep track of summer mailings from the college. Categories may include: orientation, housing, course registration, and finances. ____Consider summer school for those who want to accelerate or place out of requirements. ALWAYS check with colleges first to make sure credits will count. Get permission in writing when it?s questionable. ____Dig out some of those masterpieces you've saved since your child's grade school days. Where did the time go? ____Otherwise, help your child land a summer job that pays at least $20,000. (That's after taxes.) Call Brooke Shields for details. (She went to Princeton, after all.)