2016-2017 Summer 2016 June 16 School s Out for Summer! * Aug 5 If you want to re-take the ACT in September, register by this date! * if you are considering colleges that require a counselor and teacher recommendation, contact your counselor and teacher to discuss their preferences for writing letters before the end of the school year. Talk with college friends home for summer about their experiences. Visit college campuses (either in person or virtually!). Create an FSA ID (have one of your parents do this, too) to begin your college financial aid journey. Go to: www. studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/filling-out/fsaid Determine if you want to retake the ACT or SAT (please see Fall 2017 test dates on back page). Develop a system to organize college materials. Create or update a high school honors and activities resume. Continue to research and refine the list of colleges that interest you. Outline admission requirements, application and financial aid deadlines for the schools to which you want to apply. September 2016 Sep 8 Sept 27 First Day of BSH Senior Year! Financial Aid Night at BSH (time and location TBD) Continue making great progress on the summer items above (including beginning to write any essays or personal statements that may be required)! Identity early action/decision deadlines you may want to meet. Schedule a meeting with your counselor to review your course load, your college plans, test scores and let them know if you will require a recommendation letter. If necessary, register for and/or re-take the ACT or SAT (see dates on back page). Sign up and attend College Rep visits in the Future Center and check postings for College Open Houses and Preview dates. Review dates and put any important deadlines on your calendar! Attend Financial Aid Night to understand the new FAFSA filing date and to get a better understanding of how you will pay for college. Determine if you need to file CSS/Financial Aid Profile (many private school applications require this)
October 2016 Oct 1 Oct 6 Oct 11 Oct 23 Oct 24 File FAFSA & CSS/Financial Aid Profile (if required) Central Oregon College Fair 9-11:30am at Redmond High Senior College Night at BSH (time and location TBD) Portland College Fair, 9am-12pm at Portland Convention Center Portland College Fair, 1-5pm at Portland Convention Center Stay on track with your grades and extracurricular activities. Colleges will look at what you ve done in your senior year, so stay focused on doing well in our classes and maintaining a commitment to activities. Continue to sign up and attend college rep visits in the Future Center, attend college fairs and continue to refine your college list. If necessary, register for and/or re-take the ACT or SAT (see testing dates on back page). If you are applying early action to colleges: Make sure you have everything you need to complete applications (most due Nov 1-15). As part of this, order an unofficial transcript, to check for accuracy before ordering official transcripts. Continue work on college application essays/personal statements, if required. If required, check for CSS Profile deadlines, which are typically a couple of weeks before the earliest college or scholarship priority filing date. Talk to your counselor to see if you are eligible for fee waivers for applications. November 2016 Nov 1-15 Nov 30 Early Action, Early Decision and institutional scholarship deadlines University of California System applications due Complete and file early action or decision applications. Remember to make a personal copy for your records. Check with college to determine if additional financial aid forms are required. E-mail colleges to confirm your application is complete; if not, follow up with teachers and counselors. Make sure test scores have been sent to colleges.
December 2016 Dec 1-15 Early Action, Early Decision and institutional scholarship deadlines Dec 17-Jan 2 Winter Break! Complete and file early action or decision applications. Remember to make a personal copy for your records. Check with college to determine if additional financial aid forms are required. E-mail colleges to confirm your application is complete; if not, follow up with teachers and counselors. Make sure test scores have been sent to colleges. Make sure you have everything you need to complete applications due January 1. The school is closed and counselors are not available during Winter Break. Use the first few days of the Winter Break to finish January deadline applications. January 2017 Jan 3 Jan 15 Back to School Application deadline for many colleges Complete and file applications due by January 15. Remember to make copies for your records! Complete school-specific financial aid forms. Begin looking for scholarships using the Bend High Scholarship Guide (both on paper and available on the BSH web site). Also, explore OSAC (the Oregon Office of Student Access and Completion) at www.oregonstudentaid.gov to get a better understanding of what kinds of scholarships are available to you as a Oregon resident (award money applies to all schools, not just those in Oregon). Develop a system to organize your scholarship search in the same way you did for the college application process. Make sure any updated test scores have been sent to your colleges. If you haven t started college applications yet, it s not too late! Talk to your counselor and look for schools with later deadlines and start working on these applications.
February 2017 Feb 1 Feb 15 Application and financial aid deadlines for colleges Early-bird deadline for OSAC Scholarships Most school-specific financial aid deadlines are in February. Order official transcripts showing first semester grades for your senior year and mail to colleges. (If you filed early for FAFSA, you should receive your student aid report (SAR) and similar document from the CSS Profile. Continue to check the Bend Senior High School website or the Future Center for scholarships; outline all deadlines for scholarships to which you want to apply. Stay on track with your grades and extracurricular activities. March 2017 Mar 1 OSAC Scholarship deadline Decision letter from colleges start arriving! Scrutinize financial aid packages Consider campus visits. Continue to apply for scholarships. Write thank you notes to teachers who wrote your recommendations. Review student aid report (SAR) received from FAFSA for accuracy. Notify FAFSA and colleges of any inaccuracies. April 2017 Continue to weigh offers, make visits, evaluate aid awards. If you were wait-listed to a college, follow up. Reply to all schools by May 1 even those you choose not to attend. Continue to apply for scholarships, especially check local or school scholarships that are offered in the spring.
May 2017 Send acceptance letter and deposit to the college you will attend. Complete the Post High School Survey in the Counseling Office or Future Center. Complete the Final Transcript Request Form so the Counseling Office will know where to send your final transcript. If appropriate, take IB and AP tests. June 2017 June 10 Bend High School Graduation - 2:00pm CONGRATULATIONS! Send final transcript to your college. Notify college of private scholarships received. Attend Bend High School s Graduation Ceremony. Pay attention to college summer mailings. Most have deadlines or require action from you. Fall 2017 College Entrance Exam Testing Dates ACT: SAT*: Sep 10 (register by Aug 5) Oct 1 Oct 22 (register by Sep 16) Nov 5 Dec 10 (register by Nov 4) Dec 3 *These are the College Board s anticipated dates. Registration is typically 5 weeks prior to test date. Please check collegeboard.org to confirm dates.