Central Willamette’s College Bound Checklist

Central Willamette Community Credit Union understands that families approaching the transition of a child from high school to college have many decisions to make. Sometimes, the only way to keep track of all these critical decisions is the old-fashioned way: through a checklist. Following is our checklist for college-bound families.

CHECKLIST:

 Freshman Year

• Select classes that combine rigor and likely success. Don’t overload—but don’t go easy, if you have your sights set on a selective college. 
• Select extracurricular activities that balance challenges with fun. Set the tone now to show colleges who you really are!
• If your school has a college office, make it a practice to drop by with parents and/or friends, just to see what is offered in the way of support. 
• Make sure your counselor knows you are college bound. Start this year to get to know your counselor—and make sure your counselor knows you when that all-important first semester senior year rolls around.

Sophomore Year

• Choose your classes with the objective to maintain your GPA while challenging yourself. Sophomore and junior years are the most important in terms of your GPA.
• Choose extracurriculars with an eye toward showing colleges your interests are deep as well as wide. Colleges like to see commitment—even in your outside activities. Community service is a must!
• Make regular visits to your college office if you have one, and note the trends you see there. Who’s recruiting hard in your area? Who isn’t? Is there a bargain school that catches your interest?  d. Plan a spring college visit to an out-of-town college. With competition for scholarships and admittance increasing every year, you and your family will be ahead of the game if you start the selection process now.
• Go to a local college fair. You can learn about dozens of colleges and get an idea of what appeals to you.  
• Get a job (if you’re 16 now!) and start putting aside money in your credit union account for college expenses. Even $10 a week will add up—and help you pay for all those extras that aren’t covered by tuition, room & board payments.

 Junior Year

• Start your college selection process in earnest. Do you want to stay near home, go far enough way that the folks can’t drop in—or go out of the region? Small/private or large/public? College or university (there’s a difference)?
• Have a serious family financial discussion. Consult outside experts. What can you truly afford? What do you need to do to apply for financial aid? What are the hidden costs of college? 
• Be realistic in your college choices. Shoot for the stars—but have a realistic backup plan. Almost every college web site has information on admission requirements, average GPAs and test scores, and amount of financial aid available. Study it.
• Many scholarships (especially company sponsored ones) require that you apply in your junior year. Find out what’s available to you.
• Fine-tune your course selections to balance challenge with GPA. This is the most important year as far as colleges are concerned.
• Stick with your extracurriculars, even if you think you don’t have time. Colleges look closely at them.
• Take the PSAT test. This is the one that determines Merit Scholars and other awards, and it’s good practice for the SAT next year. 
• Plan a serious college tour for Spring Break. College visits are well worth the investment. There are various travel “deals” available for families looking at colleges. Check Amtrak, the airlines, hotels and car rental agencies to see if you quality.
• Stay close to your counselor; you’ll need him or her when it comes time to sending references, transcripts, etc. in the fall. They may even have some good advice for you if you’ve taken the trouble to get to know them.
• Attend college fairs and presentations at your college office or in your town—even those of colleges you’re not especially interested in attending. You’ll get powerful information from these sessions—and make contacts at the colleges you do care about.If you have a college office at your school, check in regularly to see which colleges are making presentations, what scholarships are available, and so on. The people who work there want you to succeed!
   

Senior year

• This is the year of the SAT and ACT tests. Make sure you sign up, study for them, and take them seriously. Your scores can be the difference between your top choice and  your lowest safety school. (You can retake them, but why not prepare the first time?)
• You can still help your cause by carefully selecting your courses based upon the admissions criteria of the colleges you’re focusing on. Most colleges want to see how you do in the fall semester of your senior year. Are you coasting or cramming? Getting ready for college or ready for winter break?
• Stick to your counselor like glue. You need your counselor to write a letter of recommendation (along with several others who know you) and to send your transcripts in a timely fashion. Make her or him your best friend!
• Apply! Find out exactly when your top choices expect to hear from you, and what they want. Application deadlines vary, so stay on top of this.
• If you are accepted by more than one school, and you’re uncertain about which to choose, don’t be afraid to do one more college visit--especially if you haven’t visited one that’s really pursuing you. The cost of one more college trip can save you the expense of having to transfer after a semester or a year because the college you selected wasn’t a good fit.
• Celebrate! You’ve made it through the checklist, you’ve chosen a college, one that your family can afford—the future couldn’t be brighter. 
• Finally: whatever you do, DO NOT close your credit union account. We’ll be there for you during this exciting time of your life, to make sure you get the support you need from a financial institution that truly cares about you and your family.

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