South Eugene High School

College Planning To Dos

Every Year | Freshman Year | Sophomore Year | Junior Year | Senior Year

Every Year

Do your best in all classes; establish and maintain strong study habits and time management skills.
Participate in student/parent college and career planning opportunities including the Beyond South Presentations.
Develop a reading plan that includes newspapers, magazines, and books. Reading from a variety of sources and materials helps prepare you for the SAT and ACT reading sections, college application essays, college, itself, and being a knowledgeable member of society.
Be sure to keep an up-to-day record of your extracurricular (outside of school) activities. You will need the information later for scholarship, college, and job applications.

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Freshman Year

Enjoy school! This is a place where you are developing as a student and a person.
Take your grades seriously. Freshman year counts!
Keep your attendance record up and your behavior record clean. Like I said, freshman year counts!
Visit the College and Career Center, and familiarize yourself with its resources for planning your future. This includes the CCC web pages and updates in South’s e-newsletter.
Join or start a club. Try new extracurricular activities; it’s a great time to explore.
Explore some community-service activities. Not only does this help out your community, it also builds your resume.
Check out the Freshman/Sophomore Resources newsletter.
Visit college campuses when your travels take you near them.
Begin having honest discussions with your parents about college financing.
Be sure your forecasting requests for sophomore year meet your career/education goals.
Use your summer well: volunteer, work, travel, develop new skills, read.

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Sophomore Year

Stay focused on your schoolwork.
Consider your interests and how they relate to possible career options.
Use the College and Career Center resources to research post-high school opportunities. This includes the CCC web pages and updates in South’s e-newsletter.
Continue to visit colleges when your travels take you near them. Learn what your preferences are for different college characteristics.
Involve yourself in meaningful, long-term community service.
Take the Pre-ACT at school in October. Find your test results in the CCC 2-4 weeks later. Focus on areas to improve to prepare for the ACT, if you plan to take it (usually beginning after winter break of your junior year).
Engage in the Freshman/Sophomore Resources newsletter.
Plan junior year courses carefully. College entrance requirements may differ from high-school graduation requirements. Also, some courses required for Career and Technical Education (CTE) Projects or Career-Aligned Mastery (CAM) Projects (two of the Senior Project options) may need to be taken in the junior year.
Consider applying for the National Honor Society in March. It requires a 3.5 GPA and evidence of community service, leadership experience, and good character.
Take AP Tests in early May of the same year you take those classes.
Plan interesting summer activities, including new learning opportunities, volunteering, work, and plenty of reading.

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Junior Year

Participate in extra-curricular, community-service, and leadership activities that reflect your academic, personal, and career choices. Keep track of the hours you spend on these activities for use on applications.
Research colleges. Use college websites, reference books, college fairs, visits with alumni, reputable social-media sites, college search sites like Big Future College Search, and subjective college review sites like Unigo. You may find my 25-minute video, Finding a College that Fits, useful.
Research careers. Use Connected Lane County’s website and calendar, the Career Prep for SEHS Students page, and the Student Volunteering page to find career-experience activities that interest you.
Attend college and career visits, mostly during fall semester.
Investigate college costs and financial-aid and scholarship opportunities on your colleges’ websites, at Financial Aid Night (in the fall or as a recording), or on the College and Career Center’s scholarship webpage.
Take the PSAT at school in October if competing for a National Merit Scholarship or if you want to practice for the SAT. Find your PSAT results in your College Board account or Big Future app 2-4 weeks later. Focus on areas to improve. Don’t forget to use Khan Academy for free, customized SAT prep.
Engage in the Junior/Senior Resources newsletter. It includes recordings/readings to help prepare you for life after South.
Complete your Junior Project Canvas course. It contains great opportunities to explore your education and career plans. Plus, it’s a graduation requirement!
Sign up during the second semester for your Junior Conference/Interview in the counseling center (to take place after winter break) with your counselor, Juli McGlinsky, Michael Leahy, or Shantel Buss. Parents are welcome.
National Honor Society applications usually are available in early March. If you have a 3.5 GPA, volunteer experience, and leadership experience, consider applying.
If you decide to apply to a college that will require an SAT/ACT, plan to take a test by spring break of your junior year. Also plan to take one if you want to apply to highly-selective, highly-competitive schools, even if they don’t require the tests, if you think you can get a high score. (None of the Oregon public colleges and universities require an SAT/ACT anymore.)
Plan to take AP, and/or IB exams in the spring.
Participate in college visits and other events offered by schools you’re interested in. 4J’s spring and summer breaks are a good time for live campus visits, especially if the college is in session when you’re visiting. Nearly all colleges now offer a virtual tour on their websites, as well.
Begin identifying teachers from whom to request letters of recommendation next year. Some teachers are asked to write many letters of rec. You may need to arrange with these teachers during the spring of your junior year to be on their list of recommendees for next year.
Plan meaningful summer activities. Get a job. Do community service. Travel. Participate in an internship. Retake the SAT or ACT if necessary. Start writing college essays. The Common App can be submitted beginning August 1.

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Senior Year

Use your SEHS Senior Planning Timeline to guide you through post-high school planning.
Get organized; develop spreadsheets with application deadlines, scholarship due dates, etc. Oregon Goes to College has a template called Making Your College List to help you keep track.
Take or retake the SAT or ACT in the fall, if necessary.
Sign up for and attend your Senior Interview with your counselor to plan for the next couple years. While in the counseling center, pick up your Purple Packet for 4-Year College Applications from counseling secretary, Leann Hollenbeak.
Investigate college costs and financial-aid and scholarship opportunities on your colleges’ websites, at Financial Aid Night (in the fall or as a recording), or on the College and Career Center’s scholarship webpage.
Complete the FAFSA or ORSAA (aid application for undocumented Oregon students) in October. This includes creating your electronic signature, also known as your FSA ID.
Check college websites to see if your schools also require the CSS Profile.
Complete your Senior Experience early. (Other Senior Project options include CAS hours, passing the Theory of Knowledge course, plus the extended essay for IHS students, the CTE Project, and the Outdoor Leadership CAM, all of which have their own timelines which are shared with students by the classroom teachers of the various projects.
Review the Junior/Senior Resources Newsletter newsletter beginning in late fall. It includes recordings/readings to help prepare you for life after South.
Visit the Senior Year Info, Class of 2025 page on South’s website for many resources re: South’s college-application process. Jessic Kuehn (kuehn_j@4j.lane.edu, 541-790-8013), counseling-center secretary, is also available to help with this process.
Attend college and career visits, mostly during semester 1. Ask thoughtful questions of the college reps, and remember that the rep you’re talking to may be the person who reads your application for admission.
Narrow your list of colleges to five to ten schools including ‘Reach,’ ‘Match,’ and ‘Safety’ schools, both in terms of likelihood of getting in and affordability.
Arrange with teachers and counselors for letters of recommendation at least two weeks (and preferably four weeks) before you need them. More information about this process can be found in the Purple Packet for 4-Year College Applications from the counseling center.
Complete admissions applications and essays.
Regularly check the scholarship postings (found in South’s e-newsletter, the career center dry-erase board, and on South’s scholarship webpage), especially during winter and spring.
Choose your college; notify all schools that accepted you. Send deposits and final transcripts. Colleges may rescind acceptance if grades drop.
Write thank-you notes to those who wrote recommendations, offered you scholarships, or otherwise supported you.
Good luck! You’re off on a new adventure!