College Admissions Planning
College Admissions Planning
1) Where you are going - College Search
2) What you are studying - Career Search
3) How you will pay for it - Financial Aid & Scholarships
Resources for First Gen, Low Income, Undocumented Students
Important Planning Forms
You will need to have these forms filled out prior to college and scholarship applications. Start now!
- Activity Tracker - fill this out with all your activities for scholarships and college applications. You will use it for the SLO Community Foundation and countless other scholarships.
Are you a spreadsheet junkie? You can use
- Letter of Recommendation Form - need a letter of recommendation? This is what you need to fill out! Send the filled out form to your desired recommender and remember to give PLENTY of notice!
Grade Level - Timeline Planning
- College Essay Guy College Application Timeline by grade
- Big Future 9th Grade Checklist
- Big Future 10th Grade Checklist
- GoingMerry 11th Grade Checklist for College Planning (by month!)
- Big Future 12th Grade Checklist
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Visit the Career Planning page to work through some career assessments, interest inventories, and Ikigai exercises [finding your purpose].
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Financial Aid Information:
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- California Dream Act Application (CADAA)
- Cash for College Workshops through Hancock College
- Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) In-state tuition for schools in the Western US
- 9th Grade Financial Aid Checklist
- 10th Grade Financial Aid Checklist
- 11th Grade Financial Aid Checklist
- 12th Grade Financial Aid Checklist
Ready? Set? GO!
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- Common App: Private universities and out of state campuses
- University of California (UC): One Application for all 9 campuses
You can start working on your fall application as early as August 1, and submit it by December 2 - California State University (CSU): One Application for all 23 campuses
You can start working on your fall application as early as August 1, and submit it by December 2 - Cuesta Community College
- Hancock College
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Resources for First Generation College Students:
If neither parent graduated from a 4-year university (Bachelor's degree) in the US, then you qualify as a First Gen student. There are resources available to "level the playing field" and help you in your journey to a college education.
- Appily.com [formerly Cappex]
- Fair Opportunity Project - Get a 1:1 mentor to help you!
- Imfirst!
- Rise First - Resources for first gen and low-income students
College Programs for high school underrepresented students and students of color:
- Fly-in Programs for high-achieving, low-income students [courtesy of The College Essay Guy's Matchlighters' Program]
- Reed College Junior Scholars and Senior Scholars
- College Essay Guy's Matchlighters Program - free sessions with a private college counselor
Resources for our Undocumented Students:
Every college or university has a center for undocumented students, usually called the Dream Center or Monarch Center. If you have questions on this, see Mrs. O in Room 208. Connecting with these resources is incredibly important -- they help with financial aid and so much more