COLLEGE PLANNING

• Take a challenging course of curriculum throughout senior year. Colleges do take strength of senior schedule into account when making admissions and scholarship decisions.
• Retake the ACT and/or SAT – Colleges use your best score for admissions and scholarships.
• Narrow your college choices.
  • Continue your campus visits.
  • Talk with admissions representatives who visit school.
  • Attend college fairs.
  • Seek advice from your parents and guidance counselor.
• Complete college applications.
• Request that transcripts, senior year schedule, and other documents required by the schools you apply to be sent by your guidance counselor.
• Apply for scholarships
  • Use online resources including scholarshipquest.org and www.fastweb.com
  • Check out the Skutt Catholic scholarship list available on this website or in the guidance office
  • Visit EducationQuest in Rockbrook Village to review their vast amount of in print scholarship resources.
• Update your activities resume.
• Request letters of recommendation for schools and scholarships, if needed.
• Read all online and print notifications that you receive from the schools to which you applied.
• Start receiving admissions/scholarship decisions from colleges to which you applied.

• Prepare for the FAFSA
  • Apply for a FSA ID at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/filling-out/fsaid
  • Use the College Funding Estimator at educationquest.org to estimate your FAFSA results.
  • Complete your taxes early for reporting to the FAFSA.
• Make an appointment with the experts at EducationQuest to help with completing the FAFSA.
• Complete the FAFSA before your college’s priority date.
• Continue to read all online and print notifications that you receive from the schools to which you applied.
• Continue/Start to receive admissions/scholarship decisions from colleges.
• Continue to apply for scholarships.

• After submitting your FAFSA, you should
  • expect your Student Aid Report (SAR)
  • verify financial aid information with your college, if they require it
  • expect award notifications from the colleges listed on your FAFSA
  • compare award notifications from the schools
• Select a college after careful consideration of all your options.
• Pay special attention to all online and print notifications you receive from your selected college.
• Make arrangements to attend registration/orientation events at your selected college.
• Make your housing deposit, if applicable, at your selected college.

EducationQuest – EducationQuest is a nonprofit organization that provides FREE services and programs to help Nebraska students and families make college possible.

College Board – The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association representing more than 5,900 colleges, universities and schools. The College Board leads national and international efforts to improve access to and readiness for higher education. The most useful tools on the College Board website for college planning and exploration are:

• College Search– Use the College Search to narrow down the college options by using the following criteria: Type of School; Location; Campus & Housing; Majors & Learning Environment; Sports & Activities; Applying; Academic Credit; Paying; Support Services; and Diversity.
• College Search Step by Step– Although there’s no magic formula for choosing a college, you can start by asking yourself some questions that help most students find the right fit. Use this guide to: learn about some key college search categories; answer questions to discover what’s important to you; and get advice from college students and educators.
• Big Future – Great exploration site to help students focus on the big questions that will help guide them to making the right college choices.

Princeton Review – Includes a wealth of information about colleges, the application process, and other useful infomation. Go to the website, click on the college tab and use that menu to explore: Schools & Majors; Lists & Rankings; the School Research Service; the college Major Search; the Career Search; and to Find Schools & Majors.

Determining Eligibility

If you wish to participate in athletics/activities at the NCAA or NAIA, you must register with the division’s eligibility center. To visit the websites and register, click on the applicable division below:

» NCAA

» NAIA

College Athlete Recruiting Process Information

If you want to know more about the recruiting of college athletes, check out www.freerecruitingwebinar.org/

FreeRecruitingWebinar.org is a free educational service operated by the Recruiting Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. FreeRecruitingWebinar.org provides answers to common questions concerning the collegiate athletic recruiting process for high school student-athletes and their parents.

FreeRecruitingWebinar.org operates as an on-line classroom, educating high school student-athletes and their parents on every aspect of athletic recruiting, collegiate academic eligibility, and social responsibility.