Following is a month-by-month timeline of tasks you should accomplish by the end of your 12th grade year of high school. Links to resources and helpful documents are attached where to appropriate, so please make use of all the tools available to you. If you have any questions about any of the tasks listed below, contact your regional counselor right away.
August
- It’s time to review your course work from your previous high school years as well as your planned course work for your 12th grade year to ensure that you remain on track as far as college requirements go. Schedule a meeting to meet with your high school counselor.
- Meet with your guidance counselor to review your college plans and evaluate them in light of your test scores and cumulative GPA. It’s a good idea to involve your parents in this meeting and to discuss your prospects for financial aid at this time.
September
- Join a club! Tryout for a sport! Get involved in everything high school has to offer you! This is your last year to get involved in high school activities!
- Unless you received perfect scores on the SAT and ACT exams you took last Spring, you may want to take them a second time this Fall. Colleges will usually take the highest of all scores submitted to them, so there’s no risk to re-taking the exams. Visit College Board’s website for SAT exam dates and sites on your island, and ACT’s website for ACT exam dates and sites on your island.
- Take a final look at your college selection list and determine whether or not the schools on that list still satisfy your wants, needs, and expectations. As a general rule, you’ll want to limit your applications to five to eight schools. Read this article from College Board to understand the reasoning behind this recommendation.
- Contact the colleges on your list and request admission, financial aid, and if appropriate, housing applications. Keep a College Admissions Tracking with all the application deadlines for those schools.
- If you haven’t done so already, ask teachers, employers, or coaches to write you letters of recommendation. Give them any forms that colleges require and follow up to make sure the letters are mailed on time.
- Check with your school to make sure that your transcripts and other records are up to date and accurate.
- Make sure that you have all the necessary materials required for submitting your application to each college.
- Some colleges will accept a common application, making it possible for you to complete just one application for many schools. Check the National Application Center’s website or The Common Application’s website to see if common applications are available for one or more schoosl you plan on applying to.
- If you are planning to apply to a proprietary (or for-profit) university, know the facts before you to do. Read the following commentaries from the Better Business Bureau and USA Education Guides for questions you should ask before committing to a for-profit post-high education.
October
- It’s time to complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Make sure your parents have done the necessary preparations to file their taxes as soon as possible, as you’ll need the information from their tax returns to complete your FAFSA. Visit FAFSA’s website for additional information about filing and deadlines. The correct website address for FAFSA is www.fafsa.gov. Similar website URLs may lead you to websites that charge a fee for assisting you with the completion of the FAFSA. Be careful!
- For complete information about Federal Student Financial Aid programs, review the U.S. Department of Education’s brochure titled “Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid.”
- If you’ve registered to take the SAT Reasoning Test this month, good luck! Get a good night’s sleep the night before, and don’t forget to take your calculator, pencils, registration ticket and your ID with you to the test site.
- Review the CSS Profile Registration Guide to see if any of the colleges on your list require this financial aid application form. Applicants for the Kamehameha Schools Na Ho’okama Scholarship are also required to complete the CSS Profile, so we suggest you file this Profile to be eligible to receive Na Ho’okama Scholarship funds if you qualify. You may file the PROFILE as early as October 1 of each year; however, you should file no later than two weeks before the EARLIEST priority filing date specified by your colleges or programs.
- To better understand the differences between the CSS Profile and the FAFSA, please read this explanation as enumerated by finaid.org.
- If you are planning to apply to any college under the early action or early decision programs, make sure that your completed applications are submitted by the schools’ stated deadlines. To view a description of each of these programs, please visit College Board’s website.
November
- If you’ve registered to take the SAT Reasoning Test this month, good luck! Get a good night’s sleep the night before, and don’t forget to take your calculator, pencils, registration ticket and your ID with you to the test site.
- Submit all completed college applications to your colleges of choice by their stated deadlines. You may wish to download this simple College Admissions Tracking or this checklist from College Board to help keep track of important deadlines and required documentation for each school you apply to.
December
- If you’ve registered to take the SAT Reasoning Test this month, good luck! Get a good night’s sleep the night before, and don’t forget to take your calculator, pencils, registration ticket and your ID with you to the test site.
- Take a moment on December 19 to remember our princess, Ke Ali’i Bernice Pauahi Bishop, and how much she loved her Hawaiian people. Without Pauahi’s largess, Kamehameha Schools and the Kamehameha Scholars program would not exist. Mahalo, Pauahi!
- Merry Christmas from the entire Kamehameha Scholars staff. Have a blessed and safe Christmas holiday!
January
- First semester grades are in. How did you do? Remember, your GPA is one area at which potential colleges will look closely. Don’t become a victim of “senioritis” and let your grades drop during your second semester. Students have had offers of admission rescinded by colleges after reporting less than stellar second semester grades.
- You may need to update your FAFSA application to make sure that all the colleges you applied to are listed there. If those colleges aren’t listed there, FAFSA will not send your information to those schools, and you may not be able to receive financial aid!
- Continue gathering items which show evidence of your achievements in high school, and keep them all in one place. If you’re currently wait-listed for your first choice of college, you may want to advise the admissions department of awards or accomplishments that could give your application package a boost. It couldn’t hurt! Send a personalized letter to the admissions office with the appropriate documentation.
- Request that your high school send your official transcripts to all applicable colleges if they haven’t already done so.
- Remember that list of possible scholarships sources you put together last summer? It’s time to start completing the applications. Each scholarship may be different requirements and deadlines, so make sure you read the instructions for each one carefully before submitting your applications. You may wish to download this Scholarship Tracking worksheet to help keep track of all your scholarship submissions.
February
- Monitor your college applications to make sure that all materials are sent and received on time. Review your Student Aid Report (SAR) for accuracy. If necessary, correct any inaccurate items on the SAR and return it to the FAFSA processor. If you have not received an SAR four weeks after you file your FAFSA, call 1-800-4FED-AID to inquire about your application status.
March
- By now you should have received responses from the colleges you sent applications to, as long as you turned in your applications by the appropriate deadlines. If your first choice of school places you on its waitlist, do not lose all hope. Students are often admitted off the waitlist. Contact the college, let the admissions office know you are still very interested, and keep the college updated on your activities.
- As you receive offers of admission from schools you applied to, review your financial aid award letters from those schools with your parents. Be sure that you understand the terms and conditions that apply to each type of aid offered. Use the Financial Aid comparison tool provided on the CollegeBoard website to do a side-by-side comparison of each school’s offer.
- If you are taking an AP class this year, work with your AP teacher(s) to ensure that you are registered for any applicable AP exams at this time. Be certain to take the exams that correspond with each AP class you have taken this school year. Remember, scoring well on your exams can earn you college credits.
April
- The national deadline to accept or decline your offer of admission to colleges and universities is May 1. Once you decide which college you will attend, send in your tuition deposit by the May 1 deadline. Notify in writing the other colleges that accepted you that you have selected another school. This is an important step. Other students will be hoping to receive your spot!
- Notify your counselor at Kamehameha Scholars once you’ve decided to accept an offer of admission from an accredited college or university, and send a copy of your acceptance letter to our office. Without this letter, we cannot disburse your Merit Scholarship monies to your school.
- Apply for the Kamehameha Schools Na Ho’okama Scholarship. Remember, you must have completed the CSS Profile in order to apply for this scholarship.
- Remind your parents to check with their tax advisor regarding their eligibility for the HOPE and Lifetime Learning tax credits when they file their taxes. Next year, they may be able to reduce their tax bill by claiming one of these credits for college expenses.
May
- Take your AP exams relevant to your senior year AP courses.
- If you want to live on campus and have not already completed your housing/meal plan application, now is the time to do so.
- Sit down with your parents to establish a budget for your books, supplies, and living expenses. Determine how much of that budget grants and scholarships will cover, how much your parents will contribute, and how much you will need to supply. Then determine how much of your contribution will come from savings, from a student loan, and from what you might earn at an academic year job. Then, if necessary, complete a loan application form. Be sure you understand the terms of the loan before you and/or your parents sign a promissory note. Visit the Department of Education’s website to learn more about student loans.
- Request that your high school sends a final transcript to the college you will be attending. You may also need to notify them of any private grants or scholarships you will be receiving.
- Congratulations! You are a high school graduate who is about to embark on the next chapter of your life … college! It’s time to make your mark on the world.
June
- Make sure you know when payment for tuition, room, board, etc. will be due and investigate whether your college offers a tuition payment plan that lets you remit these charges in installments. Be sure you understand how financial aid will be disbursed and whether you can defer bill payment until the funds are available.
- Apply for a summer job and save some of your earnings for college.
July
- Look for information from your college about housing, orientation, course selection, etc. If your financial aid package included a Federal Work-Study award, it may be your responsibility to find an appropriate job. Plan to follow up with the financial aid office as soon as you arrive at college. Make sure you know what date you are required to report to campus.
- Get ready to head off to college and enjoy your new adventure! We are extremely proud of everything you have accomplished over the past four years and are excited to hear from you about your college experiences. Keep in touch, and mālama pono!