Timeline, Juniors
FALL
Put in the effort necessary to earn top grades. The goal is to keep your options open. Even if you don’t think you’ll be going to a 4 year school after you graduate from high school, the more doors you have open to you the more choices you have.
Begin researching careers, majors, and post-secondary schools. If you haven’t already done so, complete the “Career Interest Profiler” and “SuperMatch College Search” on Naviance. If you have already completed it, review it to see if it is still an accurate reflection of your interests and skills. You can re-do the SuperMatch College Search as many times as you want. You can also have the Career Interest Profiler reset so you can take it again. Ask your counselor or Mrs. May to reset it. To access Naviance go to connection.naviance.com/jfkfremont.
Be on the lookout for college presentations from colleges and universities that you are interested in attending. If you use the “Colleges I’m thinking about” page within Naviance, it will notify you if one of your colleges is making a visit. Sign up through Naviance or see Mrs. May to attend the presentation. Attend college fairs and speak to representatives from varying colleges.
Take the PSAT seriously. It is administered in the fall. This cannot be used for entrance to a college or university, but it is the determining factor for National Merit Scholars and gives you a practice exam so you are prepared for the ACT or SAT that you will take in the spring. There are test preparation books in the Career/College Center that you can borrow for free. (For 2020-2021 it may be offered in January, 2021, depending on Health Department guidance.)
Keep track of all your extra-curricular activities. You can record all these in the “resume” page of Naviance. Go to “About Me” then scroll down to “resume”. This will be of great help when you apply for scholarships and colleges.
SPRING
Continue to earn good grades.
When choosing your 12th grade classes, continue to choose challenging courses. College Admissions Offices are looking to see if you’ve chosen rigorous courses all the way through your senior year.
Take the ACT and/or the SAT. (Check the College Board and ACT websites. Tests may not be available locally due to the pandemic.) These are college entrance exams. You will be taking them again in your senior year, but it is a good thing to do it in 11th grade as well. Look at the websites of the universities you are interested in attending. Some may require that you take the writing portion of the entrance exam. Most colleges will accept either the ACT or the SAT, but be sure by checking the admissions page of the college website. If you can’t afford it, you may be eligible for a fee waiver. See Mrs. May for the waiver. There are test preparation books in the Career/College Center that you can borrow for free.
Look into taking tours of the colleges you are interested in. You may be able to do this during Spring break. Be sure to check with the college or university to be sure they have tours available. They may be on Spring break too. There are many things to consider when choosing a college, not the least of which is the atmosphere on campus. Remember, whether you will be living on campus or not, you will be spending a good amount of time there, so you should be comfortable with the “feel”. Don’t let the sticker price of a college turn you away. Depending on your situation, you may get enough financial aid to make it more reasonable for you. Once again, keep as many doors open as possible. When you have many choices, you win. (Physical tours may not be possible due to the Pandemic. Most colleges offer online Virtual Tours. If you are close to a campus and choose to walk it on your own, most campuses are open for that to take place.)
Do well on your CAASPP (Also known as SBAC). This will determine whether you are “Standard Exceeded - Ready”, “Standard Met - Conditionally Ready”, “Standard Nearly Met - Not Yet Ready” or “Standard Not Met - Not Ready” for college course work. For more detail about this refer to the Early Assessment Program – EAP for Juniors tab on the left. (This may not be given for the class of 2022, due to the pandemic.)
SUMMER
Visit colleges, especially in early or late summer. Some schools don’t finish their academic year until late June. Conversely, some colleges start their academic year in August. Those are prime opportunities for you to visit so you can see the campus with students present.
Get a summer job or do some volunteer work. These activities give you learning experiences that help to form the adult you will become.
USING THE INTERNET TO RESEARCH CAREERS/COLLEGES BigFuture™by the College Board
A free, comprehensive website that guides families — step by step — in preparing for, finding and enrolling in college. At bigfuture.org, you can: Use intelligent search-and-match tools and informative videos to find colleges that are a good fit for your student; Learn how families like yours have paid for college; and Create a personalized plan for college so you and your student know what to do and when to do it.
Bureau of Labor Statistics/Occupational Outlook Handbook
This is a guide to career information about hundreds of occupations put together by the United States Department of Labor. The Occupational Outlook Handbook can help you find career information on duties, education and training, pay, and outlook for hundreds of occupations
ASSIST is an online student-transfer information system that shows how course credits earned at one public California college or university can be applied when transferred to another.
Guides undecided students through assessments and career exploration, including information on projected salary, labor market demands, and required education for a given career.
Student created website provides anecdotal information and allows students to do a direct comparison of two or more colleges based on statistics such as student enrollment, location, campus housing, and cost of attendance.
General information about each of the California State University campuses and helpful information regarding college preparation throughout high school, admissions, financial aid, etc is available here. There is also a link to the online application.
Users can research more than 1,600 college majors and 40,000 pages of detailed career information. Students can find colleges and universities by the majors offered as well as location, school size and other criteria they find important in making a college choice.
Ohlone's Academic Counselors can work in tandem with Career Counselors through the One-Stop to provide 1:1 student assistance with career exploration and information on careers that match a given college major.
General information about each of the 9 UC campuses, including addresses, phone numbers, and direct links to helpful sites, such as admissions, financial aid offices, room and board information, and student organization information. There is also a link to the UC online application, Pathways.