Welcome to 12th grade. Here we are. Time to run off that metaphorical cliff. What? You didn’t know there was a cliff? That’s alright. Many of you have already begun preparing a soft landing for yourselves to fall on after you graduate. Others will make do with a parachute that may lead them in different directions before settling down. Here are some tips to make the jump a lot less frightening. (*note: please do not jump off of any actual cliffs. This remains metaphorical).

• Apply for Selective Service if you are a male around the age of 18. This is very important for men who are about to turn 18 or who have just turned 18 (within 30 days on both sides). It’s the law for you to do as soon as you are able, so make sure that you do this or risk losing your right to financial aid. (e.g. I’m not a male, but I know one of my friends will be turning 18 soon. I should direct him to the Selective Service Website.)
• Be cautious about dropping difficult classes. Colleges and even employers that see your transcripts may look at the types of course loads that you had throughout the years. Those difficult classes will even give you a good example of how hard college classes will be. If you really feel like you need to change out a class, talk to your school counselor as well as your parents to find out what they think. (e.g. That AP class that I am taking seems really difficult, but I’ll just keep doing my best and ask the teacher and others for help when I need it instead of dropping it.)
• Apply to colleges! Sell yourself to colleges and follow whatever application procedures that they have. Apply to multiple colleges if possible. Multiple acceptances won’t hurt, and if one turns you down for whatever reason, then you can turn to your second choice college. To send your transcript to colleges, head down to the guidance office to pick up papers regarding getting them mailed out. Just remember that if you are having recommendations sent out as well to indicate it on the transcript paper so that the guidance office knows that they are there or are being waited on. You can also see the senior survival guide for reference as to what those papers look like. (e.g. Mansfield looks good and all, but I’ll put in an application to Keystone college as well just in case it doesn’t work out.)
• Attend Financial Aid Night. This is highly recommended for those who are planning on attending college. It will be after October 1st each year, so keep an eye on your senior survival guide for what the date is for that year or stop in the guidance office and they can let you know. (e.g. I’m not really sure how financial aid works, so I’ll make sure that my parents and I are free on financial aid night so we can find out more about it.)
• After October 1st of your senior year, begin considering doing the FAFSA. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the starting point for getting financial aid. This used to be available during the spring semester of your senior year, however, now you can simply use your parent’s tax forms from the previous year to see what you can get in terms of financial aid. Although there is a lot of time available to complete the FAFSA now, it still should be completed within a timely manor. Many colleges will note what the latest time is for them to accept financial aid information, so make sure that you make it before the deadline. It can be difficult to do the first time, so you may want to ask for help or attend a financial aid night to learn more about how to do it. (e.g. My dad and I went to the financial aid night and he has his tax papers, so now we can sit down together and work on the FAFSA.)
• Look up scholarships. Scholarships are one relatively simple way to help ease the burden of paying for college. Many times you can look up, submit for, and then be considered for a certain amount of money. They don’t even cost anything except for the occasional postage stamp that you’ll need to send the application out. Some of them require an essay of sorts, though, so be prepared to type up something to turn in in order to be considered for the scholarship. For a list of local scholarships, following a morning announcement reporting their availability you can stop down to the guidance office for a list including a general description of the scholarship, where it can be found, and the deadline to apply. (e.g. Fast Web has been helping me a lot. They also have a scholarship search I can use to help me pay for college!)
• Check the mail for acceptance letters! They may take some time going over all of your information, however, most colleges should get back to you at one point or another and let you know if you have been accepted or rejected. If you find yourself with all rejections, take into account what reason that they give you and consider applying to other colleges that are similar to the wants and needs that you looked for in the previous search if you feel that is right. Should you find yourself accepted to colleges, look over the acceptance letters before officially picking one. Some colleges will offer up scholarships in an attempt for you to chose them based on your major and academic standing. Finances are a big piece of college decision making, so make sure that you talk to your parents about what you can afford. In the end, you should choose just one college that seems right to you on accounts such as cost, atmosphere, location, student/teacher ratio, etc. and make a deposit by the due date that they have posted to just that one college. Let the other colleges that you applied to know of your decision as well so that they are not expecting you to come to orientation. (e.g. I got accepted to Mansfield! Now I need to let Keystone College know that I’m going there. I’ll fill out any other information I need and make a deposit.)
• Keep on keeping on. Even though your life in high school is drawing to a close, make sure that you keep on top of your studies. If your grades start to fall because you are doing poorly in your work, then that can hurt your chances of graduating. Don’t stumble and fall before you even get to jump off of the metaphorical cliff. That might be a little embarrassing. (e.g. I really don’t want to study for this test, but I guess I will considering it’s worth a quarter of my grade)