Yearly Action Plans
These timelines were created from University of Illinois admissions. Please keep in mind that these are guidelines and every college varies on admission requirements. Students are encouraged to push themselves to take as many rigorous courses as possible in high school to better prepare them for college.
Important steps to prepare you for applying to college.
Freshman Year
Sophomore Year
Junior Year
Senior Year
Information is gathered from University of Illinois website, 2013.
These timelines were created from University of Illinois admissions. Please keep in mind that these are guidelines and every college varies on admission requirements. Students are encouraged to push themselves to take as many rigorous courses as possible in high school to better prepare them for college.
Important steps to prepare you for applying to college.
Freshman Year
- Meet with your counselor to discuss your college aspirations. Use this meeting to review your schedule to make sure you're enrolled in challenging classes.
- Review Illinois’ admissions requirements to ensure you take appropriate classes.
- Get involved in extracurricular activities that interest you.
- Check out Illinois Near You, so you can attend college fairs in your area.
- Visit Illinois.
- Talk to your counselor and consider attending summer programs for high school students hosted at Illinois.
- Begin to think about your college financial plan.
Sophomore Year
- Meet with your counselor to review your college aspirations. Use this meeting to review your schedule to make sure you're enrolled in challenging classes.
- Review Illinois’ admissions requirements to ensure you take appropriate classes.
- Sign up for the PSAT/NMSQT and/or PLAN. Ask your counselor which date is offered at your school. Get free online PSAT/NMSQT practice.
- Consider taking the SAT II.
- Become more involved with your extracurricular activities. Seek leadership or officer positions within the activities that interest you.
- Check out Illinois Near You, so you can attend college fairs in your area.
- Visit college open houses at Illinois to learn more about specific programs and colleges.
- Visit Illinois.
- Talk to your counselor and consider attending summer programs for high school students hosted at Illinois.
- Look for other great summer opportunities such as an internship, a job, volunteer work, etc.
- Think about a list of characteristics you want in your college—size, location, academic programs, reputation, value, etc. See our campus overview for this information.
- Talk to your parents and family members about different colleges, reasonable costs, and discuss future options.
Junior Year
- Meet with your counselor to discuss your college aspirations. Use this meeting to review your schedule to make sure you're enrolled in challenging classes. Discuss your senior year course plan and, if your school offers them, enroll in honors or AP/IB classes. Verify that you are meeting Illinois’ admissions requirements.
- Begin brainstorming about possible colleges and majors. To do so, start a list of your personal abilities, strengths, talents, preferences, qualities, and interests.
- Research majors and careers that interest you. Review admission requirements for specific majors.
- Stay involved in your extracurricular activities. Continue to seek leadership or officer positions that require a greater time and responsibility commitment within the activities that interest you.
- Continue thinking about the college characteristics that are right for you—size, location, academic programs, reputation, value, etc. See our campus overview for this information.
- Develop a list of 15-20 colleges that interest you.
- Register and take the PSAT/NMSQT or PLAN in October.
- Register for ACT/SAT tests.
- Practice for ACT/SAT tests. ACT/SAT preparatory classes and materials can be expensive. Practicing on your own with official practice problems found online on the ACT or SAT website can be just as helpful.
- Search for local, state, and national scholarships. Start writing essays and compile a list of people, such as teachers and extracurricular activity advisors, who would write a strong recommendation letter.
- Visit colleges throughout the school year and the summer. Visit Illinois.
- Attend a summer program at Illinois.
- Start reviewing college applications online. Read sample admissions essays and start writing rough drafts. Take note of application deadlines.
- Create a calendar with important dates and deadlines such as ACT exam dates, college admissions application deadlines, scholarship application deadlines, etc.
- Continue talking to your parents and family members about your college search progress.
- Build on the list of characteristics you want in your college and rank the characteristics in the order of importance to you.
Senior Year
- Narrow your list of colleges to between five and ten. Get an application and financial aid information from each. Visit as many of those colleges as possible before applying.
- Build on your calendar by adding more important dates, including test dates, college application deadlines, financial aid deadlines, etc.
- Finish college admissions applications and ask your parents, counselor, and/or an English teacher to proofread and edit your essays.
- Aim to apply to Illinois by the priority filing deadline in November.
- Meet with your counselor to verify which colleges you intend to apply in order to send out your test scores. It's your responsibility to complete the Self-Reported Academic Record and make sure your test scores reach Illinois.
- Check the status of your application to Illinois.
- Apply for financial aid by submitting the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) by March 15.
- Continue searching and applying for scholarships.
- Rank in order of your preference the colleges to which you've been admitted and evaluate your options.
- Visit your first-choice college before accepting an offer of admission from any college.
- Notify each college of your decision by May 1.
- After graduation, ask your high school to send a final transcript to your college.
Information is gathered from University of Illinois website, 2013.