Seniors are preparing for graduation and younger students are looking forward to summer. Depending on your school calendar, some students only have a few weeks left while others have over a month. No matter how much time you have left in the school year, make sure to finish the year strong.

Here are a few quick tips for each grade level and things you may want to consider doing during the month of May.

Freshmen & Sophomores: Choose your classes wisely for the next year. Sometimes it is easy to want to take the easy classes, but if you are up for challenge, take challenging classes. Every class you take prepares you for the next class, and challenging classes will always be more impressive to college admissions professionals.

Juniors: Start working on your college list and think about visiting the colleges you are considering. Make sure the colleges on your list are a good fit academically, socially, and financially. Sit down and have a conversation with your parents about money and college. And, lastly, have a conversation with the person you plan on asking to be your recommendation writer. While they may not write the letter during the summer, you will be on their radar. Don’t wait until the fall to ask because many other students will also need recommendation letters.

Seniors: Finish the year strong! While it doesn’t happen often, colleges can rescind their college decisions if a student’s grades drastically change. Continue paying attention to your email and mail because your college of choice may be sending you a lot of information and they may need information from you. And, be proud of all of your accomplishments! You will be graduating soon and will be headed to college in the fall!

College Counseling Tip

Students and parents should sit down and have a conversation about money and college. A college can be a great fit, but unfortunately, financially it won’t work for the family. Determine how much the family can afford to help the student attend college. Financial aid is not the same at all colleges and some colleges will be more generous than others. By understanding how much your family can afford, you can start determining if a college is a good fit. Fill out the net price calculator at the colleges you are considering to learn how much financial aid you may receive. By knowing how much your family can afford and the possible financial aid the college may award, you can determine if the college is a good fit for you.

Scholarship Tip

Easy scholarships that do not require an essay can seem attractive! They don’t take much time to apply and you could win a lot of scholarship money. However, scholarships that are easy to apply to will have a lot of applicants and the likelihood of winning will be small. It is okay to apply to easy scholarships, but also pay attention to the scholarships that require a little work. Scholarships that require an essay will probably have a lot less competition. And, scholarships that have very specific essay questions will probably have even less competition. You cannot apply to every scholarship out there, so choose the scholarships wisely.

Don’t forget to check out the large May and June Scholarships lists. And, for scholarships that will have smaller applicant pools, check out the lists with specific eligibility requirements.

Have a great May If you ever have any questions or think there is an article that could be helpful, send me a message. My goal is to help students and their parents as much as I can as they move through the college admissions and financial aid process.

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