Your ideas about what you want will change over time.

Campus visits can help you narrow your list down.

Like your back-up schools – you may need them.

Don’t just pick a school because your friends like it.

Don’t get hooked on just one school – you might not get in there.

Don’t obsess over the college process – you still need to do well in school.

Start looking at colleges in the spring; start your essays over the summer.

Make sure that colleges offer a good environment for you.

Ask about the negatives when you visit colleges.

Don’t just focus on school – find an activity you love.

Don’t let the college process dictate what activities you do.

Think about getting a job.

Start forming good relationships with teachers now so you have people you can ask to write recommendations for you.

Ask your teachers early to write letters for you so they have time.

If you want to submit art work with your applications, talk to your art teachers now about what you will need to do.

Look at some applications now to learn what they ask.

Plan carefully to take your SAT’s and SAT II’s so you can fit them all in.

Take the ACT.

Use the Common Application.

Send an essay, even if it’s not required.

Save a writing sample from junior year.

It is harder to raise your GPA in the junior year than you think it will be.