I love all the holiday planning time with friends and family, but when you are considering college how do you get everything ready for college and plan for the holidays?

Planning for college is so exciting, there are all the new possibilities, the excitement over acquiring new skills and its life changing potential is exhilarating.

So let’s not take any of the wind out of your sails when it comes to getting into college, no let’s just help simplify and smooth out the process.

Let’s plan and take one step at a time and before you know it you’ll be all ready for college.

It’s possible that you’ve already worked through some of these steps, so find where you are in the Admissions process.

January is fast approaching, and it’s a perfect time to go back to college.

On average there isn’t as much competition for getting into college in January, so there is the possibility that there are still spots open for the January class. Be sure to ask your Admissions Advisor about this.

1. Choose a college this can feel like a huge task but there are some great ways to simplify this.

To help you look at the best option for you know what you are looking for. What are the most important qualities are you looking for in a college.

• Location
• Your Career interest
• Cost
• Child Care
• Online Option

Look at about 5-10 schools and narrow this down to 2 based on which ones have what you are looking for. Click here if you missed my post on choosing a college, this gives you a more detailed approach. http://www.sophiemaddox.com/choosing-the-right-college/

2. Apply to these, complete an application to each college. The application process is just finding out if you’re able to get into the colleges you want.

3.  Order  your transcripts, you’ll need your high school, transcripts and or diploma, if you don’t have original transcripts in a sealed envelope, make sure you order one to be sent to the college. If you have unofficial transcripts make sure you get a copy to the school ASAP. The college is making decisions soon, and if you’d like to see if you receive transfer credit then you’ll need these. Ask your Advisor for a Transcript Request Form, this is what you need to order an official transcript.

4.   Apply for Financial Aid, when you apply to the college you’ll have a Financial Aid office that you’ll want to be sure to visit. They’ll have helpful forms and information to help you complete this, or if you want you can complete it online with the college’s school code. Your Financial Aid Advisor will have this for you.

Quick Side Note: Be sure that when you fill out your Financial Aid application that you don’t pay for the application, there are some places looking to make money off of the Financial Aid Application, and this is just a rip off. Here is the free site for Financial Aid, or the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) http://www.fafsa.ed.gov . For more free tips and information on Financial Aid check this out. http://www.sophiemaddox.com/college-funding/

5.   Take your test, and set up your essays, getting into college is more than just choosing a college and completing the financial aid application. The college is eager for quality students; however, they have to make sure that you’re academically ready for college. This is often done through a placement test over the basic subjects you need to know to be able to succeed in college. Check out this detailed post on studying for testing.  http://www.sophiemaddox.com/2009/11/11/college-entrance-tes/

Sometimes I look up and wonder where the year went! I can’t believe how close the holidays are. Now with them holidays coming so quickly, don’t forget colleges are getting ready to go on Christmas break.

You have family and friends getting ready for the parties and time together don’t put your goals and dreams on hold…

Use these steps as a guideline so that you stay on track in preparation for a potential life changing journey. One other thing you can use this article as is a way to help plan your time, now and as a guide for the future so that you’ll be a better college student. In college you’ll need to be able to juggle a number of things at once.

Now I’m sure you have great time management skills, but when it comes to a new task or goal, there is a adjustment period.

So let’s shorten that period for you. Take one thing at a time, if you’re hectically busy, focus on the first task in front of you, and work on one each day. The only thing you may need more than one day for is to study and brush up on testing skills.

Last but not least, you have tools here to help you; this blog is full of help just for your success. So take a quick second and subscribe to my feed and keep up with all the tips and advice to successfully navigate through college.

If you like this please re-tweet it; and post a comment, and get your FREE thank you gift.

Sophie

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