The First Test

True to my word, the first thing I'm adding to my plan is to find out the deadlines for the SAT, and ACT. This was easy to do. The web makes everything so much simpler. Now I have the dates, and I'm a little worried because they are a little too close for my liking. Not only are they too close, they're not much apart for each other. I can anticipate two long Saturday mornings, sitting in an auditorium, and laboring tests that will determine my future. No pressure. Knowing the times for the test, I begin a very initial look at financial aid, and find that the basic form involves an incredible amount of paperwork, and probably more details than my parents would like to disclose. But it is part of the process, I have to plan for it, and allow time for it. The subject of scholarships is almost an entirely different ballgame. There are many of them, almost too many of them. How do I really focus on the scholarships that I should apply to, and ignore the rest? Some of them are based on intended majors, and while I think I know exactly my major, this seems that I will be making a decision about my future, close to two years before I step on the campus. If I don't apply to major specific scholarships, I could miss out on opportunities. So I need to decide; come up with an intended major, or just send out applications for general scholarships. Either way, I need to decide. But somehow, I have a feeling my parents would want me to declare my major. So again, this is not a decision that only I am making, it is part of my transition from a youth to an adult!

The Plan

I finally arrived at a time that once seemed distant to me. I'm now a junior in high school, and my next step is not really my senior year, but applying for college.  So now I need to plan for college. The question is: what exactly do I need in order to plan for college? Do I need to have a timeline of things that I need to send, or tests to take? That makes sense, there have to be deadlines. So I guess my first priority is to find out what those deadlines are. My first task is to make a short list of what deadlines I anticipate. First on the list: the dates for the SAT, and ACT tests. By dates, I also have to include when I apply, as well as when I actually take those tests. I have to think about financial aid, scholarships, loans, and I'm sure each will have their own separate deadlines. Now, I probably should start thinking about geography, as in where I should go to college. Should I stay at home, or should I break the ties, and begin college somewhere else. My own rite of passage. I feel like a young man in a tribe, trying to prove himself worthy to everyone. I'm moving from kid to man!