Meet with your advisor to develop your Upper School course plan. Take the most challenging courses for which you are prepared. Get involved in extracurricular activities you enjoy, including volunteer activities. Pursue new interests.

Take your schoolwork seriously—your freshman grades are recorded on your transcript and will be reviewed by college admission officers during your senior year. In addition to your other summer plans, remember to read, read, read.

Reading is the best way to prepare yourself for the college admission tests you will take in a couple of years. Also, visit museums, aquariums, and similar places to develop an appreciation for art, history, and science and develop your general knowledge of the world. This curiosity will make you more attractive to college admission offices.

Junior and Senior Meetings

As part of Trinity's College Counseling process, students will have three different required meetings, beginning in the spring of their junior year. These meetings are crucial to the college advising process and are the foundation of the work we do to help students build their college lists, applications, and much more.

Continue to take challenging courses and earn good grades. When you’re a senior, you’ll be happy you did. (Find one and ask him or her!)

Begin to look for leadership opportunities in your classes and extracurricular activities.

You will take the PSAT your sophomore year. The PSAT is a practice test for the SAT.

Listen to the daily announcements and check your email for college admissions presentations on campus, and attend those that interest you.

You may want to attend a fall college fair to start researching colleges.

The Internet is a great source of information about colleges. Spend time researching colleges by accessing www.collegeboard.com, www.usnews.com, or other online resources.

Keep reading during the summer break, and consider attending a summer program on a college campus.

Check with the Director of College Counseling to ensure you are on track at this point in your Upper School career.

Continue taking the most advanced courses you can handle and earn the best grades you can.

Accept leadership roles: the quality of your participation in an activity is probably more important than the number of activities you participate in.

Juniors take the PSAT/NMSQT (National Merit Scholarship Test) in October.

Try to visit with some of the college admission officers who come to Trinity, and spend time researching colleges.

Register for SCOIR and complete the student survey and career assessment before your junior meeting in the early spring.

In the spring, plan to take the SAT and/or the ACT.

If you plan to play intercollegiate sports, begin exploring the NCAA and NAIA Eligibility Center to be aware of the requirements.

During school holidays, be sure to read, visit college campuses, and consider attending a college’s summer program—narrow your choices to about six colleges. Use College Kickstart to balance your college list.

Schedule your senior meeting in the early fall with the Director of College Counseling to ensure your college planning process is on track.

Listen intently to the daily announcements and check the College Counseling website and SCOIR to learn about campus visits by college admission representatives.

Inquire about retaking the SAT or ACT if you would like an opportunity to improve your scores.

Refine your college list by all means possible. Use College Kickstart, the internet, conversations with admission officers, fall college fairs, individual college counseling sessions, and campus visits.

Work on your college applications.

If you are applying for financial aid, send in the CSS Profile as soon as you can after September 1 to the colleges on your list that require it. You will also need to submit the FAFSA sometime between October 1 and (preferably) March 1.

Finally, it would help if you researched scholarship opportunities using the internet and the scholarship page on the College Counseling website.

Try to relax as you receive good or bad news: the waiting will all be over sometime in May. Make your final decision and reply to the college of your choice.

Congratulations! You and your family have completed a major step toward your promising future!