college // checklists!

I personally find checklists really helpful - they tell you exactly what you need to do to get to a certain point. And in this case, that point is college. So here are the checklists I found most helpful for me, or that had the most potential, and that will probably be most helpful for you, wherever you are in school.

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checklist for 6th-8th graders.  I really like this checklist, even as a graduated high school student - it's a great way to really get you thinking about where you want to be, how you want to get there, and why. It gives you information on what different kinds of schools there are, and gives you some pointers based on what you'd be interested in. It also gives you tips, tells you where to start, tells you what to do depending on the grade you're in, answers questions you're probably asking yourself right now, and basically holds your hand and guides you through the process. Reading it got me really excited for college, so I would at least skim it before you ditch it. I would print it out and sit down with some coffee, a snack, maybe some upbeat music, and fill it all out. Def the kind of thing I wish I'd had when I was in middle school, and might still do even as someone who isn't even in school anymore. It's more for starting you on the path to thinking about, preparing for, and planning on. It's not really the ultimate checklist and it's not an exhaustive one, but it will get you started.

checklist for everyone, at any time in their life.  It even says at the very beginning of the checklist that it's for everyone - students of all ages and parents of those students. There are individual to-do lists for each group of students: a to-do list for elementary, a to-do list for middle, junior, and high school. But not only a to-do for high school! There's a to-do list for all four years, a to-do list for 9th, 10th, 11th, the summer before 12th, and 12th. But it gets even more detailed: for the 9th grade checklist, there are individual checklists for fall, winter, spring, and summer of 9th grade - and so on, for each grade level! Wherever you are in school, there's a to-do list for you, which I find amazing and also really helpful! Oh and guess what - there's a to-do list for someone getting a late start! So if you're that person, like me, who didn't get anything done while in school, they still have a to do list for you. It's not extensive, but it'll work. And every college you're interested in will have their own checklists so you don't need to worry too much. Oh you're an adult student? There's a to-do list for that, too. Just go look through it - it's got you covered. At the end of each checklist for each student, there's also a section about what the parent of this student can do, which is extremely helpful if you don't think you're ready because Dad/Mom haven't done the steps they need to do. It's hard to know what you need to ask them to do, if you're not sure what they're supposed to do, and the parents' checklist at the end of yours gives you a great place to start. There are links to all the things they talk about you needing to do, and they walk you through what you'll need to do once you're there. This is definitely a checklist for people ready to start crossing stuff off, and making tracks towards college. It's not just to get you hype about it, or just to give you ideas, or give you pointers, or get you started thinking. It's to get you started doing, so it's a good checklist to read after you've already gone through the one for 6th-8th graders. I haven't read the middle school checklist on this one, but I bet it's pretty much the same info, with links and more in-depth, and will do well to fill in any cracks the first one had. To save time, I would do them at the same time, just because why do one and then move on to the next when you know the first one will be pretty light and easy, since it's geared toward a young, inexperienced audience.

starter pack checklist, lots of links and resources to finding the right major, college, scholarship, funding, etc. and even though there's a bunch of links and it might be overwhelming, you can work through it link by link and go down the page. Great place to start, even if you're not planning on going to an Indiana college - you guys might not even be near Indiana (with any luck) by the time you're college-attending age, so you don't have to pay attention to the Indiana-related stuff, but all of it is helpful to get an idea for what to look for/what to Google/what to get started on during your senior year/gap year(s).

app to keep your applications process and college deadlines in one accessible place.  idk if this app is helpful or not but I just downloaded it and I doubt I'll remember to come back and update but if I do, I'll tell you if it's actually as helpful as it sounds. Maybe this one isn't, but you can probably find a similar app that does all those things and more, or that is more intuitive or clean, etc. etc. but while the app might not be helpful, the website is, so consider making an account on common app to keep track of everything. It'll give you the deadline of that college if you add it to your list of colleges, the progress of your application, and a checklist of what you still need to complete. Once you've completed it, the page will update and have a satisfying little green checkmark and "completed" next to the task. You can also view the application requirements so you have an idea of what needs to be done. I would highly recommend it.

CollegeBoard checklist.  Found this really helpful as well, gives you things you can do while prepping for college and I believe it's mostly geared towards students getting ready for college during the pandemic of 2020, so it might not be helpful for you as a student not in 2020 and it might not even be around after the pandemic if it's for those of us who don't have the usual resources or regular plans. But if it's still around, it might be helpful to you too, plus it includes links to all the places you need to go/things you need to do.

bigfuture.collegeboard.org  has a billion different resources that can help you along the way. It has a place where you can find colleges right for you, which is super helpful itself. It also has a scholarship search which is what it sounds like and is also really helpful. Underneath each scholarship is the deadline and award amount. Other things too, but I'm late for work so imma let you just find out what else, yw

EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT IN ANY OF THESE SITUATIONS OR GRADES, THESE CHECKLISTS CAN HELP. Even if you're not planning on going to college, you should still complete these checklists in case you change your mind. You should pave the way so that you at least have the option, no matter what choice you make. Read over all of these checklists - the ones before your grade, the ones for your grade, and the ones after your grade.

WHY READ THE ONES BEFORE YOUR GRADE?  Because, if you've missed any steps you need to take for college, you want to know what you need to have already done.

WHY READ THE ONES FOR YOUR GRADE?  This is a little bit obvious, but you should read it because you want to have done everything your grade should be accomplishing. That way, you're getting everything done on time and you know that when you move up a grade, you'll have completed the last grade and can move on to a new checklist.

WHY READ THE ONES AFTER YOUR GRADE?  Because it's important to be prepared for everything. Skim it, and if there's anything you can do now you'll be ahead of your grade, and be going above and beyond. Skim it so that if you are confused about something or you realize you'll need to finish something before you can get that thing done, there's plenty of time to figure it out and accomplish what you need to get done beforehand.