These timelines were created from University of Illinois admissions. Please keep in mind that these are guidelines and every college varies on admission requirements. Students are encouraged to push themselves to take as many rigorous courses as possible in high school to better prepare them for college.
Important steps to prepare you for applying to college. Freshman Year
Meet with your counselor to discuss your college aspirations. Use this meeting to review your schedule to make sure you're enrolled in challenging classes.
Talk to your counselor and consider attending summer programs for high school students hosted at Illinois.
Begin to think about your college financial plan.
Sophomore Year
Meet with your counselor to review your college aspirations. Use this meeting to review your schedule to make sure you're enrolled in challenging classes.
Talk to your counselor and consider attending summer programs for high school students hosted at Illinois.
Look for other great summer opportunities such as an internship, a job, volunteer work, etc.
Think about a list of characteristics you want in your college—size, location, academic programs, reputation, value, etc. See our campus overview for this information.
Talk to your parents and family members about different colleges, reasonable costs, and discuss future options.
Junior Year
Meet with your counselor to discuss your college aspirations. Use this meeting to review your schedule to make sure you're enrolled in challenging classes. Discuss your senior year course plan and, if your school offers them, enroll in honors or AP/IB classes. Verify that you are meeting Illinois’admissions requirements.
Begin brainstorming about possible colleges and majors. To do so, start a list of your personal abilities, strengths, talents, preferences, qualities, and interests.
Research majors and careers that interest you. Review admission requirements for specific majors.
Stay involved in your extracurricular activities. Continue to seek leadership or officer positions that require a greater time and responsibility commitment within the activities that interest you.
Continue thinking about the college characteristics that are right for you—size, location, academic programs, reputation, value, etc. See our campus overview for this information.
Develop a list of 15-20 colleges that interest you.
Practice for ACT/SAT tests. ACT/SAT preparatory classes and materials can be expensive. Practicing on your own with official practice problems found online on the ACT or SAT website can be just as helpful.
Search for local, state, and national scholarships. Start writing essays and compile a list of people, such as teachers and extracurricular activity advisors, who would write a strong recommendation letter.
Visit colleges throughout the school year and the summer. Visit Illinois.
Continue talking to your parents and family members about your college search progress.
Build on the list of characteristics you want in your college and rank the characteristics in the order of importance to you.
Senior Year
Narrow your list of colleges to between five and ten. Get an application and financial aid information from each. Visit as many of those colleges as possible before applying.
Build on your calendar by adding more important dates, including test dates, college application deadlines, financial aid deadlines, etc.
Finish college admissions applications and ask your parents, counselor, and/or an English teacher to proofread and edit your essays.
Meet with your counselor to verify which colleges you intend to apply in order to send out your test scores. It's your responsibility to complete the Self-Reported Academic Record and make sure your test scores reach Illinois.