• STUDY! The grades made in your junior year are considered to be the extremely important in the college admission process.
• Get involved! Explore the extracurricular and community service activities available to you at your high school and in your community. Do not limit yourself as colleges and universities are looking for well-rounded individuals who can contribute to student life on their campus.
• Visit with college representatives who visit Germantown to discuss their colleges.
• Discuss your ideas about college with your family.
• Explore college search websites to develop an appropriate and realistic list of colleges to which you may apply.
• Send in your registration to take the SAT and/or the ACT at least once in the spring this year. Check to see if the colleges or universities you are considering require the optional Writing Test for the ACT.
• Take the PSAT in October. The PSAT is a live test your Junior year. Before, it was just for practice.  Your performance on the PSAT can dictate whether or not you will qualify for many scholarship opportunities available across the country, and is the ONLY way for you to qualify for the National Achievement, Hispanic, and Merit Scholarship Program.
• If possible, visit some of your college choices during school holidays, preferably when the college is in session.
• Plan your senior schedule with your Counselor. Check admission requirements in the individual college catalog to be certain you are taking courses required by the colleges in which you are interested. For example, some out of state universities require 2 years of a foreign language; you do not want to eliminate yourself from the applicant pool simply because you did not know the requirements! (See note to students above)
• If you think you may want to apply to one of the Military Academies or for an ROTC scholarship, now is the time to write for information.
• Attend the Madison Central High School College Fair.
• Update your resume
• Investigate summer options and summer college programs.
• Plan summer trips so that you can visit colleges that you are considering.
• Spring of your Junior year is the time to complete the FAFSA4caster. The FAFSA is the government form that everyone must fill out to be eligible for any type of financial aid.  Even though you cannot fill out the FAFSA until January of your senior year, the FAFSA4caster is designed for juniors to prepare.  It is a wonderful tool!

Advantages to taking the ACT your junior year:

• You have probably completed the coursework corresponding to the test material.
• You will have your test scores and other information in time to influence your senior year. (For example, you may decide to take an additional class in an area in which your score was low.)
• Colleges will know of your interests and have your scores in time to contact them during the summer before your senior year, when many of them are sending information about admissions, course placement, scholarships, and special programs to prospective students.
• You will have information about yourself and the schools they are interested in prior to their campus visits, making your visits more focused.
• You will have the opportunity to retest if you feel your scores don't accurately reflect you abilities. ACT research shows that of the students who took the ACT more than once:
• 55% increased their Composite score
• 22% had no change in their Composite score
• 23% decreased their Composite score