Class of 2012

Hello juniors.  You are in the final stretch of this very important junior year of high school.  How are you doing?  Are you confident that you're headed in the right direction?

By now, college bound juniors should have either taken a SAT/ACT or have registered for an upcoming one.  DO NOT WAIT FOR SENIOR YEAR TO TAKE A SAT/ACT.  By June of junior year you should be finished with your testing and only considering a fall test if you are not happy with your scores.

Make sure you have a running list of the colleges/univeristies you are considering applying to.  By this summer, you should narrow your list to no more than 10 schools.  If you are not sure what schools to apply to, speak to your school counselor.  Make sure that he/she is an expert in the college application process.  If you are not comfortable with the counselor's expertise, considering working with someone in the growing field of college admissions counselors who work one-on-one with students applying to universities.

With public schools slashing budgets across the USA, the school counselor is, unfortunately, the first to go.  In California the ratio of students to counselor is over 1000/1.  How much time can your counselor spend with you on the college review and application process?  A private counselor spends 20 - 50 hours per year working with you and your family.  The money invested here, may be the best money spent toward college.