Explore learning routes, review school requirements and costs, track current application milestones and prepare the chosen transition.
Discuss the student’s interests, strengths, support needs and possible post-school routes. Explore college, technical study, apprenticeships and work where relevant. Keep the timeline flexible and identify what information would help choose a route without requiring a final career decision too early.
Check graduation requirements and the current prerequisites of plausible next programs with the school counselor or relevant adviser. Review course availability, workload, support and alternatives. Keep a record of work, activities and responsibilities that the student can describe accurately, including learning outside formal clubs.
Discuss what the household may be able to contribute and build current program-cost scenarios. Verify possible aid sources through official information without treating an estimate as an award. Review savings goals alongside other household obligations and revisit the range as actual institutions become clearer.
As programs become concrete, check their current testing and score policies, application rounds, portfolio or audition requirements and financial-aid dates. Arrange official test preparation or access requests when needed. Assign materials and recommendation tasks with actual deadlines and contributor lead time.
Move shortlisted institutions into separate task groups and track submission receipts, missing items, interviews and written offers. Compare complete costs, gift aid, borrowing and possible earnings with the student. Confirm renewal conditions, housing and support arrangements before treating an offer as workable.
Confirm the actual response, deposit, registration and housing dates. Build the term cash plan and identify who handles bills, records and follow-up. Support the student in learning the institution’s systems and requesting help. Keep a portable copy of decisions and revisit the plan after the transition.
Create a long-term preparation plan with exploration tasks, responsible people and source notes. · Track course-planning questions, prerequisite checks and evidence the student may later use. · Keep verified testing, application and funding milestones with exact cutoff details. · Track each institution’s active application and offer tasks. · Keep enrollment, support and handoff tasks with the student’s agreed responsibilities.
Project entered program costs on an explicit duration and growth basis.
Test a chosen savings target with actual current funds and assumed deposits.
Check the household contribution against complete costs and cash obligations.
Plan actual test or application preparation tasks within available sessions.
Reconcile actual gift aid and funding sources separately for each written offer.
Plan actual starting cash, term costs and funding over the chosen months.
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Official SAT and ACT resources distinguish testing formats and policies; receiving institutions set their own admissions and reporting requirements.
The FAFSA submission summary provides an eligibility index and estimates, with the school’s financial-aid offer a separate record.
A term change or new program choice is a useful reason to update the timeline.
Make the record usable by the person who will eventually manage enrollment and study tasks.