The College Bound Planner

A Roadmap to Take You From High School to Your First Day of College (College Planning, Time management, and Goal Setting for Teens)

Anna Costaras, Gail Liss

• Publisher: TMA Press
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9781642506051
• Topic: Study Aids
• Subtopic: Education General

Complete Guide to Academic & College Planning for Teens

A must for every high school student." — Christie Barnes, author of What Every Parent Needs to Know About College Admissions

The College Bound Planner is your step-by-step comprehensive college planning guide to organize every step of your high school education while preparing smart goals for college.

Get your teens ready now! College may seem far away but thinking ahead and understanding how things work will help your teen prepare. In these uncertain times, parents and students are feeling even more anxious about how to approach college readiness. This book provides advice and guidance starting at freshman year of high school up through senior year. This step-by-step guidance empowers students to take control of their academic futures and thrive, no matter what the future brings.

Develop skills for a lifetime of success. The College Bound Planner helps teens master skills including note taking, studying, test taking, and writing essays and research papers. Being college ready is also about having life skills such as time management, critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, and communication, as well as the discipline and drive needed to succeed. This college planner is the best college planner to get a teen ready for college.

Inside, you'll find:

• Academic direction and academic planning tips
• Good study skills and life habits to set yourself up to succeed
• Ways to stay organized and how to do proper goal setting
• Guides to prioritizing your personal goals while participating in extracurriculars
• How and when to apply for college using proper college planning
• What to do to get ready for your first day as an undergraduate college student

If you liked What Color Is Your Parachute?, Fiske Guide to Colleges 2021, or Teens' Guide to College & Career Planning, you'll love The College Bound Planner.

Chapter 1 

Freshman Year: On Your Mark, Get Set, Go 

This school year will begin with so many new things: school supplies, books, classmates, classes, teachers and even possibly your school. This is an opportunity for a fresh start, a chance for a reset, to position yourself where you want to be.

High school is the next step in your academic journey and you’ll find school will be different now than what you’ve been used to. The building might be bigger and it may take you some time to find your way around. Your class may be larger, with many unfamiliar faces and new friends to make. But the most significant difference will most certainly be your workload. Now that you’re in high school, you should anticipate being challenged with more complex academic material, while at the same time you’ll be expected to be more independent. Your full-time responsibility is to be a committed student.

Although this may sound daunting, it is important to keep in mind that starting in freshman year, everything you do will impact your college options. Begin by asking yourself, “Who am I?” Although this question may seem simple, it’s not so easy to answer. Who you are and how you’ll present yourself to colleges will be reflected through your curriculum, your grades, how hard you push yourself academically and your involvement in extracurricular and community activities. For success in college, you will need to become prepared by completing the necessary academic coursework. You have four years to become college ready, but don’t worry, no one expects you to have it all figured out on day one. You’ll have time and plenty of help.

A good support system is so important. Build your team and include your parents, after all, they know you best. Your guidance counselor, teachers, school psychologist, peer mentors and even your school principal could all be members of your team and may have much to offer. Introduce yourself and take the time to build these relationships. Don’t be shy, keep your group in the loop and ask for support. Be proactive and reach out for help when you’re feeling uncertain or overwhelmed.

Now that you’re in ninth grade, set some personal and academic goals. Be engaged and present in your classes. Your job is to take your studies seriously. Come to school every day on time and prepared to learn, and use your time in high school to set yourself up for college. Participate, speak up, share your thoughts and ask questions when you’re not clear about the material.

You should have some fun and enjoy yourself too. Explore life outside of the classroom. Jump into activities you know you like or try something you haven’t done before. You’ll develop new interests and skills, and show colleges how you spent your time. They will be interested to see what you did outside the classroom and how you contributed to your school and local community.

Students and parents want to know what it takes to get into a “good” college. There’s no single magic answer. The answer depends on the student, their goals, the type of school they’d like to attend, and each college’s admissions criteria and objectives, which may vary from year to year. College admissions reps want to see that you have used your four years in high school to challenge yourself, develop academically and grow personally.

Game Plan 

Set Your Goals

Goal setting is an important skill to develop and one that will help you in high school, college and from then on. Studies have shown that when you write down and share your goals, you are more likely to stick with them. Seeing them visually helps you stay committed, so make your list and then share it with someone close to you.

Use the prompts below to help you start thinking about who you are, what you care about, where you’re headed and how you’re going to get there. You may have very specific responses to some questions, while you may not be sure about others—that’s natural. Talk to your family to get feedback and hear what they think.

Once you’ve gathered your thoughts, share them with your guidance counselor.

Define your strengths

The natural place to start when looking for classes is by identifying your academic interests and strengths. For example, if you excel in math, talk to your counselor about enrolling in the most challenging level you are eligible for now. Find out which prerequisites you are required to take to be able to enroll in the more advanced classes later in high school.

What do you do well?

What interests you?

Are th...

Table of contents

• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Freshman Year: On Your Mark, Get Set, Go
• Game Plan
• Set Your Goals
• What It Means to Be “College Ready”
• Meet Your Guidance Counselor
• Get Involved
• Set Yourself Up to Succeed
• Try This
• Goals
• Notes
• Chapter 2
• Sophomore Year: Dive In
• Game Plan
• Do Your “Job”
• A First Look at Standardized Tests
• Build on Your Credentials
• Be Organized
• Plan Ahead
• Try This
• Goals
• Notes
• Chapter 3
• Junior Year: Control the Chaos
• Game Plan
• Who Are You?
• More About Standardized Tests
• Finding the Right School
• Jump-Start Your Applications
• What Are You Going to Do This Summer?
• Try This
• Goals
• Notes
• Chapter 4
• Senior Year: You’re Almost There
• Game Plan
• Where Will You Apply?
• Submitting Your Applications
• Paying for College
• The Home Stretch
• Try This
• Goals
• Notes
• Chapter 5
• You’re Going to College: Get Ready
• Game Plan
• First Steps
• Next Steps
• Register for Classes
• Prepare to Live on Campus
• Choose Your Path
• Goals
• Notes
• About the Authors