College Counseling

List of 4 items.

• Junior Year - Fall

  • The PSAT/NMSQT, taken in October, is the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship competition and is practice for later SATs. St. John’s automatically registers students for the PSAT.
  • Register to take the SAT or ACT in the spring. 
  • Meet with the junior counselor to discuss preliminary college planning.
  • Attend College Night with your parents to get information about beginning the college search and application process.
  • Plan visits to local colleges and universities.
  • Keep your grades up! Academics are of vital importance.
  • Students with documented learning differences should be sure they are registered to use their accommodations on the SAT or ACT. Requesting standardized test accommodations should be done three months prior to any test date.
  • Students with documented learning differences should consider whether or not they plan to use accommodations in college. If so, students should schedule an update to their psycho-educational testing. These assessments help the student, parents and counselors focus on the student’s need for accommodations and services at the college level.

• Junior Year - Spring

  • Meet with your college counselor when scheduling senior year courses to select the best possible academic options.
  • Think about teachers who will write a positive recommendation letter for you.
  • Complete the college questionnaire on Naviance so teachers have information to use when writing your letters of recommendation.
  • Follow counselor instructions for requesting letters of recommendation.
  • Think about taking the SAT Subject Test for subjects that you are currently completing.
  • Start looking at applications and begin thinking about essays; check out www.commonapp.org for ideas.
  • Begin to visit college websites and plan campus visits for the summer.
  • Athletes should register with the NCAA Initial Eligibility Center at the conclusion of junior year after report cards are issued.
  • Parents and students should meet with the college counselor to begin discussing the application process.

• Junior Year - Summer

  • On August 1, register with Common Application and begin filling it out.
  • Begin to complete a list of colleges to which you would like to apply.
  • Visit colleges in which you are interested.
  • Begin to formulate ideas for your application essay.

• Senior Year

  • Make an appointment to meet with your counselor to go over your college list, receive recommendations for schools, discuss essays and make sure you are on track with the process.
  • Students who plan to play sports in college should see their counselor to link the Common Application, Naviance and the NCAA Clearinghouse together so they can send out transcripts.
  • Check with Naviance to see which colleges will be visiting St. John’s in the fall.
  • Be aware of deadlines set by colleges and your counselor. Most applications are due between October 15 (early action/early decision/priority) and January 15.
  • ALL TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE REQUESTED THROUGH NAVIANCE FAMILY CONNECTION THREE WEEKS IN ADVANCE OF ANY COLLEGE DEADLINE.
  • Visit colleges and prepare for any possible interviews.
  • Continue to work hard in the classroom. Grades count and you do not want to have your acceptance rescinded because of poor performance in the classroom.
  • Remain involved in your extracurricular activities.