PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS

A Student Timeline

10th Grade

For this year, you’ll want to stay on track with your high school classes and activities and begin to narrow down the plan for your future.

Fall

Take a practice PSAT to prepare you for the real thing next year. It also allows you to release your name to colleges so you can start receiving brochures from them. Start getting ready for the ACT. Ask your guidance counselor about the PLAN assessment pro-

gram offered by American College Testing. This program helps determine your study habits and academic progress and interests; it will also prepare you for the ACT. Work with your guidance counselor to make sure you’re enrolled in the courses you need to prepare you for college or a career. Move on to the next level of classes in the core subjects (English, math, science, history, and a foreign language). Begin learning about the college admissions process. Get familiar with general college entrance requirements. The guidance counselor’s office, the library, and college Web sites are all good sources of information.

Explore your career options in more detail--research possible careers to learn about the tasks, education, and training necessary for each occupation.

Winter

Take on new roles. Stay involved with your extracurricular activities and work toward leader- ship positions in the activities you like best. Become involved in community service and other vol- unteer activities. This also helps admissions and scholarships.

Read, read, read. Developing your reading skills will help prepare you for tests and make you a well-rounded individual. Read as many books as you can and read the newspaper to learn about current affairs.

Practice your writing. You’ll need good writing skills no matter what path you pursue, so work on those skills now to get prepared. Find a teacher or anoth- er adult who can advise and encourage you to write well.

Get advice. Meet with your guidance counselor to make sure you’re staying on track. You can also discuss your PSAT scores and ask about postsecondary enrollment options and Placement (AP) courses.

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