9th Grade/High School Freshmen: 

• Meet with your school counselor and begin mapping an academic course to college. Make sure you are taking the required college preparatory classes (known as “a-g”). For example, you should be enrolled in Algebra I or Geometry, college-prep English, and a language other than English (e.g. Spanish). You can access your high school’s list of approved a-g courses at www.ucop.edu/doorways. To be eligible for college, you will need to earn at least a grade of "C" in your classes.
• Create a file that you will update throughout your high school career. In it, keep track of your outside activities, like community service, sports, music, and paid employment. Make sure you write down the hours devoted to each on a weekly or monthly basis. Also keep track of honors or awards received. If you transfer to a new school, get a copy of your school record and keep it in this file.
• Participate in career awareness activities and college visits. Utilize www.californiacolleges.edu to explore careers and majors, and to begin your “Student Planner”. The planner has information on courses and grades required for college admission. Also, check out this free career exploration website: www.CAcareerzone.com.
• Set as your goal to graduate from a 4-year college or university. Recognize that there are two pathways to enrollment: as a freshman (directly out of high school) and as a transfer student (after completion of two years of study at a California community college).
• Are you doing community service? Get involved in something outside of school or get involved with a service club in school. Donate time to a cause. Keep track of your commitments.
• Plan to do something meaningful during summer. There are many FREE opportunities available to you (see our page on Summer Opportunities).

10th Grade/High School Sophomores:

• Work hard in school. Your GPA for college admission at UC and CSU campuses will be determined by your grades earned in a-g classes from your sophomore and junior years. Try your best and always maintain academic integrity.
• Continue to explore career and major options for yourself, and keep track of your activities outside of school (see notes in 9^th Grade)
• Are you doing community service? Get involved in something outside of school or get involved with a service club in school. Donate time to a cause. Pick up a musical instrument or take a free dance class. Read an unassigned book for pleasure. Keep track of your commitments.
• Plan to do something meaningful during summer. There are many FREE opportunities available to you (see our page on Summer Opportunities).

11th Grade/High School Juniors:

• Register for the PSAT (with fee waiver) in the fall of junior year. This will give you experience in taking the SAT and also may qualify you for the National Merit Scholarship.
• Register for the SAT (with fee waiver) in the spring of junior year.
• Register for the ACT (with fee waiver) in the spring of junior year. (If you are considering applying to the UC, you must take the ACT with Writing.)
• If you are applying to the UC or selective independent colleges and universities (e.g. Pomona College), you may need to take two SAT Subject Tests in June (you can take up to 3 tests at each sitting). Although the UC will no longer require the SAT Subject Tests for admission beginning in the fall of 2012, some programs/majors may recommend the SAT Subject Tests. 
• Sometime in the spring (usually March), you will take the California Standards Tests during school hours. In the English and mathematics sections, there will be a brief set of optional multiple choice questions that are part of the CSU Early Assessment Program (EAP). You are urged to complete those optional sections because your results will go far in helping you to prepare for college entry and assist you and your counselor in selecting your senior year course work. For more information, see www.calstate.edu/eap.  
• If you are an athlete who hopes to play sports at a Division I or II university, you must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center at the beginning of your junior year. After completion of your junior year, you must request your high school to send your transcript (with grades from 9th-11th grade) to the NCAA Eligibility Center. You should also have your SAT or ACT scores sent to the Eligibility Center directly. For more information, see www.ncaa.org.
• Junior Year is a challenging one. Your classes are at the highest level you’ve ever taken. Work hard, get enough sleep, and always maintain your integrity. Do not allow stress to interfere with your commitment to honesty and hard work.
• Are you doing community service? Get involved in something outside of school or get involved with a service club in school. Donate time to a cause. Keep track of your commitments.
• Plan to do something meaningful during summer. There are many FREE opportunities available to you (see our page on Summer Opportunities).

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -Aristotle

Getting to school on time each day, working your hardest, paying attention to your teachers, completing your homework: these are actions you choose to take each day. Soon these actions become habits and you're on your way to preparing for college.

Do not be afraid to challenge yourself. Believe in your ability to learn and allow yourself to seek help from teachers, mentors and groups that serve students who are first in their family to attend college (e.g. AVID, Cal-SOAP, Upward Bound, and EAOP--see our Resources page for descriptions of these programs)

Remember that there are two pathways to university enrollment: you can enter following high school graduation by following the guidelines on these pages, or you can transfer from community college. Either way, you achieve the same end result: you earn a college degree!

"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor." -Henry David Thoreau