We hope that you have found the help of your CoFo coach helpful in navigating your Junior year. A coach will be assigned to you at the beginning of your senior year to help you through applying and preparing for college! The summer before the senior year can be a great time to begin preparing for a few things. We’ve created a list of suggested activities to help make the most of your summer:
Complete Any Uncompleted Tasks from Junior Year
We get it! Things get busy. The summer can be a great time to catch up on things like:
- Creating a resume.
- Writing a college essay draft. If you plan on applying to a school in Texas, check out the ApplyTexas prompts.
- Filling out a college matrix to narrow down schools.
Set at Least Three SMART Goals Related to Your Professional Future
These could be things like:
- Review what makes something a Smart Goal
- An informational interview
- Reach out to someone who works in a field you are interested in to see if you can speak with them for 15-20 minutes about their position and career journey.
- Internships (Check out the Volunteer & Internship Resource category in CoFo Connect!)
- Volunteering
- Researching your area of interest
- Use Youtube, take a free online course, read books about a potential area of interest.
- Working
- Having a job builds important skills like time management, project management, customer service skills, and more!
Apply for Scholarships
- You can create a Raise.me profile and start making matching donation scholarships for activities you already do!
- Here are a few scholarship search sites:
- Unigo
- College Greenlight
- Do Something
- Niche
- Scholarships
- Fast Web
- Cappex
- Find more scholarships in CoFo Connect!
Practice Self Care
- You did it! You completed a completely unprecedented school year! Take time for some intentional rest and replenish your energy.
Prepare for Financial Aid
Prepare to fill out financial aid applications in the fall by:
- Finding out if you will be filling out the FAFSA or TASFA.
- Discussing your family’s financial information, including tax records, to fill out this information.
Deepen Your Knowledge of Your College Matrix Picks
- Follow those universities on their social media.
- Check out their websites. If you are interested in a particular program, read up on it and read the faculty profiles.
- Reflect on the questions:
- What is drawing me to this school?
- Is there a deal breaker that would make me decide not to attend this school?
You Know Your Dreams and Goals!
What are some personal goals you have for the summer?
Now that you have your summer goals and checklist ready, how can you hold yourself accountable to completing them? Put your goals somewhere you will see them and check them off as they are completed! For example:
- Fill out and print out our editable PDF checklist provided below (or keep it on your computer desktop.)
- Write out your goals and place them somewhere in your room. Adding color and pictures to your checklist will help it stand out!
- Write your list out in the notes app of your phone.
