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9th Grade/Freshman Year
- Meet with your high school guidance counselor to make sure you're taking the classes you'll need to meet college admission requirements.
- In Illinois, it's recommended that college-bound students take at least the following high school courses:
- four years of English
- three years of mathematics, including algebra and geometry
- three years of laboratory science, including biology and chemistry
- three years of social studies, including history and government
- two years of electives, chosen from foreign language, music, visual arts, theater, dance and vocational education.
- Look into Advanced Placement (AP) or other types of honors courses that will help you better prepare for college.
- Use the High School Planner to keep track of the classes you're taking and your grades.
- Continue your involvement in extra-curricular activities — such as sports, performing arts, volunteer work — since admission officers look at students' extra-curricular activities when considering them for admission. These activities might also help you decide what type of a career you'd be interested in pursuing.
- Create a file of the following documents and notes:
- copies of report cards
- lists of awards and honors
- lists of school and community activities in which you are involved, including both paid and volunteer work, and descriptions of what you do.
- Continue the good study habits you developed last year to help keep those grades up.
- Start thinking about the colleges you want to attend. Use our Find a College module to help. Once you've narrowed down the list of colleges you're interested in, start visiting the campuses through our Campus Tours module.
- Talk with your parents about any college savings programs they may have set up for you, including any prepaid tuition and/or college savings accounts. Make sure your college savings plan is keeping up with the increase in college tuition.
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