GPA begins now
Every grade counts toward your GPA from the first week.
Four years,
sixteen seasons
Grades 9–12 — every season here has a deadline attached.
Grade 9 · Freshman
Start how you mean to finish
Choose for four years
Pick activities you could still love as a senior; depth beats a long list.
Finish strong
Close the year well and ask which honors classes open up in 10th grade.
Purposeful summer
Volunteer, build, or study — admissions officers read summers.
Grade 10 · Sophomore
The rehearsal year
Practice PSAT
Take the PSAT for practice; the score doesn't count, the experience does.
Step up
Take a leadership role, however small, in one activity.
First college list
Draft a list of dream, match and safety schools — it will change, that's fine.
Start test prep
Begin gentle SAT prep, and TOEFL practice if English isn't your first language.
Grade 11 · Junior
The decisive year
Go all in
PSAT/NMSQT in October, plus the hardest course load you can carry well.
First real SAT
Sit the SAT, and start the scholarship hunt — note every deadline.
Ask early
Request recommendations from two teachers before summer break.
Draft the essay
Write your personal essay this summer — fall will be too busy.
Grade 12 · Senior
The harvest year
Applications open
Common App opens August 1; early deadlines land in November.
Money season
Regular decision closes in January — file FAFSA and finish scholarship essays.
Decisions arrive
Compare admission and aid offers carefully before the May 1 deposit.
The door opens
Visa interview, housing forms, packing — walk through it.
“Advancing Excellence. Ensuring Success.”
See the University timeline