| September | Attend college fairs. This is a great way to make initial contact with your admissions counselor! | |
| September |
Contact admissions offices to schedule your personal college visits. You can request: -A campus tour |
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| September | Check admission deadlines at the colleges you are considering. St. Thomas operates on a rolling admissions basis meaning that we review applications and get back to students right away. Some schools have early action or early decision programs. | |
| September | Keep studying! Colleges will look at your senior schedule and grades when you apply. | |
| September | Have you taken the ACT or SAT? If not, register to take the ACT and/or SAT this fall. | |
| October | Fall Tommie Days happens in mid-October. Check out campus and attend an activities fair with academic departments and student organizations available to answer all your questions. | |
| October | Meet with admissions counselors when they visit your high school. | |
| October |
Send your ACT and/or SAT test scores to the schools you are considering. The University of St. Thomas’ code number for the ACT is 2102 and the SAT code is 6110. |
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| October | Ask for letters of recommendation from teachers, coaches and employers. | |
| October | Complete your college admission essay for each application you plan to submit. Have your English teacher read over your essay and give input. Consider submitting one of your best writing samples to schools that (like St. Thomas) will accept a writing sample in place of an essay. | |
| October | While there is no deadline to apply for admission to UST, we are on rolling admission which means that we review applications and admit students until our class is full. | |
| October | Submit college applications! St. Thomas’ online application can be found here. | |
| November | Continue visiting colleges. Don’t forget to eat lunch on campus! | |
| November | Make a personal calendar of all the deadlines you need to remember. When are applications due? When should you apply for certain scholarships? Don’t miss those deadlines! | |
| November | Research scholarships. Utilize the resources available from your local library, websites like Fastweb, your high school guidance office, parents’ work, your employer and church. | |
| November | Get some great scholarship information from our Financial Aid website. | |
| December | Apply for outside funding or scholarships (you’ll be busy writing essays!) | |
| December | Respond immediately to any requests for additional information from colleges to which you’ve applied. | |
| January | Go online (parents and students) to the PIN website to secure your U.S. Department of Education PIN (Personal Identification Numbers) which you will use as your electronic signature when you file your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). | |
| January | Collect family tax information and file your taxes as soon as possible. Each school has its own priority deadline for financial aid (St. Thomas’ is April 1). Be sure to file your FAFSA by this date. | |
| January | After January 1, or as soon as you file your federal taxes, you should file your FAFSA electronically. You can obtain a paper FAFSA by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) toll free at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). Be sure to indicate all the schools you would like to receive your information. The FAFSA school code for St. Thomas is 002345. | |
| January | Be wary of websites or services that charge a fee for financial aid. Filing the FAFSA is free. | |
| February | Keep in contact with your admissions counselor. This person is available to help you through the college admission process and knows about all the deadlines, forms and important events. | |
| February | If you are taking Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, register to take the tests to receive college credit. | |
| February | Ask schools about confirming and housing deposits. St. Thomas requires a $200 deposit to reserve a space in the class and a $200 deposit to reserve a space in a residence hall. Housing assignments are based on the date we receive your housing deposit. These deposits are refundable, if requested in writing by May 1. | |
| March | Revisit the colleges you are considering. If you haven’t done so already, consider an overnight visit and check out all the options for living on campus. | |
| March | Respond immediately when a college’s financial aid office requests information. | |
| April | It’s time to make a decision! May 1 is the deadline for many colleges. Make sure you have submitted your deposits to the school of your choice. | |
| April | Notify the schools you will not be attending. | |
| May | Enjoy your final weeks of high school! |
