Planning for college is exciting but it can also be exhausting and overwhelming. The most important tool in planning for college is organization. When I was in school I once had a teacher say that proper organizational skills alone could raise your grade. Over the years I have found that logic to be sound not only in school but in all areas of life. College is a very important step and scribbling notes on Post-Its or the back of a gum wrapper will not cut it. You need to order your steps to see the greatest success in this process.
To this end, Carolina Pad and Seventeen Magazine have banded together to bring you the 17 Essentials of College Planning. This system will keep you on track without sacrificing style. The binder alone is so cute and functional that once you gain entrance into college you will want to continue to use it. Just remove the interior pages and this can continue to keep you organized throughout a class or your college years.
The binder-style planner includes:
Interior pages to log important college information and timelines (i.e. calendar, interview notes, master Checklist, and more!)
Expandable files for loose papers
8 tab dividers to file applications by college
42 color-coordinated labels
Let me give you a brief rundown of the interior pages. The pages will guide you from step one all the way until your first acceptance letter. It will give you a timeline to keep you on track your senior year from when to take the SATs to when to apply for financial aid. The planner also gives you pages designed to have essential information at your fingertips such as your profile, GPA, SAT and ACT scores, which colleges you applied to and deadlines to meet. There are pages for essays, interview notes, and a place for college breakdowns. The planner has a page for tips on how to plan your steps to college from your freshman year in high school. While the planner is designed mostly for high school juniors and seniors, I can see buying this as a special gift for when your daughter enters high school. Keeping focused and on track will pave the road to success. I especially think this is important for homeschooling families since we are our own record keepers for our children.
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