What you need to track to keep your kids on track.

Freshman Year

• Keep a list of classes, textbooks, teachers, and quarter and semester grades.
• Record extracurricular activities, paid jobs, community service, and volunteer activities. Keep a count of how many hours your kids spend on each. (I just write it on my calendar and add it up at the end of the year.)
• List honors, awards, or recognitions.
• Too young to get a job? Consider starting your own business.

Sophomore Year

• Keep a list of classes, textbooks, teachers, and quarter and semester grades.
• Record extracurricular activities, paid jobs, community service, and volunteer activities. Keep a count of how many hours your kids spend on each.
• List honors, awards, or recognitions.
• Record any paid or unpaid jobs with employer’s address and phone number.
• Study for PSAT. Sign up for PSAT with a local school in August. Take PSAT in October.
• If you are into the arts, consider applying for the Governor’s School for the Arts.  Applications are due in mid-January.

Junior Year

• Keep a list of classes, textbooks, teachers, and quarter and semester grades.
• Record extracurricular activities, paid jobs, community service, and volunteer activities. Keep a count of how many hours your kids spend on each.
• List honors, awards, or recognitions.
• Record any paid or unpaid jobs with employer’s address and phone number.
• Study for PSAT. Sign up for PSAT with a local school in August. Take PSAT in October. (This is the year it counts for the National Merit Competition.)
• Consider applying for either the Governor’s School for the Arts or the Governor’s Scholars Program.  Applications are due in mid-January. You may start filling them out in September. Be as detailed as you can.
• Take ACT and/or SAT tests. Study for them! There are free sample tests online.
• Visit College Fairs in the Fall and UK May Day.
• Consider shadowing people in career fields you are interested in.

Senior Year

• Keep a list of classes, textbooks, teachers, and quarter and semester grades.
• Record extracurricular activities, paid jobs, community service, and volunteer activities. Keep a count of how many hours your kids spend on each.
• List honors, awards, or recognitions.
• Record any paid or unpaid jobs with employer’s address and phone number.
• Create a master list of the above lists to help you when filling out college and scholarship applications.
• Retake ACT or SAT if you wish to improve your score. (Do early, as many colleges have December deadlines.)
• Visit College Fairs (September & October) and tour colleges.
• Fill out the FAFSA as soon as you can after October 1st.  
• Apply for colleges in the fall. Many colleges, honors programs, and scholarships have December deadlines.
• Visit colleges and scholarship websites. Apply for many scholarships, especially for the universities and departments you are interested in. (Such as the College of Engineering or the College of Agriculture, who both give out scholarships to freshmen at UK.)
• In mid-August, UK has an AHEAD Day for homeschoolers interested in applying. EKU and Asbury also have homeschool days for homeschoolers interested in applying. These are excellent opportunities to ask questions and to find out the specifics for what colleges want to see.