Seniors at Watkins Mill High School are preparing for college in the fall of 2012 by finishing college applications, taking SATs and applying for financial aid throughout the upcoming months. 

Career Information Coordinator Deborah Prochnow said, “Seniors need to understand your senior performance really helps your first year in college.” Seniors will need to finish their college applications in the fall, request transcripts and ask for recommendations. 

Prochnow added that colleges are allowed to withdraw their acceptance if a senior shows a decrease in grades, so seniors need to be aware that it is especially important that they not slack off during their senior year. 

Prochnow made it clear that juniors need to be preparing for college as well. She said juniors need to “put their list of colleges together and start visiting colleges.” She said that college visits are crucial for juniors in the admissions process. She added that junior year is the last chance for juniors to “build their transcripts up.” 

Senior Aindi Tsarni is making his way through the college application process and has finished his applications. Tsarni said that the Career Center helped him with “sending [his] transcripts and filling out the common application.” 

The Career Center is a useful tool for students of all grades, and there are resources to help complete the applications for colleges as well as find scholarships and financial aid info. Tsarni added that there are “plenty of scholarships available to help with paying for college.” 

Senior Manju Shivacharan said he is almost done with all his applications. “I should start hearing back from the colleges I have already applied to by mid-January,” he said. 

All actions that need to be taken by seniors, such as completing applications, requesting all the proper documentations, taking the last SATs, and applying for scholarships and financial aid at www.fafsa.ed.gov need to be done soon, “all the while keeping grades up,” Prochnow added.