To a high school senior, your last year in high school flies by. Overnight you find yourself faced with many adult decisions that once seemed so far away. With senior proms, skip days, senior trips, senior romances, and graduation; it is hard to find time to think about college. However, this is the most important thing to think about. It is also important to start thinking about this subject early since many scholarships and college applications have deadlines.

One way to help you prepare for college is to organize. Even if your organization only consists of a folder dedicated to college related papers, you will find it makes things a lot easier. This folder should contain your college brochures, applications, scholarship info, SAT or ACT scores, and any other relevant information.

Another way to prepare for college involves keeping track of important dates. If you don't already have a calendar this is the year to purchase one. You will have many dates to post on your calendar including, deadlines, orientations, and scheduled appointments. These dates, though very important, can be forgotten when faced more pressing issues like first romances.

In addition, to being organized and keeping track of important dates, it is a good idea to visit with your guidance counselor. In fact, it may be good a idea to have your parents sit in on this conversation if they did not attend college. Many parents are as new to the experience as you are and will need to be familiar with some aspects that effect them, especially funding. Your guidance counselor will guide you through the requirements for college including standardized tests, and high school courses that need to be taken.

The next step is to find a college. The best way to do this is by gathering information. Don't make any decisions until you have all of the information in front of you. This information may come from parents and family, brochures, the internet, college tours, and your guidance counselor. When you have narrowed down a college you can then begin the application process. If you are planning to stay in the dorms, you may also need to fill out an application for that as well.

Another huge step is to find funding for college. Don't let the price of attending college scare you out of trying. There are many sources to help you fund your education. The most common source is the government. To apply for federal aid you will need to file a Federal Application for Student Financial Aid or a FAFSA. Don't let the name scare you. This is not as hard as it sounds. However, you will need to have your tax information and the tax information from your parents. A lot of colleges will help you with this process and can even file online for you.

Other sources are scholarships from the college you are planning to attend. The application for a college's scholarship is usually included in their application packet. In addition, other scholarships related to your major or desired profession may also be available. There may even be scholarships available for your race, age, or other characteristics. The internet is a great source of information to find scholarships that are not run by your college. You may also want to enter contests or pageants to earn money for college.