December: Keep an eye on deadlines.

Prepare financial aid paperwork.

You can begin filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on January 1. This application is required by colleges to determine your eligibility for many types of financial aid. You will need to gather several financial documents from your parents' records and your own. Visit the FAFSA Web site for a list of required financial documents.

• Go to www.pin.ed.gov to obtain a personal identification number (PIN) now – it will save you time later. The PIN is used as an electronic signature on the online FAFSA, and your family will need two – one for you and one for your parents.
• Some colleges require the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE. Ask your target colleges whether they need it, and if so, fill it out online at www.collegeboard.com. Fill out the PROFILE only if your target colleges require it, since the PROFILE, unlike the FAFSA, charges a fee.

Continue working on application essays.

The college application essay helps admissions officers learn who you are as a person – beyond grades, test scores, and activities. Make sure your essay communicates something essential about you. For help as you write your essay:

• Call or visit the VSAC Resource Center to request our packet called "Writing an Effective College Admissions Essay."
• Ask your English teachers to help you organize your essay and proofread it.
• The library in the VSAC Resource Center in Winooski has several helpful books on writing college admissions essays. You can borrow any of these either in person or through an interlibrary loan request with your school library.

Write thank-you notes.

Teachers, counselors, coaches, and community leaders work hard to write thoughtful recommendation letters each year. Send a sincere thank-you note to everyone who wrote you a recommendation letter.