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Topics in this newsletter:

• Summer Activities for Your Students
• Top 10 College Planning Tips
• Preparing for College for a Family First
• 1, 2, 3, Career Planning
• Test Date Reminder

Summer Activities for Your Students

Summertime is a good time for your students to catch up on things they are too busy to do during the school year, things to put them ahead when they go back to school and make the school year a lot less hectic. Here are a few ideas you can suggest:

Visit college campuses - Take a family vacation near one of your college choices, or tour three or four campuses as your vacation. Visit while classes are in session so you get a feel for the college. Realize, however, that more students are on campus during the fall and spring.

Take or retake the ACT - If you just finished your junior year, June is a good time to take the ACT. The test results will be back to you in six weeks, giving you time to retake in the fall if you're not happy with your scores.

Take a summer course or work with a tutor - If your test scores were low in a certain subject, summer is a good time to take a course or work with a tutor. This can help you improve your scores if you retake the test in the fall.

Explore careers - Find a part-time job that exposes you to a career that interests you. Or learn through job shadowing, volunteering and researching.

Search for college - If you haven't started looking at colleges, start now. It's never too soon to find out about the differences in academics, cost, extracurricular activities and environment. Use the college search at www.actstudent.org to find more than 3,000 four-year, two-year and professional/technical schools.

Find out more about financial aid - Visit www.studentaid.ed.gov and www.actstudent.org to learn more about financial aid. Even though you can't submit a financial aid form (FAFSA) until January of your senior year, it's good to see what information you will need. Check with colleges to see if they require supplementary financial aid information.

Get organized - Plan ahead for what you have to do in the fall and spring of the next school year. Put together a system to organize all your forms for admissions, scholarships, financial aid, recommendations and essays/requirements. Plan to attend college fairs or college admissions visits.

Top 10 College Planning Tips

If you're looking to give your students advice about planning for college and a career, check out the top 10 tips from current and former student writers for ACT:

1. Work hard the entire four years of high school so you will be more appealing to colleges and have a better chance at earning scholarships.
2. Pursue college regardless of what your peers or even your parents say. Don't let anyone talk you out of achieving your goals.
3. Treat your college entrance exam like a regular test, without all the pressure of thinking it will determine your college future. Colleges also consider your GPA and other factors.
4. Check out early outreach and summer programs at nearby colleges to expose yourself to college life and career areas of interest. This is especially important if your parents didn't go to college.
5. When you make a college visit, set up a meeting with a student or graduate. You can ask questions you are too scared to ask in a group.
6. Keep your options open and apply to more than one or two colleges, both public and private schools.
7. When you choose your college major or career, begin by asking what really interests you. Many teens overlook this.
8. Talk to people working in careers that reflect your interests and find out from them what the "real world" is like. What do they like and dislike about their jobs?
9. Make sure you like the people you'll be going to school with--including students, professors, administrators--because they're the ones who are going to be influencing and shaping you for the next four years.
10. Once in college, stay connected to the key elements of your identity--family, friends, interests--yet open yourself to new ideas, activities and social situations.

ACT features high school and college student writers on its website to help other students plan for the future. Topics the students write about include staying motivated, searching for college, taking admissions tests, planning a career direction and being the first in the family to attend college. To read more from the student writers, visit www.actblog.org. Make sure you check back at the beginning of the school year this fall to meet our new student writers.

Preparing for College for a Family First

If your students are the first in their families to go to college, they don't have to do it alone. ACT has information that can help them and their parents figure out how best to prepare for college and a career.

Here are some things they can do to prepare for college, and the sooner the better.

• Develop your reading, writing and thinking skills.
• Limit your TV time.
• Listen to music with positive messages.
• Join clubs in debate, science or writing.
• Read, read, read.
• Identify people who can help you in and out of school.
• Ask questions.
• Visit colleges.
• Sign up for college outreach programs.
• Talk to college students.
• Join groups at church, at school and in your community that focus on positive values and support for each member.

You can download brochures for first-generation college students and parents at www.act.org/path/secondary/resources.html. For additional college and career planning information, visit www.actstudent.org; for resources in Spanish, visit www.act.org/path/spanish.

1, 2, 3, Career Planning

Career planning is as simple as 1-2-3. Well, maybe it's not easy, but career planning has three steps that people will cycle through and repeat throughout their working life.

By following these steps, your students can make the career decisions that are right for them. They will know what their options are and what it will take to reach their goals.

First, take a realistic look at your strengths, weaknesses, and interests. Consider:

• What do you think about yourself?
• What can help you achieve your goals, and what obstacles could get in your way?
• What types of work and school courses and activities appeal to you? What interests you?
• What do you do well now, and what skills have you gained through experience?
• What values do you have regarding work?

Second, explore your options. It's hard to know what you want to do "when you grow up" if you aren't even aware of the possibilities. Here are a just a few ways to find career information:

• Explore your career options using ACT's World-of-Work Map (www.actstudent.org/wwm/index.html)
• Use ACT's DISCOVER® program to explore possible careers.
• Spend time with people whose activities interest you.
• Volunteer or work in a job that interests you.
• Discuss your career and educational plans with your parents, counselor, or other interested people.

Third, consider issues that can affect your plans and take appropriate actions to accomplish your goals. Consider:

• What do you need to study?
• What schools offer the training you need?
• How will you pay for school?
• Are you ready to search for a job?
• How will you balance your work and going to school?
• How will you manage family or relationship commitments?

Test Date Reminder

The next national ACT test date is June 14, 2008. The regular registration deadline is May 9 and the late registration deadline is May 23. The next national test date will be October 25, 2008. (The ACT will be offered in 19 states on September 13, 2008.) Online registration and test date information are available at www.actstudent.org/regist/index.html. Make sure your students register early to avoid heavy web traffic and delays.

ACT offers an optional Writing Test in addition to the multiple-choice achievement test. Go to www.actstudent.org/writing/index.html to find out about the Writing Test, including what colleges have decided to require it.

While they are at the website, don't forget to tell your students to take advantage of test prep aids, including free sample test questions at www.actstudent.org/testprep.

ACT Online Prep, the only online test prep program developed exclusively by ACT test development professionals, is also available for $19.95 for a year's use. You also can find test day tips, a list of items to bring to the test, and details on what type of calculator can be used on the Math Test.

Preparing for the ACT, a booklet with a complete practice test, scoring key, writing prompt and sample essays, is available to download on the Test Prep section of www.actstudent.org.

For all your questions about the ACT test, visit www.actstudent.org.