It’s the lucky month of March. It’s the time of year when the snow starts to melt and spring starts to peek its head out of the clouds. With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about the end of the school year. Well, you’re in luck because we’ve compiled a fresh new list of ideas – with the help of our favorite helpful website collegesearch.com – to fuel you up for the next stretch of the college-search road.

Click in for this month’s complete checklist.

Freshmen:

-Stay involved in extra curricular activities at school. Audition for the musical, try out for the football team and do anything that interests you to start building you up as a well-rounded student.
– Now that the snow is melting and the roads are clearing up, it is the perfect time to pack up the family for a road trip to a school that might interest you. Why not take a weekend trip up to Gannon to see the lake as it starts to thaw out? Trust me, it looks very cool.
-Use the College Savings Calculator to see how much money you and your family should start saving for college.
-Start preparing for the SAT Subject Tests. Check out the subjects available online and get a jump on them while you’re still in classes and before the summer slump sets in.

Sophomores:

-Stay involved in extra curricular activities like sports and clubs. These will come in handy later on.
-If you’ve taken the PSAT/NMSQT test in school, use the My College QuickStart planning kit provided by collegeboard.com. Your score report will provide you with an access code to log in.
-Keep inquiring about the SAT Subject Tests – you may be interested in taking these in the next part of the semester.
-Use the College Savings Calculator to learn handy tips on saving money for school.
-Schedule a visit. Schools look a lot different in person than they do online (for example, you won’t get to see how cool Gannon looks when the snow melts by just visiting our website).
-Learn more about college costs and how financial aid works.

Juniors:

-Come to a school’s open house. Most schools have several each year, and representatives from different departments and clubs are on-hand to answer all of your questions. You can visit our open house on April 10. Come learn about classes, financial aid and everything else you’ve ever wondered about us.
-Finalize plans to take the SATs or SAT Subject Tests.  You can register online; the next registration deadline for this year is March 12.
-Stay in contact with your counselors – they’re there to help you make good choices.
-Check out websites like fastweb.com to find scholarships not included in a school’s award packages.
-Use the My College Quickstart planner to prepare for the SATs and explore lists of suggested colleges, majors and careers.

Seniors:

-Many schools offer the option to visit and stay overnight at the university. Gannon offers an OverKnight program for accepted students. Come hang out here and experience life as a GU student.
-If you haven’t already, send in your applications and keep copies of everything.
-Contact your enrollment advisers at schools you applied to if you haven’t heard back from them yet to be sure they received all application materials. Better to be safe than sorry!
-Visit your school choices as much as you need to in order to make sure you find the place you feel most at home. There’s nothing better than finding a place that makes you feel comfortable enough to thrive and grow. You can come visit us anytime, but if you’re interested in open house, our next one is coming up on April 10.

The search is on (the college search, that is). Get in on it right here.