High School Planner

Introduction

The GAcollege411.org High School Planner is a powerful, easy to use tool to help you track your progress throughout your high school career. The Planner Comparison allows you to compare your high school coursework against the admissions requirements of Georgia's colleges and universities. The Planner Summary provides a printable version of your high school coursework along with any additional activities you undertake, that you can provide to people from whom you have requested a letter of recommendation.

Inputting and updating your coursework is easy to do, so start building your High School Planner today. To get started on your High School Planner, click on a grade level on the left, and follow these easy steps:

Step 1: Enter your High School(s)

Follow the directions on the screen to add the high school(s) you have attended. Most are available through pull down menus that link schools with states. Use the alphabet blocks or the search fields to locate schools. If you don't see the schools you have attended, you may also add names by clicking on the "Not on the List" button.

Step 2: Add Courses to Your Portfolio

By entering your courses each term, you are building a portfolio that can be compared electronically to the admissions requirements of any Georgia institution. This will help you plan what courses you should take to meet the admissions requirements of schools you are interested in attending. You can add courses by grade level (Grade Level View) or by subject area (Subject View). Follow the directions on the screen to select the high school offering the course, the name of the course, and whether or not the class was taken under block scheduling. Block scheduling means that the course was completed in one semester instead of a two-semester timeframe. If you are unsure whether or not your school is on block scheduling, leave this blank and ask your counselor. If you have completed the class, you can enter the grade you earned. If you are currently enrolled in the class, select "In Progress" or enter "Planned" if you plan to take the class later in you high school career.

Step 3: Update your My 411 Student Portfolio

The Student Portfolio section of My 411 provides an easy way to input and keep track of all your high school activities including college entrance test scores, sports and leadership activities, awards, and jobs. You can then use the Planner Summary, which will bring all of this information together on one form for you to use for letters of recommendation or to help you complete your admissions applications. Click on the Additional Information or Tests Taken links to the left to input this information.

Step 4: Maintain your Academic Portfolio

Maintaining your academic portfolio is easy. Your planner should be updated continuously throughout high school. Each time you complete a course and receive a grade for that course, you should report it to the Planner. A "unit" of coursework is considered complete when two semester grades of D or better are achieved. If you are on block scheduling, only one semester is required for completion. A course with a grade below D will not count as having been completed.

Step 5: Track your Progress

The Planner Comparison screen provides a complete view of your planned and actual academic progress along with the requirements of the colleges or universities you've added to your My Colleges profile. Anytime you want to add or remove colleges from your profile, you can click on the My Colleges link to the left.

• Required – indicates the minimum number of units needed
• Recommended – indicates the suggested number of units for the subject area
• Completed – indicates your total number of completed units
• Completed Status – indicates whether or not you have satisfied the minimum required number of units for the corresponding subject area requirement. If an "NC" appears you can click on the link to see which courses at your high school may satisfy this area.

Two important things to note:

1. While all courses listed in the High School Planner will likely meet the academic requirements for admission, this is not necessarily a complete list. Talk to your high school counselor if courses you have taken or wish to take are not shown in the dropdown lists for your high school.

2. The High School Planner begins with your ninth grade year. If you have taken qualifying courses prior to high school, these cannot be entered in the High School Planner, but may apply toward the college admission requirements. Again, talk to your high school counselor to be sure that these courses are counted when reporting your coursework to colleges. You may be directed to add these into your ninth grade list for purposes of using the Planner Comparison tool.

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