Our desire at FFCHS is to support and help guide HS students through the process of moving into adulthood. Our mission is to develop Christian leaders serving in the home, church, and community. Post-graduation aspirations start long before senior year and our encouragement to all of our students is to start now. Please start with the recommended list of activities below – it’s time to make a plan!


9th Grade

  • Start thinking about the types of careers that would align with your goals, interests, and skills. What are you interested in?
  • Plan courses as a freshman by taking some tough classes (these will challenge you) and some fun ones too (these will help establish your interests)!
  • Keep up with your courses and stay on top of your grades.
  • If you need academic support, always be sure to contact any one of your teachers, or Mrs. Jones – there are many people onsite at FFCS who want to help you succeed!
  • Get involved in extracurricular activities – sports, music, ASB, and volunteering are all great opportunities that will help you to discover your passions, likes and dislikes, and help you learn how to balance your time (this is important!). Plus, extracurricular activities can make your resume and college applications stand out from the crowd.


10th Grade

Fall

  • Continue thinking about what goals, interests, and skills you have. Go online to research opportunities that will align with those.
  • Stay involved with extracurricular activities – remember, these are building character and giving you a sense of what you enjoy!
  • Learn about the types of tests you will have to take to get into college. There are two main tests offered – the SAT and the ACT.
  • Take the PSAT at FFCHS in mid-October to prepare for the SAT.

Winter

  • Review your PSAT/NMSQT results. What types of subjects do you think you might need to work harder in to be more successful next time?
  • Work with the school counselor to make sure you’re on the right track course-wise and that you are taking challenging courses that will help to prepare you for college.

Spring

  • Make a complete list of careers you may be interested in.
  • Prepare for the SAT or ACT. Study! Study! Study!


11th Grade

Fall

  • Continue thinking about careers and colleges that align with your interests. Begin narrowing down a list of colleges you’d like to apply to.
  • Attend college fairs.
    • Scroll to the bottom of the page to see additional information on College & Career Fair events.
  • Go! Visit the colleges you’re interested in! You’ll have a much better idea of how you feel about the college once you have visited the student center, sat in on a few classes, and talked with an admissions representative or the head of the department you hope to major in.
  • Begin planning for the financial aspect of college. Check out “Paying for Collegefor additional information.
  • Start developing a resume – a record of your accomplishments, activities and work experience. This tracking will come in very handy later on as you fill out college applications.
  • Take the PSAT at FFCHS in mid-October to prepare for the SAT.
  • Study for the SAT/ACT, and schedule a time to take the test.

Winter

  • It’s time – you should be taking the ACT and/or the SAT for the first time.
  • From your list of college interests, create a list of deadlines. When is early admission? When are scholarships due? Which schools have visitation days you would like to participate in?
    • Deadlines for any college (and lots of other helpful resources!) can be found on Peterson’s College Search, found HERE.
  • Continue taking rigorous courses. Firm Foundation offers a variety of concurrent credit courses through Northwest Nazarene University to earn college credit (CLICK HERE).

Spring

  • If you didn’t take the SAT/ACT in the winter, take it now!
  • Begin to narrow down the fields of work you are interested in.
  • Ask a few of your favorite teachers, church leaders, or an employer to write you a letter of recommendation. These are great to have on hand for college and job applications.
  • Decide what types of things you’d like to do over the summer that can help you reach your goals – volunteering, college visits, and internships can all help you prepare for your senior year.
  • Time to research scholarship and financial aid opportunities!


12th Grade

Fall/Winter

  • Take the SAT and/or ACT for the 2nd time. Statistically, students who retake the SAT or ACT are more likely to improve their score if they take the test twice in their upperclassman years, especially when they study for the exam in between taking the 1st and 2nd test.
  • Complete and submit applications to all the colleges you are interested in. Remember, you don’t have to apply to only one – it is very important that you apply to many! This increases your options!
  • Request transcripts and letters of recommendation as needed. (Transcript Request Form)
  • Complete your FAFSA in October.
  • Continue researching and filling out applications for scholarship opportunities.

Spring

  • Receive your acceptance letters!
  • Write thank you notes to teachers who wrote your recommendation letters.
  • Complete the paperwork to accept a college’s offer of admittance.
  • Tell Mrs. Jones and Celebrate!



College and Career: Dates to Remember