Being a senior in high school, I have learned many things about the college decision process. This hub is simply to pass the information I have learned onto others and help them in the incredibly stressful college decision process.
First off, take the ACT/SAT at least 2-3 times, never settle for just once unless you get an awesome score like 35-36 on the ACT. Have them send the scores to places that you are even remotely interested in, or else it costs money to have them send the scores after the fact. Also, make sure they are sent to your high school. Even though it costs around $80 per test, getting a better score can save you thousands. It took me 4 times and the 4th time I raised my ACT score by 4 points, saving me around $7000. Well worth it. I would personally recommend taking both to see what you better excel at, although it is not needed. Most schools will accept one or the other, but some will only accept one, while others require both. Start taking these test at the beginning of your junior year or even at the end of your sophomore year.


The summer after your junior year (or even your sophomore year), visit all of the colleges your might be interested in. This is the best time for you to visit as once the school year starts in the fall, your time will be limited. Also, during the summer make sure that you visit lots of college fairs. These are great to meet college representatives, discover colleges you've never heard of and learn a lot of information.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES
December 1, senior year - Apply to all the colleges you're interested in. After this, the scholarships start disappearing. Start applying in October. Most colleges have deadlines for applications to be in by Dec. 1 for the big scholarships they give out, such as the sought-after full ride scholarships. I recommend applying to at least 3 schools because you never know what could happen. Try having one "dream school" (such as Harvard, hey you never know) and at least one "fall back". If you do not get into the college of your dreams, you can always enroll somewhere else and then transfer. The worst thing you can do is take off a year because you didn't get into the college you wanted.

March 1, senior year - Make sure you file your FAFSA by this time in order to have the best chance of receiving aid(http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/). To do this, you have to have your taxes and your parents taxes filed for the previous year. The FAFSA uses your family's income and assets to determine how much money you can afford to spend on college every year. This is then used to generate an Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) and it can range anywhere from $0-$30,000+. The sooner you file, the better. If you receive grants or loans from FAFSA, you are required to re-file every year.

You may not know what these are now, but you will see them in the future after you file the FAFSA. These are the two types of loans that the FAFSA will offer you.
1)Federal Unsubsidized Loan - You have to pay the interest every month while you are in college on the loans you take out.
2)Federal Subsidized Loan - The government pays the interest for you so you do not have to start paying anything on your loans until you are out of school.

May 1, senior year - This is the national date that you need to have your college picked out by. You usually do this by paying a deposit that ranges from $100-$400. If you are still not totally sure what college you will be attending, you can pay your deposit at more than one school and decide later, but you will lose the deposit at the school(s) you do not attend. Be careful though as some schools make you sign a contract, so this can not always be done.