Application Timeline for High School Junior
All the information you need can be found on the Grand Canyon admissions Web site. Below is a link to their admissions home page and then one to their application, although you probably won't want to submit any applications until the fall of your senior year.
Admissions page: http://www.gcu.edu/Admissions.php
Application page: http://www.gcu.edu/Admissions/Apply-to-GCU.php
Note, however, that Grand Canyon is a “proprietary" (or “for profit") institution. If costs are a concern of yours (and they probably will be, if you plan to later attend medical school), you might want to also consider public or non-profit colleges. These tend to provide lower price tags and/or more financial aid in the form of grants. (Grants are scholarships that don't have to be repaid; loans—which do need to be repaid—are offered most commonly by for-profit colleges.)In particular, you should consider public colleges in your own state. California has an excellent network of state-funded two-year and four-year colleges.If you are a strong student with good standardized test scores, you may also qualify for “merit aid" at private and public colleges in CA or elsewhere. Most colleges also offer “need-based" financial aid (usually a mix of grants and loans). This type of financial aid is calculated after you have submitted the “FAFSA" form (and, sometimes, an additional form) that asks questions about your family's income and assets. You will have to complete the FAFSA when you apply to Grand Canyon, too, unless you are not seeking financial aid.But do be wary of colleges that are labeled “For profit" or “Proprietary." Although these colleges do offer certain pluses to some students, cost-wise they may not be your best bet.
Note also that, while nursing programs and pre-med programs do overlap, most students who are pursuing a nursing degree do not ultimately become doctors, although some certainly do. Also, some nursing programs are “direct entry" which means that you apply right from high school and start your nursing curriculum right away. These programs will allow you to get your nursing credentials most quickly but they require an important decision at age 17 or 18 and don't leave much time to investigate other majors and careers.
A good way to search for colleges that meet your needs is to use College Confidential's SuperMatch. Go to: /college_search/Here you can enter all your preferences for size, location, major, etc. as well as your GPA and test scores, and then the “Results" list will show appropriate colleges that you can research further.
SuperMatch hint:
SuperMatch is most effective for students who have SAT or ACT scores. So, as a junior, if you don't have any standardized test scores yet, wait until you do. (If you are taking the PSAT's this month, you should have your scores in December. Although these won't be official SAT scores, you can use them on SuperMatch instead of SAT scores to at least get a rough idea of where you may be admissible.)
You are wise to be planning ahead for college now but don't stress too much over this because you have plenty of time. Be sure to use this time to check out a range of options. It's too early to focus on just one university.
Happy hunting!
Sally Rubenstone
Sally Rubenstone knows the competitive and often convoluted college admission process inside out: From the first time the topic of college comes up at the dinner table until the last duffel bag is unloaded on a dorm room floor. She is the co-author of Panicked Parents’ Guide to College Admissions; The Transfer Student’s Guide to Changing Colleges and The International Student’s Guide to Going to College in America. Sally has appeared on NBC’s Today program and has been quoted in countless publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, People and Seventeen. Sally has viewed the admissions world from many angles: As a Smith College admission counselor for 15 years, an independent college counselor serving students from a wide range of backgrounds and the author of College Confidential’s “Ask the Dean” column. She also taught language arts, social studies, study skills and test preparation in 10 schools, including American international schools in London, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Tel Aviv. As senior advisor to College Confidential since 2002, Sally has helped hundreds of students and parents navigate the college admissions maze. In 2008, she co-founded College Karma, a private college consulting firm, with her College Confidential colleague Dave Berry, and she continues to serve as a College Confidential advisor. Sally and her husband, Chris Petrides, became first-time parents in 1997 at the ripe-old age of 45. So Sally was nearly an official senior citizen when her son Jack began the college selection process, and when she was finally able to practice what she had preached for more than three decades.