Often times, students do not begin thinking about preparing for college until their senior year of high school. However, if you want to get into a selective school or ensure success in your post-secondary years, you have to start early!
Although college applications do not need to be sent out until junior or senior year, it is important that students prepare in other ways. Check out the following list of things that students can do to start getting ready for college as early as freshman year.
-Get Involved: Participate in teams, clubs or other extra-curricular activities during high school. Colleges like to see that students will add something to their campus-life scene.
-Do the Work: Be sure to stay on top of your school work for all four years of high school. Every grade will affect your overall GPA.
-Take Challenging Courses: Colleges like to see that students have challenged themselves by taking Honors and Advanced Placement classes throughout high school. Additionally, good grades in these classes could earn your free college credit.
-Get Help: Utilize peer tutors to get a better understanding of concepts that you might find difficult. Mastering these subjects now will ensure that they don’t come back to bite you in college.
-Read: College courses require a lot of reading. Practicing now will help you to be ready for all of the assigned reading to come.
-Get the Facts: Contact a college counselor, trusted teacher or someone that you know who has already started college for tips and tricks to navigating things like the dual-credit and application processes.
-Look for a Mentor: Find an adult, like a parent, counselor or teacher, who can help you to stay on track and succeed.
Another way to get ready for college is to start looking for scholarships early! The Foundations of East Chicago Scholarship Fair in January will bring universities and scholarship sponsors from all over to the East Chicago Central High gymnasium. This is a great opportunity to work on offsetting some of the costs of college. For more information on the fair and getting ready to take the next step in your education, visit foundationsec.org.
