Moving from high school to college is a big step for all students. Teenagers who are still in high school and want to go to college should start to prepare for college in high school. For instance, they can take classes at the community college. Some factors to consider include extracurricular activities, the student’s GPA and the classes taken in high school.
It’s best for students to start thinking about college in their first year of high school. Counselors can help teenagers start planning their way to college. Once they choose the college they want to go to, students can start looking for scholarships.
Explore Colleges and Universities
Students can learn a lot about colleges they hope to attend by exploring websites. They can find out about admission requirements, degrees offered, tuition and campus life. Each college can be quite different when it comes to admission requirements. Therefore, they should think about contacting each college directly in order to get all the necessary information. The test score requirements can also be quite different from one college to another. These requirements will depend on the things that each college value.
Prepare for Tests
Students should get more information about the SAT and ACT exams from their counselor in order to be prepared. Some of the best ways to prepare for the SAT or ACT exam are:
– Reading books, magazines, newspapers and even trade journals
– Take the SAT and ACT prep courses
– Take the practice exams available as well as the PSAT
– Take more difficult courses in high school
– Keep a regular study schedule
Increase Independent Reading and Study
Independent reading and study will help your child to prepare academically for college. This is a good way to develop interests, expand knowledge, and improve the vocabulary and reading comprehension skills needed for college and the SAT or ACT.
Encourage your child to read all kinds of books for fun — fiction and non-fiction. The school library and the local public library are good sources of books, magazines, and newspapers.
Write a Strong Application
Students must consider all the conditions and qualifications in order to have a powerful insight into the college they’ve chosen. Early college preparations give excellent results but they need to be doubled by a powerful application. Their. well-rounded abilities need to be pointed out, so they should consider playing sports, taking some foreign languages and even doing some volunteer work. Assess skills, interests and personality.
Choosing a college, a major field of study and courses is easier when students have a very clear career path in mind. But it’s just as important to keep their mind open to other areas of study and employment as they constantly learn new things.
Find Role Models
It’s always inspiring and encouraging to have some sort of a mentor. Students can interact with peers and adults during the process of preparing for college, attending college and choosing a career path. They can find mentors through professional organizations, friends and family, both online and in person.