Entering high school is giant step up from middle school and presents plenty of its own challenges, chief among them preparing for college. With college admissions becoming ever more competitive, preparing for college early and strategically is more important than ever. There are things to think about from your career, what you want out of college itself to the financial considerations.  

The Importance of Preparing for College in High School

There are several reasons that it’s important not only to prepare for college while you’re in high school but to make the right preparations at the right time. 

Your GPA in high school is a factor for consideration by the colleges you’ll be applying to. Not only that, but a high enough GPA could earn you a scholarship easing the costs greatly. 

Planning and preparing in high school will also allow you to research more schools and prepare to meet their requirements early rather than taking on tons of commitments in your senior year. 

Tips to Prepare 

Connect with your Guidance Counselor or a College Admissions Counselor

One of the most important resources your high school has to offer when it comes to college preparation is the guidance counselor who you’ll want to connect with as soon as you can. Your high school guidance counselor can discuss your career ambitions, the best colleges on that path, the classes you should take to prepare and areas where you might need some improvement. 

For the most competitive colleges, you may want to seek the additional help of a college admissions counselor. They’ll be able to provide more specialized advice on college selection, application guidance, essay support and interview guidance. Contact us for a free consultation about college counseling. 

 Spend Your Summers Wisely

Summer is a time for rest and relaxation. But, we wouldn’t quite recommend sleeping late and taking it easy for the entire three months. While you’re not dealing with the rigors of regular schooling, you have the opportunity to make preparations for college that you otherwise wouldn’t have time for. 

Some ideas to get the most out of your summer include: 

• Finding a cause you’re interested in and volunteering
• Studying abroad. That’s right! While many associate studying abroad with college, there are many opportunities to study abroad in high school. 
• Talking to your guidance counselor or college admissions counselor about programs relevant to your goals. 
• Learning the way you want to! During the school year, all students learn the same curriculum by the same methods. During the summer, though, you can take the extra time to learn about what you want how you want! Ideas for summer learning include picking up the newspaper, reading a book, or watching a documentary. 

Research careers and majors 

You’ll want to start thinking about careers as soon as your freshman year of high school. Once you’ve narrowed down your list, take a look at what majors are best suited to these careers. You can then consider which colleges are well-suited to students pursuing these majors. This research will also help you make better class selections for the rest of high school. 

Begin the college search as early as possible

One of the most important things to consider is whether a particular college has a good program for the major you’re considering. After that, you’ll want to think about other things that are important to you in a college such as 

• Location
• Cost
• Student Life
• Extracurricular Activities
• Campus Facilities

Attend a College Fair

Research, while important, can be time-consuming and tedious. Attending a college will help you to get key information about many schools at once. An added benefit is that schools will send representatives who can answer any questions you have about the application process, scholarships, extracurriculars, and student life at their respective schools. It may even help to shed light on schools you wouldn’t have considered otherwise. 

Maintain a Strong GPA

This might be one of the most challenging tips we have for preparing to go to college but you’ll be glad you did. Maintaining a strong GPA is important because it’ll increase your chances of being accepted into the colleges you’ve chosen. Additionally, maintaining your GPA can affect the amount of aid you’re awarded, while a high enough GPA can help you to earn scholarships to help even more. 

Take Classes That Will Prepare You for College

The broadest advice that applies to all students is to take a variety of classes since there are many career paths and new job opportunities are created all of the time. However, if you’ve determined that there’s a specific career path for you then you can take classes that will prepare you for your major. For example, a student pursuing a STEM career might want to take advanced math classes such as calculus while students who want to pursue a medical career should focus on science classes like chemistry and biology. 

Participate in Extracurricular Activities

You should prioritize maintaining your grades and overall GPA. But if you have the capacity, consider participating in extracurricular activities. Sports are among the most popular options for extracurriculars but here are some other options:

• Join school clubs, groups or organizations. Even consider starting a club if you have a passion that isn’t served by any existing clubs. This can help to show initiative and leadership. 
• Join after-school and summer programs.
• Volunteer at a community center, a senior citizen center, or an animal shelter.

Prepare for and take the SAT or ACT

This is especially important if you’ve chosen a school that specifically requires the SAT or ACT. If you have the choice of taking either test and are trying to decide, read this blog where we broke down all of the differences between the SAT and ACT. 

Once you’ve chosen a test, prepare thoroughly by checking out practice guides, taking practice tests and resources permitting, register for a boot camp or prep course. FLS has subject matter experts who can give you the best test-taking tips and strategies to make sure you walk into test day confidently. 

Visit Colleges

Once you’ve narrowed your list of colleges down to a few main ones that you’re interested in, it’ll be helpful to start visiting campuses. 

On your visit, you will usually be given a tour by student representatives who can answer questions about the school, especially about the student experience. Check out this blog for 63 questions to ask on a college tour. Visits are also just helpful for getting a feel of the campus and surrounding town to decide if you want to spend the next four years there. 

Look up Application Deadlines and Start Applying 

There are different types of admission the colleges employ. Regardless of the type of admissions policy, we advise applying early to give yourself time to do things right. Here’s a quick explanation of the admission types. 

Early Admission

Not all universities offer early admission but if it is offered, it’s worth taking advantage of since you can also receive an admission decision sooner. 

There are three types of early admission options:

• Early Decision – You can apply to only one college for early decision admission. It’s binding, meaning that if you’re accepted through early decision admission, you must attend the college.
• Early Action -You can apply to multiple colleges for early action admission. It isn’t binding, so if you’re admitted to a college through early action admission, you don’t have to attend.
• Single-Choice Early Action – You can apply early to only one college and no others until you have heard back from the first school. You’re not bound to attend if you’re admitted.

Regular Admission

Colleges that use a regular admission wait to receive all applications before considering them. You can apply to as many school as you want to by way of regular admission. The disadvantage to this is that you won’t receive a decision until the spring of your senior year. 

Rolling Admission

You can apply to as many schools as you want that have rolling admission. These schools take applications until all of the spots for an incoming class are filled and evaluate applications on a rolling basis as they’re received. And students receive a decision within several weeks. 

Complete your FAFSA 

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form you complete to apply for financial aid. The information you submit will determine how much if any financial aid you qualify for. Don’t be afraid to fill out the FAFSA even if you don’t think you need it. There’s no obligation to accept the aid that is offered to as a result of the FAFSA whether it’s loans or gifts. 

Wrap up

Students shouldn’t wait until it’s too late to get preparations set for college. High school certainly presents its own challenges but students should take steps to prepare for college as soon as their freshman year. By planning strategically, students should be able to work these preparations in without overwhelming themselves thus putting them in a good position to apply to their top-choice schools. FLS has expert counselors that can help you every step of the way. Contact us for a free consultation.