As college planning experts, we know that it’s never too early to start preparing for college. You don’t want to be scrambling your junior and senior year trying to find a college that’s right for you. Here are some things we think you should be doing right now, even if you are only a freshman or a sophomore.
Develop relationships with your teachers and your counselor: It is very important that you develop and maintain positive relationships with your teachers and with your guidance counselor. The better your teachers and your counselor know you, the better letter of recommendation they will be able to write about you. You will want teachers who know you well and are able to speak about your character.
Teachers - This isn’t the time to sit in the back of the class. You need to be assertive and ask questions. Don’t rely on a good grade to result in a good letter of recommendation. Personal relationships are worth far more. Reach out and get to know the people around you, especially if they are on your “letter writing radar”.
Counselors – This can be an incredibly instrumental letter writer – often the most important one. Unfortunately, in most cases, the counselor will have had very little face time with a student – particularly at a public school. Therefore, the student needs to work on and maintain this relationship. Students should approach their counselor early on in the process. Ask them what their school’s protocol is for letters of recommendation. Is there paperwork that needs to be filled out? Then, students should briefly check-in with counselor at least once a month (I call this “drip marketing” yourself) so that the counselor can see that you are a serious student and get to know you . Asking your counselor in the middle of admission season, if they have never seen you before is a “recipe for disaster”.
Engage in self-exploration and career exploration: This is the perfect time to engage in self-exploration and career exploration. You need to begin to get to know yourself, what you like to do, what you are interested in, and what careers are out there that you may enjoy. Ask your guidance department if your school uses any college readiness tools, such as Naviance or Discover, that have personality inventories. These types of programs help you evaluate your strengths, interests, and career options. Research-based assessments of work-relevant interests, abilities, and values help people explore career options that are a good match for them. These types of programs provide guidance and information to help people make important career and educational decisions.
Keep your grades strong: At the beginning of freshman year, you have a blank slate in terms of your grades and your GPA. Once you take your first quiz or test, you are just beginning to form your GPA. You need to start getting serious about school (if you haven’t already) and really put some effort into studying for tests and acing your projects. You have some control over your GPA at this point. However, the farther along in high school you get, you lose this control. Starting off right is critical.
Read often: Read as much as you can. Read the newspaper, magazines, online articles, read anything that interests you. The more you read, the faster you will become and the more your vocabulary will improve. This is essential in acing your college admissions tests (SAT/ACT) as well as having a successful high school and college career.
Begin visiting colleges: Even if you have no idea what you want in a college, go visit some colleges in the area to get a feel for what they are like. Go see a big school, a small school, a private school, and a public school. Once you see a few different types of schools, you will have a better idea of what you want in a college and what will be a good fit for you.
Become (and stay) involved in extracurricular activities: Colleges want students who will be valued contributing members of their community. They want to see that you are involved at your high school. You don’t need to be involved in 15 different activities. Colleges want to see that you are involved in a couple of things and that you’ve been committed. They’d rather see that you’re involved in 2 or 3 activities (clubs, sports, organizations, etc) and have been involved for all four years than having a list of 20 different clubs you’ve joined but just bounced from one to another throughout high school.
Discuss career and college options with your guidance counselor: Again, you will want to develop and maintain a positive relationship with your guidance counselor. Check in with them every so often to discuss colleges, career options, your interests, etc. They are there to help you and you should speak with them MUCH more often than just to plan your class schedule.
Try to get a job or internship in a field you may be interested in: A job or internship gives you an opportunity to try on a career and investigate an industry. It also gives you marketable skills and experience, making you more attractive to both employers and colleges. You may even have to work for free at first, but it might be worth it.
Any additional tips to share? Leave your comments!
About Smart Track™ Toolkit: The toolkit is a web based service that assists families with everything from admissions and test prep, to student athletics and financial aid. Our intuitive software and on-demand workshops are key components to making sure students find their top choice colleges, and families can afford to send them there.
About the author: Laura Guarino is the Student Services Coordinator with College Planning Strategies, LLC. Laura has a degree in Human Development from Boston College and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in School Guidance Counseling. She is also enrolled in a certificate program in College Admissions Counseling. Laura is at the forefront of the college admissions process for the families of CPS and The Smart Track™ Toolkit.
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