The Answers To Your College Questions

College seems like a long way off and yet no one can seem to shut up about it. Where are you going to go? What do you want to major in? Have you taken the SAT yet? The questions don't stop, even if you're a freshman in high school. Here's how you can start answering those questions, taking it step by step, year by year, so that you don't get overwhelmed with too much when graduation rolls around.

Freshman Year

• Take as many college prep classes as possible. The higher the levels you take now, the fewer boring classes you will have to take when you get to college.
• Enter essay contests and scholarship competitions to get money for school. Even if your parents have a fund put aside for you, every little bit counts. College is super expensive and working while taking a full load of classes is no joke.
• Join clubs or sports to fatten up your application.
• Do volunteer work you enjoy – at the hospital, the SPCA, a homeless shelter.
• Check out some basic books on getting into careers that interest you.
• Learn how to type. It is the single most important basic skill you will need in college. Basic computer processing can only help you, too.
• Start focusing on grades. Colleges will be looking at them from this point on.
• If you have a high school counselor, go see him or her. If you're assigned one and don't really click, get yourself a new one.

Sophomore Year

• Make sure you take the PLAN test and the PSAT in October or November. These preliminary scores may be good enough so that you don't have to take them again, but most likely they'll help you figure out what your weak spots are so you can concentrate on sharpening your skills.
• Check out a few college websites for schools that interest you to get a feel for what's out there. Don't limit yourself.
• Check out a few college fairs and go to some programs like plays or sporting events on campuses near you.
• Open a bank account.
• Find a job and save your money in your new bank account.
• Continue your involvement in activities that you started last year, but if you didn't really like them, try something new. There's no reason to stay with something you hate just because you think it will look good on your college applications.
• Check in with your high school counselor and ask her any questions you have about jobs you're interested in and what schools would be good to end up in those fields.
• If you're interested in a few different careers, try and find some people in your neighborhood who have those jobs and go with them to work one day to see a little of what it might be like.

Junior Year

• This year, grades are really important. You can use this year to make up for bad grades in your first two years and boost your GPA or to get your GPA to the top of the curve.
• Take the PSAT in October to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Competition. You never know!
• Take a prep course for the ACT or SAT . If that's too expensive, get some books and do a few exercises once a week on your own. Sign up for ‘a word a day' email from an study site.
• Take the ACT or SAT in the spring. This will get you on some good mailing lists for schools and give you a solid foundational score.
• Make a top ten list of schools you're interested in and possible majors/ careers. Visit any of the campuses that are near by.
• Take academic elective courses, especially a foreign language and try for a head position in any of the clubs or organizations you are involved in after school.

Senior Year

• Get applications for all the schools you're interested in and start working on a great essay that can be tailored to match each school.
• Visit college campuses that you haven't seen yet and try to go to some events at the schools you're most interested in.
• Keep in touch with your friends who have already gone away to school to get a feeling for whether you'd like to stay on campus or at home, go to school near or far, choose a small school or a large school.
• Ask people for letters of recommendation.
• Figure out where you stand when it comes to comparing your grades, test scores, and activities to the average accepted student at the schools of your choice.
• Take the ACT and SAT as often as necessary until you get a score you can deal with.
• Get applications for scholarships.
• Apply for early admission at a school if you feel strongly about one in particular.
• Send off all applications before winter break.
• Try not to check the mail 20 times a day and start packing your stuff!

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