By Caroline Hathorn 

As the first semester wraps up, most students are thinking about the future. They wonder what classes they should take next year, what subjects they might want to study after high school, and where they might want to attend college. It is normal to want to prepare for your future. The problem is, many students simply don’t know where to start. The short answer is: it is never too soon to start preparing for college. This article will give all students an idea of where they should be and give some tips to aid them in order to get ahead in the college process.

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Freshmen:

During freshman year, there’s not much that you have to do. Work hard in your classes to keep your grades up, start to think about what you want to study in the future, and get involved in a variety of different activities. The last factor is especially important because the clubs and activities that a student joins during freshman year could dictate the opportunities that are available to them in the future. For example, joining the newspaper freshman year could lead to becoming an editor junior or senior year. Additionally, volunteering at an organization in the community could allow you to demonstrate your ability to support causes you care about. It is important for students to try a variety of different things in order to show colleges that you are a well-rounded student, and freshman year is the best time to start these various activities. Being involved in activities that show different parts of who you are will prove to college admissions officers that you are committed to things you care about. Even just learning more about clubs and activities outside of school that you are able to join the following year will be beneficial in taking the first steps of figuring out what opportunities are available to you and starting them as soon as possible.

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Sophomores:

By sophomore year, there are a few more factors that need to be considered when choosing how to fill your time. A main factor is sophomores have a lot to consider when choosing their classes for junior year, which is known to be the most important year of high school. While sophomores might have already been exposed to AP classes like AP Biology, Government, European History, and/or Seminar, junior year is when students typically struggle the most with their course loads simply because they are taking the most APs that they ever have. When choosing which of these advanced classes to take in your junior year, it is important to consider that doing well in a standard-level class is more impressive than failing an AP. Sure, it might look impressive to college admissions workers if you take five of the hardest AP classes that your school has to offer, but not if you’re failing all of them. Succeeding in lower-level classes while also doing productive things outside of school shows others that you are well-rounded and that you know how much you can take on to still be successful. Now, this does not mean taking all standard classes just because you know you will do well in them. The higher-level class you take and do well in, the more impressive it will be to people who are looking at your GPA in the future.

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Juniors:

Junior year is when things get more serious. By the second semester, students are worrying about things like SATs and last-minute volunteer opportunities while still keeping up with the rigorous course loads in their classes. By now, it is important to be seeking out colleges to apply to during senior year. When exploring different schools, it is important to consider how far you want to be from home and how big of a school you would be comfortable attending. Also, looking at potential courses of study is very important when researching schools. However, many students go into college with an undecided major, and most schools will give you at least until the end of your freshman year to declare a major. Another very important factor when choosing schools is the cost. You should prioritize sitting down with your guardian and discussing whether or not you have money set aside for college and, if you don’t, what financial aid packages you might be eligible for. Depending on how well you perform academically, there might also be scholarships that you can apply for. Another element to consider is finding teachers to write a letter of recommendation for you. This is typically a teacher from your junior year who is well-spoken and would be willing to write about your positive qualities in a letter that will be seen by the schools you are applying to. Finding a teacher that you have a genuine relationship with is a great way to ensure that your recommendation letter is personal, in-depth, and reflects the best parts of you both as a student and a young adult.

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Seniors:

After getting through junior year, the only thing that’s left is to actually apply to the schools you want to go to. That, and make sure to keep your grades up. When applying for college, there are three different deadlines: early decision, early action, and regular decision. Early decision is when students apply to their top school with the agreement that if they are accepted to that school, they will go, regardless of the financial aid they receive. And applying early action to colleges simply means you apply earlier (usually in November) and hear back early into the new year. As for regular decisions, you can apply to as many schools as you want and choose which one you want to attend based on if you get accepted and how much money each school is willing to give you. The deadline for applying regularly is typically in January or February, and decisions come out mid-March to early April. When applying to schools, it is important to apply to a safety school—a school that you know you will get into. This ensures that you will get into at least one school.