The Rolla High School Class of 2014 will be entering the real world in less than a year. Time is flying by, so it’s certainly not too early to begin the college preparation process. Here are a few quick tips to lead you to into the right path!
5. Five or less.
It’s important to make a list of colleges that interest you while making sure that list is actually manageable. “Right now what you need to be doing is narrowing your searches for colleges down to five or less and making some college visits,” Roger Bridgeman said, a counselor at Rolla High School. College visits will especially help you narrow down your list because you’ll instantly be able to rule out certain schools just by getting a feel for them.
4. Start your scholarship search today.
Many scholarships have deadlines that start around December, so it’s ideal to get an early start in order to be competitive. Scholarships given by colleges are probably the easiest to find, but what about local, state, and national scholarships? For these, “there’s excellent websites, and one of the best places to go is to one called Fastweb,” Bridgeman said. “There within that one are tons of websites for students to find different scholarships…A lot of those go untouched because no one ever applies for them. It’s really a great resource.”
3. Be organized.
Between the college application and scholarship deadlines, FAFSA forms, and countless pages of paperwork you’ll eventually have to fill out, it can get difficult to stay on top of everything. “Keep all the papers your university sends you, because they’re probably important,” Emily Strassner said, a high school graduate. Being organized doesn’t just pertain to the application process, but is something that should be implemented now to prepare you for school work in college. “Actually start keeping track of your assignments now while you’re in high school…in college, teachers don’t generally accept late work,” Kiersten Sandquist said, another high school graduate.
2. You are more than your ACT/SAT score.
Taking the ACT/SAT is certainly necessary when applying to college, but the score itself is not everything. “It depends on what schools you’re looking at, but most of the time they also look at your academics as well as your ACT scores…and students don’t always realize this, but they look at your involvement and community service that you do within your school, within your community,” Bridgeman said. “Depending on, say, if a college wants a 30 or wants a 26, and you’re missing it by one or two points, that does not necessarily mean they won’t take you. They will talk to you, they’ll look at everything you have to present and offer them, and then they’ll go from that. It’s just a part of it, the score…but it’s not really a point of freaking out or stressing out over, because like I said, they are going to look at the entire package that you have to offer, not just that score.” While these scores are important, remember that this is just one part of your application. Colleges care about your character and what you have to offer to their school, too.
1. Go with your gut when choosing a school.
The college you choose will be your new home for the next couple of years, so it’s important to make sure the one you pick is a good fit. “Go take some college visits, check it out, make sure that it’s going to be the campus for you. Don’t just go off of what somebody else says, or go because of a friend. Make sure that you feel comfortable and that its a part of you when you walk on the campus- and you’ll know that when you get there,” Bridgeman said.