How to Prepare For College
For each grade at West Orange High School (WOHS), the dreaded word, “college,” means a different thing. For Freshman, it’s the place in the far future, something not to worry about just yet. For Sophomores, it begins to creep up slowly, but has not fully set in. Juniors can clearly see the college horizon, the goal that they work towards constantly. For Seniors, it’s on their tail, already there and….Whichever grade you may be in, it is easy to see that college is right around the corner, and closer than it’s ever been. The question is: What can you do to make to prepare for its arrival?
College admissions may seem stressful, and so it’s essential that you keep a checklist of all the things you must do to prepare for when you actually apply to college. The first step for many is to focus on your grades, and join extracurricular activities around and outside of the school. Good grades, even the ones from freshman year, and being an active part of your community could distinguish you from other applicants. This includes not only sports, but volunteering and applying for internships.
The next step is to start saving for college, and see which scholarships and financial aid programs you qualify for. Paying for college is often an important aspect of which college you go to. Knowing this information from the beginning can help make the process easier when you start to apply as an upperclassman.
The next step is one provided by the high school: taking the PSAT as a Sophomore or Junior. The PSAT, or the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, is a test administered by the College Board which not only gives you practice for the SAT, but could also provide you with scholarship opportunities if you get a qualifying score. This test also gives colleges your information to start sending you emails and physical mail about their colleges.
Learning about the different colleges that you can apply to is one of the most important parts of this process. Applying to a college that is right for you is crucial to your success in college, and to do that, you must know about all the colleges that are out there. Go to college fairs, such as the ones provided by WOHS, go on tours, go to college meetings set up by the school through Naviance, or research colleges by yourself online. Start making your list of target colleges, about 6-8 colleges.
As a Junior, you have to begin preparing to take the SAT, which WOHS does not administer. Register with College Board at a specific testing date. It’s important that you prepare for the SAT, because although you can take it multiple times, the ideal situation is to take it only a few times, and get a score that you are happy with.
The ACT, which is another college exam, your skills in five core areas: english, math, reading, science, and writing, although writing is optional. It is not obligatory, but colleges do accept it if you feel that you performed better on the ACT than the SAT.
As the application process draws nearer, it’s important to begin to craft your college essay, the essay that some colleges require as a personal statement about you. This essay is extremely important, so spend as much time as possible perfecting it. WOHS has resources to help you write this essay, so ask your guidance counselor to provide you with these resources.
After this, start to prepare teacher recommendations in classes that you personally felt that you excelled in. Colleges require recommendations to see how you performed as a student, and to see the effect you had on the others around you.
As you begin to apply, learn about your target college’s admissions dates, as well their early action and early decision dates. Early action is applying to a school and receiving their acceptance, but not commiting to that school until the regular decision process. Early decision is fully committing to a school before the regular admission date. If you choose to apply this way, make sure to know when to submit applications, and submit your CSS profile, which is your financial aid profile.
Sometimes you may have to interview for certain colleges. Make sure you’re prepared for these interviews by practicing with a teacher or guardian.
For applications that are regular decision, perform the same process with application deadlines, financial aid, and the interview process.
Once acceptance letters begin to come in, decide which college is best for you, whether it be for financial aid, the campus, study abroad programs, etc.
The college admissions process is one of the most important in your high school career. Being prepared and knowing what to do can help make the process easier, even if it seems so far away.
