Sophomores and Juniors - Get Busy! - COLLEGE ANSWER GUY: Answering your college preparation questions

Sophomores and Juniors - Get Busy!

Preparing for college is something that takes a great deal of planning and forethought – by you AND others! It’s not something you do only during Senior year. You’ll have two major tasks to complete – preparing yourself for college (regardless of where), and choosing a college to attend. Now is the time to get moving and start thinking about your future, start moving toward choosing a college. Toward that end, I provide the following list of suggestions:

Ask your parents about when they were in college. Where did they go? What did they major in? Did they change their major? Where did they live? What was it like? What did they do for fun? If they didn’t go to college, ask if it was an option at that time, and what they did do and why. Also ask if they would make the same choice again, and why. Ask if there are colleges they’d like you to consider.
Get busy online searching college web sites, college prep web sites, and college blogs, following college students on Twitter, checking out Facebook pages and groups, and viewing schools’ videos on YouTube, etc.
Make an appointment with your high school counselor to discuss college, future course selections, the schools you’re interested in, possible majors/careers, financial aid and scholarships, etc.
Talk to teachers and other adults you know well about where they went to college and what they studied.
Think about/talk about/investigate majors and careers. This is VERY important to spend a good deal of time on. Especially because your major could influence what schools you consider. Take career tests, use the occupational outlook handbook, arrange to work/volunteer or shadow someone who does what you want to do.
Start visiting college campuses. Go with older siblings when they go on visits and with friends when they go to events or on tours. Even visit schools you’re not interested in so you’ll have a greater basis for comparison. Even a school you don’t like could provide ideas of things you might like in another school or bring up a question to ask schools you DO like.
Plan for college with your course selections and with how much effort you put into your classes
Keep a calendar/planner/organizer and start to get used to using it. Yes this could be one reason you NEED a smartphone! It will make you more organized and get you used to one of the main problems college students have – managing their time.
Get your parents to buy a book, computer program or send you to a workshop to help you get ready for the ACT and/or SAT.
Take the PLAN and PSAT, and consider taking the ACT or SAT late in Junior year.
Find out what housing options exist at the schools you are interested in. It’s too early to make any decisions, but knowing ahead of time what options exist will help when you go for a visit later. Do they offer traditional dorms? apartments? suites? Greek housing for freshmen? Etc.
Plan ahead for high school coursework, and for AP or IB coursework and testing, CLEP testing, and/or concurrent college coursework. What goals do you have in this area? How do you want your academic record to look at college application time?
Consider summer camps or enrichment programs for students interested in your major.
Initiate a conversation with your parents about paying for college. Ask how you can help and what your responsibilities will be.
Start setting aside money for college – even if you don’t HAVE to.
Get a job if you don’t already have one – it makes money AND shows responsibility.
Start to read about scholarships and the qualifications to earn them, so you’ll know where you fit in.
Go to your high school counselor’s office and pick up a copy of the FAFSA – not to fill out, but to look over so it won’t be so intimidating and scary when it’s really time to fill it out in a year or so.