How can high school students prepare for college? (Advice from college freshmen)

We've had several alumni visit through the month of January while they were on winter break from their respective colleges. During these visits, we had the pleasure of having a few alumni share their advice with current students on how to prepare for college. I am so excited to share their thoughts with you and hope you will share with your high school students.

Establish good habits in high school.

If you are falling behind in high school or have a hard time remembering deadlines, this will most likely be the case when you get to college. Try using a planner or an online calendar to help manage your time better and help keep track of important deadlines. Whether it is study habits, how you organize your life or self-care, what you practice now will follow you to college.

Be honest

I mean this is a life rule but if a college finds out you lied they will immediately throw out your application and possibly share that information with other colleges. Honesty is still the best policy.

Get involved!

It’s easy and fun. You learn more about yourself and get to meet other students like you. Every school has a club or sport meant for every student. Find your activity and you’ll be sure to develop leadership skills over time that will make you stand out from other college applicants. Also, coaches can be great references for jobs, mentors, or advice-givers. Most importantly, they can write you letters of recommendation!

Save save save

If you go to a campus outside of your hometown, chances are you won’t have a job for a few weeks, if not your entire first semester. Therefore, you will have to pay for any groceries or necessities with money you’ve saved up. It’s easy to spend hundreds of dollars your first week from picking up things you forgot you needed. Secondly, get all financial matters handled before you even move in if possible. This includes financial aid, scholarships, loans, etc. Worrying about loans while adjusting to a completely new environment is can be stressful!

Apply for any scholarships you come across

There are numerous local scholarships out there, you just have to search! Make sure you ask your parents to see if their employers offer any scholarships. Scholarship committees look for community service and leadership positions often, not just at your GPA or ACT score.

Raise.me is a good place to start! :) They offer micro-scholarships for things your high school students is going to be doing anyway like, getting A's or B's in classes, or participating in sports or in leadership positions. The only thing your students needs to do it create an account and begin tracking their high school accomplishments.