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College Prep  Freshmen & Sophomore Q&A: Home Schooling, Setting Priorities, & Deciding if College is Right for You BY DAVE PETERSON © Copyright 2005 by Parents' Press Originally published in the November 2005 print edition of Parents' Press Illustration © 2001, Artville, LLC Do the first two years of high school really make a difference in college admissions? Yes! November finds freshmen and sophomores wrapping up fall term academic work, finding their place in activities, and wondering just what role ­ if any ­ college should play in their futures. These are common questions this time of year:   Q. High school is so full of wonderful things to do and great people to be with. I've done just about everything except study for these first three months! Help! A. Help yourself ­ starting right now ­ in these difficult but essential ways: l. Start saying no often. To events, to invitations, to certain friends, to "escape" activities. 2. Set priorities based on a more mature you and your future needs. Limit activities to those that help you grow, learn, and improve your talents. 3. Dedicate yourself to a crash program of improvement in any course that hasn't gotten all your energy so far. Extra study, extra help, making up for earlier gaps ­ whatever it takes. Q. My class work is fine. I just can't get started in other school activities. A. Sometimes it takes a real push to make those first steps. Often  a teacher or friend can help you make a contact or go to that first meeting. But follow your own interests; your motivation will help you find the courage to make the move and follow up. Know that everyone involved will be flattered by your interest, will welcome your participation, and will help you along the way. It's never too late to join, but the longer you wait, the more you miss. So reach out today, and enjoy! Q. Setting priorities has been a problem for me. How do I "take stock?" A. You're not alone. And right now, you're growing and changing fast, which makes you a moving target! Try scribbling out a list of what you're like: your personal qualities, interests, abilities, achievements. Include your basic values, your possible future plans, and your educational hopes. Then see what opportunities there are around you at school, in the community, even at home, that may offer ways to express your interests and best qualities. Talk with friends, family, and teachers about yourself and your options. But priorities are hard to develop in a vacuum. Get busy doing anything promising, and from those activities, you will learn what is most important for you. You may bark up some wrong trees as you learn which are the right ones for you. That's not a problem. Just back off from the blind alleys to devote more energy to the better moves as you discover them. Q. I have these doubts ­ should I really go to college? Am I right for that kind of  long-term higher education move? How can I tell if this track is best for me? A. An excellent question, one everyone should keep asking. College is not for everyone. Here are a few simple questions to ask yourself about your college readiness. Just jot down yes or no: · Do you enjoy many of the things you do in your courses? · Do you like to work with ideas as much as with things or people? · Do you usually grasp new ideas the first time they are presented in class? · Do you plan your time and organize your work without being supervised? · Does your schoolwork usually reflect your real ability? · Are you comfortable with most reading and writing activities? · Do you consider your intelligence ­ and your grades ­ to be above average? · Do you like the idea of growing, learning, and improving as a life value? · Do you study at home regularly and find some satisfaction from this work? · Do you compare favorably with most of your classmates in these areas? If you can answer yes to most of these questions, you are growing toward the kind of person who succeeds in college, profits from that experience, and enjoys the remainder of life as an educated and cultured person. So don't sweat out any major decisions at this early stage. Continue to do your best, think positively, follow good role models, and see how the future unfolds for you! Q. My situation is a little different: I am getting my education at home, with a home study program. I don't get grades and credits the way schooled students do. Will colleges have a problem evaluating my readiness? A. Colleges know and welcome applicants like you, and they actively look for ways to help you become known to them and interested in them. One effective means is through testing, and one very popular test series, because it directly reflects actual school courses, is the College Board's SAT II Subject Test series. Home-schooled students might consider taking this one-hour test each June, in every course taken that year, at a local test center (often in a nearby high school). You may register for these tests online at www.collegeboard.com, or by mail or phone: (212) 713-8000, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Eastern Time). If you are an excellent student, you may also want to join the College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) program. You may take these courses by via CD, and then take the final exams in May at your area high school. Typically this program focuses on grades 11 and 12. If you want or need a high school diploma ­ not all colleges require this ­ explore getting an equivalency diploma, often called a GED or General Educational Development examination. Are you thinking of working on your college degree somewhere other than a campus setting? There are listings of colleges offering distance learning and external degree  programs, both by correspondence and online. Libraries, bookstores, websites, and local high school guidance people can help you find these resources. Good luck! Dave Peterson has been an admissions officer, high school counselor, and guidance director. He now serves as director of college planning for the EDIFI corporation, a national mutli-media counseling service. This article first appeared in longer form in the November 2005 issue of Parent.TEEN.	CLICK HERE for more College Prep articles by Dave Peterson. COLLEGE PREP Dave Peterson's unique guide to choosing the college that's best for you, and optimizing your chances of getting admitted. Dave Peterson is a college admissions officer, high school counselor, and guidance director. He now serves as director of college planning for the EDIFI corporation, a national multi-media counseling service. Here's a link to past College Prep articles.