parent-teen.com
an
online magazine for families with teens
ARTICLES,
ARCHIVES, &
RESOURCES
Ages
& Stages
Alcohol/Drugs
Arts
& Media
College
Planning
Coping
Driving
Fun
Issues
News
Parent
Pages
Puberty
School
Sex
& Dating
Sports
Volunteering
Working
Your
Body
COLUMNS
College
Prep
Dear
Mike
Freshman
Journal
From
the Backpack
FEEDBACK
What our readers say
CONTRIBUTE
Editorial guidelines
Parent-Teen is a publication of:
Parents'
Press
1454 Sixth St.
Berkeley, CA 94710
Phone:
(510) 524-1602
Fax:
(510) 524-0912
e-mail:
ParentsPrs@aol.com
Site contents © copyright 1997-2005 by Parents' Press
You are welcome to make a single (1) copy of any article for your personal, non-commercial use as long as all rights & copyright information remains intact. Please contact us if you are interested in reprinting any material from this site.
|
Free download words, definitions www.learningjoyresources.com/SAT |
College Prep
Basics of College Planning
For Freshmen & Sophomores
BY DAVE PETERSON
© Copyright
2005 by Parents' Press
Originally published in the September 2005 print edition of Parents'
Press
Illustration © 2001, Artville, LLC
Happy New Year! Yes, for high school students it's time to make and keep new resolutions. A quarter of your high school career starts now, with only 180 days of school opportunities for you to grow, learn, achieve . and along the way, become more college-ready so hit the ground running!
What questions
do should! most freshmen and sophomores ask at the
beginning of their early high school years? You'll
see, as you read on, that I feel high school is the best preparation
for your own maturity and for life itself, not just for college.
In fact, there's no real disconnect between these goals. What
best prepares you for adulthood and success in life is no different
from what colleges want to see when they look at your application.
Okay? Now for some questions:
Q. What do I need to do to get admitted to a top college?
A. Focus on personal fulfillment instead of college admission.
Keep busy every day doing what you need to do, like to do, and
are best at don't cut off your toes to fit some imaginary
glass admissions slipper! Insisting now that you will attend
only a top-level college is an invitation to destroy your personal
value system, which should be based on self-development and integrity.
Q. How much
achievement is too much?
A. What is the right degree of challenge for you, based on your
ability and your motivation? Don't try to work backwards, making
decisions based on what you think will look best on your transcript!
Instead, balance your best possible academics with achievement
in areas you enjoy. Include some time for fun, too, and college
will take care of itself when the time comes.
Q. What do
colleges look at?
A. First, course titles and the ability levels indicated by those
titles (for example, "Honors English" or AP (Advanced
Placement) History." Second, the grades you earned in high
school, and the class rank and GPA (grade point average) those
grades represent. Third, your SAT scores, to help them judge
whether your grades accurately reflect what you learned. Fourth,
what you have done with your life out of class.
Q. How can
I know what kind of college to look for?
A. You can't yet, because you are still learning about who you
are, what you can do, and how you will develop and grow over
the next three to four years.
Q. What kind of activities will I need to get into a large
university?
A. Some large public universities "admit by the numbers"
(grades and tests) and pay little attention to what else you
did with your high school years. But most colleges feel that
how you use your time in high school accurately predicts how
you will use it in college. That time includes the half
of your waking hours not spent in classes, and the half of every
year that isn't school days!
Q. How can
I improve my study habits?
A. What does this term really mean gimmicks to get good
grades, or ways to build new knowledge into a richer life?
Everyone has different study patterns; those who get the best
grades have focused on what works best for them.
So why do some students work hard on learning while others work less? The answer is how deeply you feel the need to learn, to improve reasoning and memory skills, to become a wiser, more informed, more aware person as you face life's joys and challenges. We call this motivation.
When you mature enough to feel this "fire in the belly" to think and to know, your study habits will skyrocket! You will read a great book all night long because you love it, not because there's a test tomorrow. Yes, ask each teacher what study techniques they recommend for their subject. But keep asking yourself the question which is the bottom line of learning . why?
Q. I want
to be a surgeon. What do I have to do?
A. Get top grades in high school; enter the college with the
strongest entry standards you qualify for (all liberal arts colleges
prepare students for graduate schools); then ace their biology
and chemistry courses so they will recommend you for a medical
school. Good luck!
Q. I'm working
my butt off trying to get into my dream college, but my record
just doesn't match up. How can I get better?
A. Don't make yourself miserable in high school just to try for
a fancy college. Work because you want to escape being dumb!
Work to grow, achieve, and feel good about your abilities. Then,
as a senior, see how all this relates to college admission standards.
Dream colleges can become nightmares. The college best for you
is the one that best fits you. And we don't know what that is
yet.
Q. My foreign
language happens to be Russian. Will colleges accept this?
A. In general, colleges will accept any language which they also
offer, providing you show academic credit, not merely native
language experience. Sometimes they may accept good SAT
II language scores in lieu of credits.
Q. I took
algebra in 8th grade. Will colleges accept this as a "year
of math?"
A. Yes; ask your school to post that grade on your transcript.
You won't get any high school credit, but colleges will look
at the final level of math you achieve, not where you studied
it. This is also true for students taking foreign language in
elementary school.
Q. I took
Latin last year, but my school is dropping it. What do I do?
A. Start a modern language at once; be sure it is popular enough
to be offered for a full four years.
Q. My freshman
science class is called "physical science"; will colleges
accept this?
A. Colleges specifically ask by name for biology, chemistry,
and physics. But you may need this background course, and you
have three years left to take the "big three" later!
Q. How high
must my grades be to earn a scholarship?
A. Most scholarships today are given for proven financial need,
not just for grades. But financial aid money does
go first to those with the best transcripts, so shoot for best
grades in the "big five": English, history, math, science,
and foreign language. Take all five subjects each year throughout
high school. And take them in the most challenging classes or
levels you can get into. Learn to love to learn, and everything
else falls into place!
Q. How many
hours of volunteering should I do?
A. Volunteer only if you love to help others, not because you
think your record needs to show it. Live your life according
to your personal values, and admissions will be a natural
outcome!
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 September 2005 issue of Parent.TEEN.
|
CLICK HERE for more College Prep articles by Dave Peterson. COLLEGE
PREP 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. |