Getting Ready for College: All of the Crap High School Forgot to Tell You About
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Introduction
It is no misconception that the average four years that students spend in high school do not prepare them for the confusing and time consuming college-prep process. In my high school experience, all that my high school did for me was dump a cocktail of brochures into my arms. This left me to manage deadlines, applications, and standardized testing scheduling entirely on my own. Not to mention applying for the Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) and all that that entails. So now that this process is largely past for me, hopefully any rising seniors, or their parents can get some tips and help from this series. I have compiled all that I have learned from research and experience to help you get on the right track to getting into your top colleges.
Chapters
- For Juniors: Getting Started with the SAT's
- Before Your Senior Year: Organization and Planning
- Fall Senior Year: CAUTION: PAPERWORK AHEAD!
- Winter Senior Year: Financial Aid and the All Important FAFSA
- Spring Senior Year: Sit Back and Breathe...Sort Of
- The Best Books to Help Students Plan For College
- There's an App for That! Helpful Apps for High School and College Students
- The College Board: The Successful Student's Secret Weapon
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As someone who took ten years off of school and returned at 31 I have seen just about all that the system entails. After highschool, I enrolled in a four year as a music major, left before attending a class, took a year off, re-enrolled in a community college which I attended for 3 1/2 years, stopped going to community college to work, enrolled in community college again after ten years and finally transfered to another four-year last semester as an English major.
I have had to learn through experience the intracacies of college. For instance: many "advisors" don't know what they're talking about, there is a ton of financial aid (including free money) out there for most people, and you better be taking thorough notes.
Perhaps, the biggest lesson that I have learned is that people are ready for college at different times in life. My first go 'round resulted in a 2.62 GPA. After living in the "real world", working jobs I hated for little pay,I have learned to appreciate school. Since my return, my GPA over four semesters is 3.875 including a 4.0 my first semester at a four-year. I see so many kids in my classes that are not going to make it and they don't even know it. (showing up 20 mins late for class on the rare days that you do show up and then texting through an entire lecture is not going to get it done) But, it's perfectly okay to leave, experience life and then return. Sure, you miss out on some time that you could potentially be getting paid better, but I waited and now I'm crushing it, looking forward to graduate school.
Good luck to everyone who is going through this process!
@StephanieBCrosby: I appreciate that you have a heart to help high schoolers through this process. The advisers that I had really were not very knowledgeable about much which turned out to hurt me in a few areas as I progressed through high school. Whoever your students are, they are lucky to have such a devoted teacher
StephanieBCrosby Level 5 Commenter 8 months ago
Morgan F, this is a situation many students find frustrating. I know when I taught high school I would always offer to help students fill out applications and navigate the whole process because there was no one to help me when I was applying to college. While I went to a boarding school, it was assumed the parents would help with much of the process, but no one in my family had attended college before (that I knew of).
However, what American educational systems and those who are a part of them forget is that public education is not meant to be college preparation. Sure, tracks and classes have been added over the years for this purpose, but public schools are only suppose to provide basic and necessary education. That is why anything beyond high school is called higher education. This is also why the services we would like are not always provided. I know when I tried to provide group application and financial (FASFA) help after school, the HS I taught for would not let me even though it was going to be a volunteered service.