Simple College Preparation Tips for High School Junior & Seniors

"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."

The above quote imbued upon me at a young age by my father rings true in almost every aspect of life - education, business, personal finance, career - you name it. No matter the vocation, lack of preparation is truly asking for an inevitable embarrassment. According to a 2019 survey conducted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU), only 55 percent of students attending high school feel prepared to enter the real world. Considering how the high school system was designed (allegedly) to teach critical life skills to students, this is incredibly astonishing. No need to fear, however! The sole purpose of this post is to give critical and proven advice that helped me in both my college preparation process and my post-collegiate endeavors. These simple tips are intended strictly for high school juniors & seniors - as well as their parents! Here we go! Hopefully, you'll take some notes (or not...it's solely up to you).

1. Figure out what your passion is early. Believe it or not, high schoolers don't think about what they want to do in life until their 2nd year in undergrad. Hopefully, you don't fall in that category. Discover your passion early! Think about what drives you, what you're interested in. In retrospect, you should be thinking about this during your freshman year in high school. Take electives like personal finance, economics, cooking - or subjects that peak your interest. Who knows? One day, it will be a life-long, money making career.
2. Build a list of desired colleges based on your learning style. Now, I know you may be asking, what do you mean by learning style? Well, simply put, your learning style can be placed into a broad spectrum of explanations, but for the sake of simplicity, I'll give you this example: if you learn better in small-sized classroom, you may want to compile a list of colleges that have a relatively small teacher-student ratio. For example, if your learning is proficient in a small classroom setting, a college like Rutgers University in NJ would not be to your liking, as a professor in that university has anywhere from 100-300 students in a classroom. A school like Kean University or even Ramapo College would be your fit. Basically, if you prefer having direct access to your teacher, a small-sized college/university would be your fit, or vice versa, if you prefer a larger classroom setting.
3. College visits are essential. Not only is it fun, but you get to experience your desired college up close and personal. College visits also give you opportunity to ask questions, meet your potential professors and school officials, coaches, etc., meet residential staff (if you choose to live on campus), build potential on-campus job opportunities in the future, and understand the overall layout of the school. I mean.....who wants to get lost and be late to class on their first day, right?
4. Those SATs? Yes - you have to pass them. The ACT (American College Test) and PSAT/SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) are two of the most important tests you'll need to do well on during your college preparation journey. The SAT is scored on a range from 400-1600 - 400 being the lowest, 800-1100 being average, and 1100-1600 being considered above average/proficient. Yes, colleges will use those two tests, particularly the SAT, to determine your "worthiness" to attend their respective institution. It would behoove you to actually take them seriously, especially if you're planning to getting into a high level university. For example, if Harvard is on your list of colleges, then a score close to 1600 is critical. Luckily for you, you have two opportunities to take the SAT, with the higher score out of the two being used in your college application. Study, take tutoring session if need be. Whatever you do - put your best foot forward in this area.
5. "Undecided" is not advisable. This is an extension of tip #1, but I had to place it in its own category. The biggest mistake you can make is going into college with a major classification as "UNDECIDED". You're basically giving that college additional money (money that you'll have to pay back to the government eventually) and extra years of being in school - and really, who wants to be in college past 4 years? Once again, discover that passion early and develop it.
6. ATHLETES - read this carefully. Athletes, it is imperative that you research the NCAA Clearinghouse requirements. The NCAA Clearinghouse is basically the overseer of all prospective athletes looking to play at the collegiate level. Think of it as professional sports draft - without the picking, of course. The Clearinghouse has specific requirements for athlete of all sports. Some of those may include specific standardized testing (besides your SATs), physicals, provision of highlight tapes, interviewing, just to name a few. My fellow athletes - please take this seriously. I've seen a lot of good to great high school athletes thwart their process due to lack of concern for their Clearinghouse endeavors. Don't let that be you. For more information on NCAA Clearinghouse requirements, visit https://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/play-division-i-sports
7. Financial Aid, the bane of everyone's existence. Now, I know this is one area you'll be dreading when the times comes. Trust me, I dreaded it too - somewhat. Financial aid is simply the money you'll need to pay for school; however, it differs from person to person. For example, students who commute to school rather than living on campus tend to have significantly lesser money owed when they graduate. It is important to research all avenues of financial aid, such as PELL Grants, Federal Grants, etc. There are even loans that you don't have to pay back when you graduate. Sit down with your college counselor and go over your options before you fill out your FAFSA form- oh and remember, scholarships don't hurt either.  I've provided this link as a simplified version of the different aid out there: https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types
8. PAPERWORK PUNCTUALITY SAVES EVERYONE - ESPECIALLY YOU. To tie it all together and back to our original focus of preparation, please have all your college paperwork on time. Believe it or not, your college counselor will not chase you down for documents needed for your application. They'll expect you to be on top of your stuff. My advice - for each college, have a checklist of all the required documents you need (Personal Statement, College application, Recommendations, SAT scores, etc.). Side note - every college has a checklist on their website that you can follow. Use that to your advantage. Lastly, take serious initiative. Not only will you stand out, but you will command respect of everyone you'll deal with during your college application process.

There you have it! Eight simple steps that I used that smoothened my college application process. I hope you can take come stuff here and apply it your own process. For those who are looking into other avenues outside of college (ie. technical/trade school), the same rules apply, but on a smaller scale. Nonetheless, you'll find the same success (or even greater) with these tips.

If you have any questions at all, I am available to speak with & consult you on the different strategies that will put you in the best position possible. I am available via appointment. Schedule one today at www.oluwatobinotary.com!