Top Ten Ways to Prepare for College This August
10. Volunteer – It looks great to college admission counselors and it may make you eligible for some scholarships. (FREE money!), but most of all – it makes you feel good!
9. Put together a resume or “brag sheet” highlighting your top accomplishments, activities and work/volunteer experiences during high school. (if you would like to receive a sample college resume, email collegeplanning@nhheaf.org)
8. Write a draft or two of your college essay (use the prompts from the Common Application, www.commonapp.org, if you have not chosen colleges yet).
7. Read – A book, the paper, online, it doesn’t matter! Reading is instrumental in building your vocabulary (think SAT’s!) and can help prepare you for college.
6. $ave some of your summer earnings – College may seem far away, but you will thank yourself when you have the cash needed for books, etc. once you get to school.
5. Complete an internship – They don’t have to be year-long projects. Research opportunities to work with someone in an area of interest for a few hours or a day a week.
4. Conduct a job shadow/informational interview – You can find out a little in a short amount of time!
3. Tour college campuses – Visualize yourself attending that school. Ask questions, take notes and think about “fit”; is that a school you would want to go to? Can’t visit a campus – check them out online at www.campustours.com
2. Research careers and majors of interest – You don’t have to have it all figured out, but it is important to have an idea of where your interests lie. Take a career assessment if you are looking for some motivation. We like Bridges and Kuder - call us for the FREE access codes!
And the top way you can prepare for college this August:
1. Schedule a 75 to 90 minute appointment with one of our fun and knowledgable college counselors from the Center for College Planning! Our office is in Concord and we would love to answer your questions and help you get started. Call 888.7.GRADUATE ext. 119 to book your appointment today!
Great blog post! This is the time for students that want to go to college to get started before the school year starts!! A lot of students that I work with want everything just to happen; sometimes hard work brings a lot of luck. It's like the famous quote from Thomas Jefferson, “I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it”. Take advantage of this blog post; it’s a great summer checklist and it’s never too late to start checking some of these things of the list!! GAME ON!!!
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All great information. Taking time in the summer to do some preparation for senior year is a great way to take some pressure off. Senior year is busy enough so being able to get some things out of the way will make life a lot less stressful. Preparing over the summer is also a great way to practice time management when you don't have the structure of school, being able to manage your own time over the summer is very similar to your college experience where you may not have class everyday.
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