Freshmen

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Get Ready!

There's an old Chinese proverb that says, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

No matter how unsure you feel about taking that first step, every single one after that will be a little easier. It also helps if you have a plan to follow through your freshman year—and here it is.

Plan out your classes.

The courses you take in high school show colleges what kind of goals you set for yourself. Ask yourself…

Am I signing up for advanced classes, honors sections, or accelerated sequences?
Am I choosing electives that really stretch my mind and help me develop new abilities?
Or am I doing just enough to get by?

Colleges will be more impressed by respectable grades in challenging courses than by outstanding grades in easy ones.

Do your high school course selections match what most colleges expect you to know? For example, many colleges require two to four years of foreign language study for admission.

Establish your college preparatory classes. Your schedule should consist of at least four college preparatory classes per year, including:

4 years of English
3 years of math (through algebra II or trigonometry)
2 years of foreign language
2 years of natural science
2 years of history/social studies
1 year of art
1 year of electives from the above list

File your important documents.

Copies of report cards
Lists of awards and honors
Lists of school and community activities in which you are involved, including both paid and volunteer work, and descriptions of what you do

Find out about which colleges to attend.

Create a list of colleges and universities in which you are interested.
Discuss the list with your parents or guardian and your school counselor and narrow it down to your top few.
Start visiting the campuses.

Take honor-level classes.

Ask if AP or other honors courses are available.
Find out if you are eligible for the honors classes you want to take.

Other Tips