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Scholarship & College Advice Blog
How to prep for college this summer
Friday, April 15, 2011This time of year, many students are stuck thinking about how to prepare for college. There is a lot of work that goes into preparing for college. Not only are students burdened with their work at school, but starting junior year, even more time is allotted for the college search process. This is why I want to let you know a little bit about what you can do this summer to lighten the load next year!
As the summer draws closer, students should begin to plan how to best utilize their time. Of course after a strenuous year, summer should serve as a break, but do not make the all-to-common mistake of doing absolutely NOTHING during the summer. For current sophomores, the summer before junior year can be a great time to start the college search process. Junior year can be incredibly busy, between school work, ACTs, SATs, researching and visiting colleges, time can get away from you quickly.
Take some time this summer to research schools. Make a list of what you want to look for- big school, little school, public, private? Check out a number of schools and come up with a list of colleges to visit throughout the year. I don't recommend actually visiting any unless you plan to go again, because it's important that classes are in session and students are back on campus in order to get the full experience. If you're not sure what you want to look for in a school, include a variety on your list. As you begin to visit them, you'll soon whittle down the specifics.
Getting a part-time job is another great way to spend your summer. Not only will it look good on a resume, but you can even put some money away for college. Even if you only save a couple hundred dollars, every little bit helps!
To make it even easier for you, we've broken down the process in our college preparation calendar. This guide will show you what activities you should be doing and when to do them. Not to mention you'll be able to plan out your own individual college prep process. So good luck these next couple of months, and I hope when summer finally rolls around you'll find ways to make the best of it!
