1. Get help
Get support from your high school guidance counselor, teachers and principal.
Your school is full of resources: Your guidance counselor, principal and teachers have all been to college and can help you get there. Talk to them about your dream career and ask for their advice about what you need to do to achieve it. When you do apply to colleges during your senior year, they can provide the letters of recommendation that must accompany the applications.
Prep for the PSAT, SAT, SAT subject tests and ACT.
Your high school guidance counselor will help you figure out which standardized tests you need to take and when to take them. Preparing early for these tests can help you get a higher score. Buy or borrow a test-prep book and try working on it a little each day. Create or buy math and vocabulary flash cards to practice whenever you have time—even just a few minutes.
Most students worry about doing well on these tests, but try to keep things in perspective. Your grades and other academic experiences will always hold more weight than standardized tests.
Enroll in college-prep and tutoring programs.
After-school college access programs are a great way to prepare for and learn about college. These programs offer services like test preparation, college guidance, financial aid help, tutoring, college tours, college-level courses and help with scholarships.
More information is available from the College Access Consortium of New York and the Partnership for After School Education.
2. Stay on track to graduate
A major part of preparing for college is making sure you graduate from high school on time. This means more than just doing well in all of your classes; it also means taking the correct sequence of classes and exams. See the How 2B G2G page for general requirements or click on your grade level in the main menu to see this year's goals.
Take challenging classes.
Many colleges prefer students who have taken four years of math and three years of foreign language. Taking Advanced Placement classes and College Now classes, if they are available in your school, can make your college application stand out and prevent you from having to take noncredit remedial classes in college.
3. Stand Out
Develop skills and interests outside the classroom.
The colleges you apply to will want to know how you spend your time outside the classroom. Do you play sports or an instrument? Participate in your church youth group or do community service? Read a lot or babysit?
Your extracurricular activities develop skills and experiences that set you apart from other students who have similar grades. And they are an indication of what you think is important and how you can contribute to the world around you. Your guidance counselor can help you research after-school programs and other activities if you cannot find what you are looking for.