Freshman
- Learn effective study skills (Not re-reading and highlighting)
2) Install Grammarly (free version is fine) on your computer. THEN USE IT!!!
3) Try to use this year to learn and practice active tense writing (as opposed to passive tense) If this term isn’t familiar, here is a quick explanation;
4) Word v. Google Docs – Google Docs automatically saves the history of your versions. Word can too, but I think it takes more work to make sure it saves all the versions. This is useful for essay writing. Always leave a writing trail. Don’t cut and paste chunks of text because it raises the suspicion that it is AI-generated. AI writing your essay is plagiarism at many schools.
5) Create an email for all things college-related. Scholarships, SAT registration, college admission sites, etc. Consider sharing login info with parents if you don’t check your email frequently.
6) Create scholarship accounts using your new email. Fastweb.com, Scholarships.com, or BigFutures.org. Yes, you can (and should) start looking for scholarships before senior year.
7) Get involved! Try anything that sparks curiosity. Sports, clubs, volunteer work, hobbies, etc. Taste-test and demonstrate your social skills in the process.
8) Take an appropriately challenging curriculum. But don’t overdo it! Jumping into compaction math (especially if you are on the block schedule) just because it is the hardest math class offered does not help you learn if math does not come easily to you.
9) Use the University of California A-G guidelines to guide your course selection. They meet the eligibility standards of virtually any college in the United States. Note these are minimum eligibility standards. If you are aiming for elite-level schools, you will need to exceed this.
10) Prioritize your mental health. You can’t get a great education if you are not mentally in a place to learn. College will always be there.