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By Education Team | 04 Sept. 2017

5 Things Students Should Do in High School Before College Starts

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For high school juniors and seniors, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the hype of finishing your degree and going on to college. Before they grow up too quickly, here are a few tips to pass on to any high school students you know who are stuck in the tunnel and just waiting to graduate.

1 - Read more books for fun

Leisure reading is almost nonexistent in college. Most suggest that you don’t bring books to read “for fun” because they end up collecting dust and taking up some much needed space in your dorm room. Read as many books for fun while you still can in high school! Even if you’re not a book fanatic, the more you read now, the easier it will be for you to finish those thousands of pages of homework in college. Check out a few novels from college reading lists. Who knows, you may even take some pressure off of yourself in college and choose something you’ll end up reading for a college class.

2 - Participate in more activities just for you

Be honest, most of the after school activities you participated in during your high school years were to pad your college application. Sure, you enjoyed what you did, but you pushed aside and spent less time on activities you really loved as hobbies. Yes, after school activities are important for your college application, but realize that when you’re in college, your time will be very limited. You won’t be able to participate in twenty different activities like you could in high school. You will probably have to focus most of your energy into only a few clubs or organizations, and these will most likely be things more closely related with whatever career you’re considering. Give your hobbies the chance they deserve in high school while you still have the time.

3 - Connect more with teachers

It’s impossible to stress enough how important it is to have good rapport with your teachers in high school. Not only does it make going to class easier and more fun, but it also helps you in the long run. High school teachers can be for providing recommendations for colleges and for jobs. Also, talking and connecting more with your teachers in high school will make it easier to do the same with professors in college. College professors are great assets, not just for homework help, but also for help getting jobs. Professors in college can seem a bit intimidating at first, but if you can gather up the courage to get to know one or two of them, you could find yourself with some very helpful and insightful mentors for the rest of your academic career and your life.

4 - Establish your friendships

Unless a lot of people from your high school decide to go to the same college, it’s not likely you’ll be seeing many of your high school friends outside of winter and summer vacations. As you get busier, it will become more difficult to stay in touch with even your closest friends. If you’re the type of person with a group of close friends, create a group chat where you can all keep the conversation going and give each other little life updates. For those with just one or two close friends, establish regular Skype meetings, either once a week or once a month.

5 - Keep Your Grades Up

It may not be pleasant to think about, but even after you get accepted into the college of your dreams, it could all be taken away if your grades slip. Even if you manage not to fail, colleges still maintain the right to rescind your acceptance. Take for example the case at UC Irvine – in July 2017, the school had to rescind close to 500 acceptances because they underestimated the number of students who actual decided to attend the college. Because of this, the school had to take a more stringent look at the grades of the incoming freshman and decline students whose grades had only slightly fallen.