Tip #3: You don’t
have to know what you want to do with the rest of your life to figure out what
college you want to go to. A common misconception is that you must know your
junior and senior year of high school. Wrong. It’s
helpful (sometimes), but it’s wrong. Don’t be afraid to go into college as an
Undecided Major. People knowing their major may seem like they have it all
figured out, but they can just as easily change. You’re not locked into one
specific field.
Take my tour guide, for example. I was visiting my college
to audition for their dance program the following day. He gave our group the
exact same advice because he changed his major 3 or 4 times before settling on
Political Science.
At that point I sort of felt exactly like you do right now.....like this.
I digress...back to examples. Such as me. Right now I am going in as a double
major in Dance and Communications Studies. But this doesn’t mean that I will
continue doing either. It’s a scary thought. Trust me, I have spent countless
nights thinking about it. But don’t be afraid to get your toes wet in other
areas.
Another example, I am taking an Archaeology seminar to count
as my Honors First-Year Seminar. A requirement for both my Gen. Ed. (General
Education) and the Honors Program that I have entered into. Obviously, this has
nothing to do with either of my majors, but if you don’t explore other options
how will you truly know what you want to do?
Tip #4: Fire up
that Academic Resume! I can’t stress enough how much help it was to refer to a
document with all of my activities in one place rather than scramble around
trying to remember everything I’ve done. And if you aren’t really involved in
anything. Find something and stick with it. Don’t feel like you need to get a
lot activities in because what most colleges and eventual sororities/fraternities (post to come later) look for is consistency. The worst
thing you can do is jump around every year from activity to activity or just do
something that you think will look good on that resume for college. Again, FIND SOMETHING YOU LIKE AND STICK WITH IT! It
can really make all the difference.
Below is a good template that I used for my own academic
resume for high school.
Your
name Your
High School
Your
address H.S Address
(Address
continued) (H.S.
Address continued)
Academic Record:
Ninth Grade (first semester): Ninth
Grade (second semester):
List all of your classes and
then either the letter grade or the number grade in each.
Cumulative GPA (as of May, 2012
or whatever yr):
Test Scores:
PSAT: Critical Reading: Score Math:
Score Writing: Score
SAT: Critical Reading: Score Math: Score Writing:
Score (Science: Score)
Remember: Put down your
scores for all of the tests even if you took a particular test multiple times. They like to see improvement.
Awards:
Remember: When you write down your awards, activities, and service go from
the most recent to freshman year. And put the date in parentheses after each
one.
Extracurricular Activities:
Service:
Tip #5: This is
the last one for today, I promise! Don’t feel the need to apply for hundreds of
colleges. If you are an undecided major don’t feel pressured to apply for every college you can think of. First, check the options you have in-state. It’s
fine to go out of state, actually I am going out of state, but it’s only
because my particular college has the programs I want. If you have a specific program in mind sometimes out of state is your only option. Unfortunately, it's how the cookie crumbles. Just explore your options
first. You'll find the right fit, but you have to keep an open mind.
Thanks for stopping by! If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
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