High School freshman its time to think about college.

For most people choosing a college to attend is complicated.  It gets even more complicated if you will be the first in your family to go to college. Unfortunately most high school students wait until their senior year, often their last semester in high school to prepare and apply for college.  But what you do and don't do starting in your freshman year classes has an impact on what colleges will accept you.    

First of all, select a high school that has a college counselor and visit your counselor in your freshman year.  Many high schools if they have college counselors do not require students to visit their college counselors until their junior year.  But there is a good reason to start planning early for college.  Most good colleges have specific admissions requirements, especially in the area of math, science and language.  If you wait until your senior year to check the entrance requirements for a college your interested in, you might discover that you do not have the required courses.  For example if you only take two years of math in high school but the college you want to go to requires four years of math, there is no way you will be able to make up the classes.  So what do you do?  Work with the college counselor or someone who has graduated from college to help you pick your classes.  Look up on the internet, some of the better four year colleges in your city and find out what are the admissions requirements for that college.  

Join a club, participate in sports or volunteer in your school or community.  As early as possible in your high school career do something that shows your leadership skills, your commitment to the community or your athletic ability.  Colleges are looking for people who are more than just good students.  They are looking for leaders, people with unique experiences and talents.  You never know you might get a scholarship for your talent. 

Take the ACT or SAT in your junior year of high school.  Many colleges have minimum ACT or SAT scores to get into their school.  If you wait to take the ACT or SAT in your senior year you may not have time to retake the test.  So meet with your college counselor in your junior year to find out when and where the ACT and SAT tests will be offered.  If you do poorly look for a tutor or test preparation course that specialize in the ACT and SAT.  The money you spend on tutors or a course is an investment.  The better score you get the better financial aid you will be offered.

Check for early college application deadlines in your junior year.  Some of the better schools require high school students to apply as early as your junior year or the first few months of your senior year.  You may be able to apply later and be selected by the college but you might not qualify for some college scholarships offered by the school.  College is expensive so don't miss any opportunity to get free money to help pay for school.

As a freshman high school student you might not be ready to think about college.  But if you really want to go to a good college you need to plan ahead.  You do not need to pick a college in your first year of high school but you do need to make sure you are doing everything now like taking the right classes, preparing for the ACT and SAT early, maintaining a good grade point average, doing extra activities that show your talents and know when you have to apply for college admissions can make a big diference. Your college decision is an important one—not one that you should make at the last minute or without careful thought.