College Preparation

Seek help from parents

Take the SAT or ACT exam

Apply to colleges before your graduate

Prepare mentally and physically for your new environment

Read as much as possible

According to highereducation.org “Every year in the United States, nearly 60% of first-year college
students discover that, despite being fully eligible to attend college, they are not ready for
postsecondary studies.” This is a sad but true fact. The question may be asked, “why is it that these
scholars are not ready to pursue their tertiary level education? The answer is simple, they have not
prepared. According to Merriam Webster, preparation is “the activity or process of making something
ready or of becoming ready for something.” Just like you would prepare for a basketball game or even to
travel abroad for vacation you should prepare for college life. This may seem like an impossible task but,
below are some simple things that you can do to prepare for college.

Seek Help from Parents

Your parents play a vital role in helping you prepare for your college life. From a very young age they are
a part of your decision making. Whether it was buying a new pair of shoes or the type friends you kept.
Your parents mentored and nurtured your decision making. When preparing for college, your parent’s
opinion helps in choosing the best college for you, based on your career choice. You may think that you
are an adult and decisions should be made on your own, however they still should advise and guide you
toward making the sound choices. Parents have invaluable experience and knowledge to guide you
because they have trod that road before. Parents wants what is best for their children so, they will
always give you the best advice.

Take the SAT or ACT exam

Are you a student who is preparing for college and has money issues? Do you also want to travel
abroad to the United States to further your tertiary level education? Well, securing the SAT or ACT is a
sure win for you .The SAT and ACT are standardized tests widely used for college admissions in the United
States. The SAT was first introduced in 1926 and the ACT was introduced in 1959. These exams should be
taken before you enter college if you plan to attend an American based school. This is because this is a
prerequisite for entry into most colleges or universities. Not only do these exams grant you entry into colleges
but, they also give you a scholarship that can cover a large portion of your school fee. For example, instead of
paying twenty thousand dollars for your college tuition per year, you would only pay a quarter of that with a
high score in these standardized test.
Apply to Colleges Before You Graduate

Applying to college before you graduate is very essential in preparing. A student should ideally start
searching for a college in junior or early senior school. This helps to narrow the list of colleges the
individual would want to apply to before senior year. From experience, students should apply to their
future college from grade eleven. This gives the scholar an edge over the other applicants who apply
later because there are only a certain amount of scholarships that are given annually. If this is not
possible the aspiring college student should apply the summer before Senior Year. This gives the student
enough time to fill out their application form and send it to the university. Also, you should apply to
more than one university or college. By doing this, your options are more open because if you do not get
accepted to your preferred school you can go to the second college of your choice.

Read as much as possible

To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting-Edmund Burke. Reading is seen by some
people as a boring way to pass time. If you are a student hoping to enter college, reading needs to be
your best friend. You have heard many times from you teacher that you must read to succeed. You may
have thought this to be a cliché statement but, it is a true fact. College work demands 110% from you.
Many professors will give you chapters upon chapters to read and expect you to give a summary on it.
By continuously reading now this will be a ‘walk in the park’ for you because you have been doing this
for a very long time. You should aim to read books that are past your level of comfort. Reading and
comprehending are two different things. When you read, you should always try to understand what you
have just read. This will help you to understand the complex work that lies ahead in college and make
your preparation effortless.

Can you imagine going to college just having to pay a minimal tuition, earning very good grades, having
no unnecessary stress and just enjoying your college life? This is possible, if proper preparation is done.
I encourage you to implement these simple things as early as possible if you are an aspiring college
student.

Prepare mentally and physically for your new environment

Moving from high school to college can be a challenging experience. Some things that you can do to
prepare physically are; improve your technical skills, enhance your interpersonal skills, start practicing
time management skills and also take good care of your bodies by eating properly, exercising and getting
enough rest. Mentally you also need to be prepared for college. Focus is very important - you need to
be goal oriented. Determine within yourself that you will keep your eyes on the prize of achieving the
degree you have set out to achieve. You will no longer have the direct support of your parents to
motivate and keep you focused, self-reliance will be the order of the day. So that there are no surprises,
it would be in your best interest to visit the campus of your choice, if possible. And finally it does not
matter how well prepared you are for college there will be some unexpected turbulence so always be
open for the unexpected.