The College Bound wAGon

 [Writer’s Note: This will be part one of a multi-post installment on preparing yourself for college and truly taking a look at how to make the process easier on you and your family.  I hope you enjoy.]

     For seniors in high school, this is the time of year when lots of things are happening- and probably very fast.  Between running to band practice and Friday night football games and working your part-time job at the local sub shop, you are a student on a path to your future.  People ask where you are going to college, what you are going to major in, and a part of you is always asking yourself the same question.  You may be getting these questions as a junior or sophomore, too. 

     After working in college admissions for nearly ten years, let me pull you inside the inner circle and let you in on some “inside” information.  I am going to discuss some of the questions I get the most often and offer some advice.

Anything I can do before I start applying to make it easier?   

     Simply said, yes.  Think of these steps as stretching before the big race.

     Ask yourself why you want to go to college.  The two most common answers I hear are to reach your goals and to start a career.  These are great answers and everyone will have different factors.  Use these factors to begin narrowing your college search down to the schools that fit you and what you are looking for.  There are over 7,000 higher education institutions in the U.S. according to US Department of Education statistics, so it is important to narrow your choices.  Ultimately, campus visits are great ways to narrow the search and can put you inside the action to see if that campus is for you. 

     Get a planner.  [Note: You are going to hear this a few times, so just stop reading now and head to the store.]  This can come in very handy when you start interacting with the colleges on your list (see above). 

     Take the ACT or SAT.  Each student tests differently and some states are more geared on taking one or the other.  Let that be up to the individual student.  We suggest taking each test at least twice in order to power up your score and so the student can have a good grasp on the format.  I’ve met students who take it once and score near-perfect and I have met students who have taken it seven times to reach their goal.  Seven is excessive.  That takes the power off of the student and gives it to the test.  Get a study guide and go through it for 5 minutes a day at least leading up to your test.  Don’t cram the week before by reading the special hints and working on the sections you know or don’t know.  Read the whole thing.  You can also get some great help from your smartphone or email inbox by checking out the different apps out there and online features of the sites below.

ACT: http://www.actstudent.org/ (Check out the Question of the Day box.)

SAT:  http://sat.collegeboard.org/home (They also have Question of the Day.)

Okay- that’s enough reading for one day from me.  I’ll be back with another installment of “The College Bound wAGon” next week where we’ll talk about applying to college and what to major in.  In the meantime,  send your questions to me at Jason.Headrick@uky.edu.  I’m glad to hear your questions or get your feedback on this and other posts.

Jason

Director of Student Relations, UK Ag

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