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What opportunities are available in most high schools that will prepare me for college?

Hello, I am looking to find more opportunities in high schools to be more prepared for college. I have taken AP courses and will be taken some CE next year. Although, I just learned it is possible to graduate high school with an associate's degree. I have also learned about the AVID and GEAR UP program which helps prepare you in college and was wondering if there are more things I should be doing #startups #high-school #college #career-ready #entrepreneurship #extracurricular-activities #extracurricular #college-counselor

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Austin’s Answer

Hi Angela,

Wow you seem to be really proactive and it is great to see that you are looking to prepare yourself for college. The more prepared you are the better you will do as you will be able to handle the pressures and stress of college. AP courses are great as is AVID and GEAR UP so definitely keep being involved in those. You can definitely get an associates degree, but if you are planning on applying to a four year school then getting an associates degree would be a little repetitive. I would try and register to take SAT subject tests as they will make you a very attractive candidates for the schools that you are applying to. They are very similar to AP exams but instead of being scored from 0-5, they are scored from 0-800. They are scored in the same way the SAT is scored, meaning that a question right is +1, not answering is 0, and a question wrong is -1 or -2 (I forget). I took SAT subject tests for the same classes as my APs so I did not have to study additionally for the exam and they were pretty easy. I had my AP exams one week and about a week later I had my SAT subject tests. These exams look really good if you do well (anywhere 700+) and some school may even require you to take two of these exams.


Other than that you seem really prepared for college and there is nothing else that you can really. College is great so don't sweat it!!


Best,

Austin

Thank you comment icon Thank you for your feedback :) Angela
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Nick’s Answer

I'm going to suggest something off the beaten path. I'd recommend finding public speaking courses/meet-ups - this can even be a drama class! The earlier you become comfortable speaking in front of groups, the more avenues will open up in college and your career.

More pragmatically, I'd recommend taking an excel course. No matter what profession, it feels that you always find yourself working with spreadsheeting.

Lastly, for time-effectiveness, take a computer (e.g. apple, chrome, gmail) shortcuts class.
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Lev’s Answer

Since you tagged startups, have you considered starting a startup or a business? Entrepreneurship is a great way to level up your skills across many areas and gain some real world experience.
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Alica’s Answer

This is a great question, and one I asked myself my Junior year of high school. I actually enrolled in something called "Early College." Many Community Colleges have options for high school students to take college courses for credits for both your GE and for high school. This is a MUCH better option than taking AP courses because it's an option where one test doesn't define if you get credit, rather your grade and entire classes work of worth does. You get credit for both, so long as you pass the course with a C or higher and it counts for both your GE and your high school credit.

Also, as a high school student, most community college allow you to enroll for free until you're 18. I managed to get my GE requirements checked off by the time I was graduating my Senior year of high school, and it was a much cheaper and easier option than AP courses. It also gave me great experience learning what direction I wanted to take for my major before I left for college because I had been trying out real college courses and could narrow down what I actually liked without the big price tag attached.

If this sounds appealing, I'd ask your high school counselor and a counselor at the community college of your choosing, what courses count for both high school and GE credits and make a plan for summer school courses or even night classes if you can swing it.

For a more invested option, you can also seek out full enrollment programs for "Early College" programs. This is what I ended up doing, it's where you can go to an alternate high school with other students on this track and do both college and high school courses full time. It's not as scary as it sounds and you still get a high school experience. Hope this helped!
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EmilyAnn’s Answer

For anyone still looking at this question, for me the best way to prepare for college in high school was to take AP courses as well as form good studying habits and time management skills. When in college, it is really up to you how much time you put into your classes and how you study for them, so it's important to have good habits so that you can be successful on your own.
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Terri’s Answer

All of the answers so far have been excellent. In particular, I would suggest finding opportunities to take classes at your local junior college that will count for both a high school credit and a college credit at the same time. Earning your general education credits before entering a traditional college program will be helpful from a couple of perspectives: 1. not only will you already have some college credits under your belt, 2. you will also have a taste of the level of work that is expected in a college class.

In addition to this, it is important to realize that college is about more than simply academics. It's about managing your time and prioritizing. It is about juggling multiple objectives all at once. During high school, it would be helpful to have a part time job and/or be involved in extra-curriculars. This will give you a taste for managing competing priorities.
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