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| Home About Me Interests Books Writings Movies Travel Coins People Places Calendars Links |
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| Tips for the College-Bound High School Student | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| �������� by Keitha McCall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DISCLAIMER: These are only my opinions, based on my experiences with college. Make your own decisions, because I may turn out homeless someday. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| How To Choose a College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1. Let NO ONE make the decision for you | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2. Look at the specific majors offered: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - Is this school liberal arts- or science-oriented? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - What are the graduate school opportunities? Does this school have a graduate program in your field of study? Can you get into a good graduate school from this school? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - What are the class sizes? What types of classes does this school have? Small liberal arts classes are often discussion-intensive, while research schools will require more research (even in the liberal arts classes). You should decide which best fits your needs and/or desires. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - Is there flexibility in changing your major? If you can't decide between two or three or four fields, does this school have all of these programs available in case you change your mind? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3. RESEARCH your schools. Remember that big schools typically have more resources and more distinguished faculty, but they may also have large and impersonal classes. Then again, a big school may have an Honors program where the average class size is 15. And make sure the school you're applying to has the major you plan on pursuing and offers the degree you want. Don't expect to go to North Greenville College and get a bachelor's in biology, because biology isn't offered. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4. Apply to really good schools if you think you have a chance to get in - they usually have lots of money to throw around, so you may get to go for free. But be realistic - you need a 1400 on the SAT to get into good schools, and about 1500 to get into the best (that's along with a good GPA, of course). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5. DO NOT let cost be the deciding factor. Look at it like this: you may be in debt $20,000 after you graduate from a school like USC or Clemson, but you'll only earn about $50,000 a year after you graduate.� If you have $50,000 in debt from a school like Duke, you'll be able to pay it off faster since you'll be making more than if you'd graduated from USC or Clemson. If you're going to go to graduate school, then the debt is a moot point, since you'll probably be at least $100,000 in debt after that. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6. Looks for Honors Programs that actually challenge you - just because they're not well-known doesn't mean that they won't help you. If they make you smarter or able to think better, then you'll be more competitive for graduate schools. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7. Don't go to a school because of the propaganda. Yes, Clemson is better at engineering than USC, but Georgia Tech is much better in engineering than Clemson, and Cal Tech is much better than Georgia Tech.� Likewise, USC is better at international business than Clemson, but, well, actually, there's no undergraduate program better at international business. But don't let the propaganda fool you, even this propaganda. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8. Remember that college is an adventure and an education; even if you go to school in your hometown, you'll have adventures that your parents will never know about and meet people who will expand your mind. One word of advice: try your hardest not to live at home. Living in a dorm your first year (provided you don't go home every weekend and holiday) will expand the aforementioned items exponentially. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9. Be wary of whose advice you take. Go with your instincts; if you trust and respect your counselor, take their advice. But for possibly more pertinent advice, ask a teacher you like who attended a school you're interested in or a teacher you respect. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| How To Get Into College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1. READ!!!! Read impressive books. Almost every educated person knows something about Aristotle. Read books about different subjects - physics, or black segregationist movements, or Mayan culture. But really read them, not just the Cliff Notes - you may be asked about them later on. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2. Join notable clubs. Key Club, Beta Club, and National Honors Society don't count as impressive extracurricular activities. Everyone else who is applying is in them as well. Everyone knows you don't actually do anything in those clubs. Be in something useful, or start a club. That's much more impressive. Look for leadership positions, but in clubs that matter. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3. Do some independent research over the summer, especially if you're scientifically inclined. Ask a teacher to help you, or check with a local college. Just because no one else at your school is doing it doesn't mean it isn't being done. At the Governor's School, students have to complete a university-level summer project to graduate from high school - and you're going to be competing with all those students for admission and scholarships. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4. Take time with the applications. It may seem silly to devote three hours to an application, but that's the only way the admissions people know who you are. When the highest academic scholarship is given out at USC, only two things count: the application and an interview. This scholarship is worth $48,000. That's about $16,000 an hour you spent on the application. Get good recommendations, and give your teachers time to write good recommendations. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5. Be prepared for any interviews you might have. Keep a copy of all your applications, dress nicely, and DO NOT LIE. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6. Take as many AP courses as possible. College-level classes at the local tech school are not as impressive (after all, the people at tech schools are probably not future Nobel Prize winners) as a 5 on an AP test. If your school doesn't have an AP course in a subject you're good in, take the course by yourself - you can do that through the SC Board of Education at NO cost. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| How To Decide On A Major | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1. Look at ALL options, not just classes you took in high school. For instance, speech pathology is a major that isn't taught in high schools, as is geology, astronomy, women's studies, international politics, etc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2. Take a wide variety of classes; you may not have known you were good at acoustical physics until you tried it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3. Keep in mind that you can always change your major, even when you're a senior, though you'll be a senior for a long, long time if you do that. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4. Talk to professors that you like; they may know your strengths and weaknesses and can give you good advice. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5. Be reasonable - just being a biology major won't get you into medical school if you make bad grades in your classes. You'll need at least a 3.0. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General Advice Concerning College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1. Befriend a professor. They are people too, often with funny stories. You may need their recommendations later on. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2. Listen to advice about which professors to take from other students, but take it with a grain of salt. If someone says a professor is hard, then that person may just be stupid. If they say he's unfair, that may mean he didn't excuse a student who missed a final because he had a hangover. Always consider the source, and if you're really interested, go talk to the professor yourself. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3. Always look at syllabi before you decide to stay in a class. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4. Study abroad if you can. You may never have another chance to travel so cheaply, with such depth, and with so little responsibilities. Look into NSEP or ISEP programs once you get to your college, and check with different departments to see what trips they offer. Sometimes, study abroad costs your school's regular tuition plus airfare. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contact information for Keitha McCall (who is a graduate of the University of South Carolina Honors College with bachelor degrees in International Relations and English Literature as of December 2001, and who won the Carolina Scholars scholarship in 1997, and who has subsequently served for two years on the committee to select Carolina Scholars, the highest merit-based scholarships awarded at USC): | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Email: [email protected] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phone: 352.256.2864 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Web Address: http://www.geocities.com/aravis121 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||