Your Options for Life After High School

Advanced Placement (AP) classes are your tickets to cheap college credit. For the cost of an AP exam ($82), you may earn free college credit or a course waiver after passing the class and exam!

Brag! You are your best cheerleader when it comes to applying for jobs, internships, colleges and scholarships. Practice interviewing with friends and family so that you can talk about all the cool things you do in one-minute sound bites. This is an important skill that will help you draw the line between telling people what you’re about and boring boasting.

Community colleges are great places to earn general education requirements while you’re still in high school or after graduation. If you stay on track, you can earn an associate degree in two years. If an associate degree is your ultimate goal, go into school with thoughts about how you can use your degree. This may mean going into a career-oriented program, such as firefighting or criminal justice. If a bachelor’s is in your future, meet with a transfer counselor the minute you consider finishing your degree at a four-year school. The longer you wait, the greater your chance of having to stay in college longer to meet the requirements. If you meet with a transfer counselor on day one of your community college experience, you will avoid a lot of transfer headaches!

Don’t let tuition, expenses, distance, lack of experience or the attitudes of others get in the way of your dreams!

Enjoy high school. If you don’t like high school, find out what it is that you don’t like about it (location? size? class selection?) and seek a college that offers the opposite. Then spend your time appreciating what you have—and the opportunities it gives to go somewhere else. High school isn’t always the “best time of your life,” but it’s certainly a unique one, so do the best you can to enjoy it.

Financial aid can come in grants, loans, scholarships and work-study. As a work-study student, you’ll get the go-ahead to find a job, most of which are on campus. The money you earn is counted as part of your financial aid package but is given to you as a paycheck just like any other job. You can’t beat work-study for the flexibility of hours and location!

Get a job! If you’re thinking of postponing college, find a job where advancement is possible. Say you want to study business, but no one’s hiring a teenage CEO. Consider becoming a clerk at a store where becoming a manager is possible.

Hire yourself. If you can’t find a job that fits with your school and activity schedule, find ways to make your own jobs. Are you an education major? Tutor students in your subject or be a nanny after classes. Are you on the swim team? Teach private swim lessons.

Instant Messenger, e-mail and cell phones are  great for keeping in touch with friends and family while you’re at college. But unplug on a regular basis. You don’t want to be the guy who no one really knows because he’s always talking to his girlfriend back home…

Just before the SAT or ACT is not the time to cram. Take a nap instead. We’re serious. A clear, well-rested mind will help your score way more than anything you could learn in an hour of speed studying.

Keep in touch with those you befriend. That can be as easy as writing captions to pictures right away so that you don’t forget names or remembering to send birthday cards to friends you haven’t talked to in a while. In high school, it’s easy to take your friendships for granted. In college, put forth effort for friends old and new.

Laugh at yourself. You will make mistakes in college, from the people you date to the classes you take. But they all make great stories to tell your future grandkids.

Military careers are always available—and can include tuition assistance, a guaranteed job after graduation, high-tech training and the chance to serve the U.S.A. Talk to a recruiter about ROTC—you could be eligible for a scholarship that covers your entire tuition and spending money!

Note-taking is an extremely important skill for college. You might not have had to take many notes in high school, but that will change after graduation. Plan on reviewing those lecture and reading notes for at least an hour after each class. This will make test time less stressful and will help you retain more info as you go.

Open your dorm room door when you’re there and open to interaction. Keeping your door (and your mind) open when you’re in a sociable mood is a great way to meet new friends!

Proofread, proofread, proofread! Complete your college application essay a few weeks before it’s due so that you can take a break and attack it with a fresh approach later.

Qualify your activities on college and scholarship applications. It may seem more humble to list “Founder, crisis hotline” than to write paragraphs about the group, but the application reader can’t read your mind. So give a sentence or two that touches on your title in the group, your time commitment and a blurb about what the group does.

Review your résumé every six months or so to ensure you’ve recorded all the nifty things you’ve done.

Save the best essays and projects you do in high school in a portfolio that you can use when you apply for college. Samples of your work may be required for the application. 

Trade schools are terrific ways to learn marketable skills that you can immediately apply to a career.

Undeclared majors, listen up: It is OK to not know what you want to study in college. But it’s up to you and only you to work toward finding a major.

Verify with your favorite teachers, coaches and family friends that they’re willing to be a reference for any scholarship, college or job application. Pick people who will speak only highly of you.

Women, check out at least one women’s college as a potential school. You’ll be surprised at how tolerant and full of history the environment can be! You’ll also be surprised that you can still meet guys.

Xylophone, clarinet, organ…if you play an instrument now, don’t quit it in college! Even if you’re not a music major, you can join a relaxed school band for at least one year. You’ll keep your musical skills sharp, you’ll meet people you wouldn’t otherwise, and you’ll have something else to add to your life experiences list.

Your ambition is your greatest resource. Your college’s prestige, your major, your grades in school… All of those are not as important as your enthusiasm and drive to succeed!

Zzzzz’s are important to catch. Going to bed early on a Friday night after an exhausting week- does not make you lame. It makes you a much happier person for the rest of the weekend.

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