Prepare for College as a High School Senior
If you’re in your senior high school year, probably your future college entrance exams and the degree you’re going to study are among your biggest concerns. While it is perfectly reasonable to feel a little nervous about the future, what you shouldn’t do is allow that uncertainty to turn into an obsession which keeps you from focusing on other things.
Trying not to let your apprehensions interfere with your studying schedule is crucial. After all, you need to have enough marks to be able to graduate, take your necessary examinations and enroll in college!
To prepare well for the university during your last high school year I suggest here a few tips that will help you stay focused and motivated during the countdown:
1. Prepare a weekly studying schedule and stick to it
For organizing yourself better, it is always a good idea to buy an annual planner or calendar and take note of your assignments’ due dates and when will your examinations take place. Your senior year grades are usually significant. Be sure to pay enough attention to them. In fact, something that helped me succeed in my exams was studying a little every day. Even though that may seem tremendously tedious, exhausting or painful, it is something that you’ll eventually grow used to do if you start carrying it out.
Senior year is usually depicted as the most challenging one.
The best thing you can do to be prepared for everything is working a little every day, in order not to get stressed out later. When revising at home, always start with the subjects that you find more challenging or annoying, so that you assimilate them better when you are more concentrated. Be sure to take a 10-15 minute break after every 55-60 minutes of studying; it will help you relax and recharge your energy levels! Usually, a couple of hours per day of revision will do for helping you grasp concepts in a more relaxed way, but it isn’t recommendable to exceed 3 studying hours on a regular basis.
2. Do you already know what you would like to study later? And where?
Something all pre-university students should do is a little bit of research: about the different degrees they are interested in, different universities to apply for, which are the entry requirement. Sometimes, depending on which degree you want to study, you will need to pay more attention to certain subjects than to others when taking your university entrance exams. So it is a good idea to know in which subjects you will need to dig deeper from the start.
3. Speak with your school counselor
In case you still haven’t decided which degree to opt for or aren’t very sure about your choices. He or she may provide some useful advice to help you find a degree you would be interested in. Usually, he or she will give you a small evaluation test to find out about your interests and personality and which degrees could suit you. It is critical to take into account your passions and talents, as well as your strengths and weaknesses.
For example, it may not be a good idea to choose an engineering degree if you have always struggled with mathematics. The same applies to pursuing philological studies if you don’t like history and literature. Think about the different environments in which you can visualize yourself working, and consider the options which could lead you to that future. You can also try speaking with friends, relatives or teachers and ask them for their point of view.
When I was in the equivalent of my sophomore high school year, all my friends and educators used to tell me that I would end up pursuing language-literature oriented studies. Since I didn’t know what I wanted to study then, I followed the school counselor and my parents’ advice. I enrolled in the scientific modality of high school(since it is reputedly the “less-limiting one”). Only to find out that science wasn’t my thing and that I would be happier and with better grades, if I dedicated myself to something more related to the humanities area. Other places you could go to seek more information and possibilities are educational fairs and exhibitions. You may even find information about degrees you never thought existed!
4. Take care of yourself: eat well, get enough sleep, find some time to hang out with your friends and exercise
Keep up with your hobbies: whether you enjoy reading, drawing or singing, don’t give those activities up. They’ll help you unwind and take your mind off school-related things. You should try to find at least half an hour every day to something that relaxes you, preferably before bedtime, so that you go to sleep feeling calmer.
By following these simple tips, you shall have no problems succeeding in your exams and preparing for your future as a college student. Truth to be told, the only secret is being able to organize your time and keeping in mind that it is just a temporary phase, something that will open to door to another chapter of your life!
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