6 Tips to Keep Your Graduating Senior on Track for College
When your child’s senior year of high school finally arrives, it’s a time of celebration and excitement for what’s to come. At the same time, it’s also a bit of a whirlwind, and if your student is college bound, you will likely find yourself juggling more deadlines and forms than you ever imagined. But you and your student will survive — all you need is a can-do attitude, a handy checklist and a bit of planning!
To help you out and save you time, we consulted a few experts, including a Prepaid Plan student, so read on for some major pro tips!
- Know Your Deadlines. For one recent graduate from Tallahassee who is currently a freshman at the University of West Florida, getting organized was key to surviving the college application process. “I personally used a physical calendar that I kept hung up on my bedroom door,” she said. “Also, a spreadsheet — where the college was, pros and cons, if I could take a tour, scholarship opportunities, what the dorms were like, and if they had my undergraduate major.” She also moved up some of her key deadlines to give herself a buffer. “It kept me conscious of how things were progressing and kept everything on track,” she said. “It was really nice to finish things and it was really rewarding.” Her best advice? Take responsibility for your own path. “You’re the only person you can control,” she said. “You need to learn to do it yourself.”
- Submit Community Service Hours. If you are a student applying for one of Florida’s Bright Futures scholarships, be sure to submit your log of community service hours by May of your senior year. For specific deadline dates, consult your high school’s guidance office. If you’re still compiling your service hours, keep in mind that you can volunteer at a range of nonprofits and charities, including local libraries, nursing homes and elementary schools. Consider using your unique gifts as well. For example, if you’re fluent in a second language, you could volunteer with an English language learners program.
- Choose a Sleep-Compatible Roommate. Popular author, speaker and how-to-get-into-college guru Harlan Cohen is a font of knowledge for college-bound students and their parents. When it comes to choosing a college roommate, Cohen says to start with one crucial question for the other person. “Ask when do you go to sleep and when do you get up,” he said. “I think the sleep schedule is the most important part of living with someone.” Other key areas to discuss include cleanliness, overnight guests, having friends over late at night, drugs and alcohol, and communication style. A dorm room is a small space, and the more well matched you are with your roommate, the better off you’ll both be.
- Expect a Few Curve Balls. Even when you do everything right, the unexpected can happen. For our UWF Prepaid Plan student, that was applying to Florida State University and getting deferred. “That was unfortunate and kind of a hard moment, but I tried to keep things in perspective,” she said. Ultimately, with a little patience and further research, she landed at a school that offered the specific major she wanted, marine biology, and proximity to the Gulf of Mexico and the many educational opportunities it offers.
- Say Yes to Senior Fun. Make a point of enjoying being a senior. Do not wait around for other people to get involved. Go to football games, homecoming, prom, whatever you are interested in. Find the right balance of fun and work — so that you maintain motivation to do the work. Our UWF student found that by doing this, she loved her senior year, and balancing work and fun helped prepare her for college.
- Don’t Compare Yourself to Others. In the coming weeks and months, many students will receive really good news about the schools of their choice. But Cohen cautions that even more students, the “overwhelming majority of applicants,” will be rejected from one or more colleges. “When you get rejected, many of you are going to feel like you are not as talented or not good enough or that you wasted your time working hard to try and get in,” he said. “ But none of this is true. All this means is you get to live your dreams somewhere else. And you will.” Cohen encourages students not to compare themselves to others. “Where your friends get in has nothing to do with you. … There’s the status and the shirts and the bumper stickers, but the reality is it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “There’s actual research that says where you go is not the most important part of your life in terms of fulfillment, happiness and success. It’s what you do when you’re there!”
Bottom line: This is a chance for high school seniors to dig deep, rely on trusted teachers, parents and friends, and put in the work necessary to apply to the schools that will move them closer to their goals.
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