First Semester Actions

Develop a 4-Year Academic Plan

Meet with your school counselor. Your counselor will help you understand graduation requirements and college entrance requirements. They are not the same, so you must know the difference and ensure each year your course schedule meets college entrance requirements.

Learn college academic entrance requirements. College academic entrance requirements are known as A-G requirements. These are the high school courses that must be completed as part of the minimum admission requirements for University of California and California State University campuses. Although these are the mandatory requirements for California UC and CSU, following these standards will make you competitive at most colleges and universities. If you are interested in other schools it is important that you also learn that college/universality's academic entrance requirements.

Participate in Extracurricular Activities

Get and stay involved. A Strong academic record accounts for a lot when applying to college, but it is not the only factor that makes you competitive. Colleges consider well rounded students as ideal candidates for admission. Find ways to explore your interest in a sports, school clubs, music or drama groups, or community volunteer activities. As you explore ways to get involve remember not to over extend yourself. Colleges would rather see real involvement in one activity instead of loose connections to several.

**Note**If you are or become a student athlete and think you might be interested in playing sports in college, research the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) eligibility requirements. The NCAA and NAIA requires completion of certain core courses and test scores; you can find the specifics at NCAA eligibility website or NAIA eligibility website.

Learn Time Management Skills

Learn effective time utilization skills. Effective time management skills are especially important for your high school success. As as new high student your schedule will increase dramatically with more subjects, assignments, tests, and extracurricular activities. Learning good self-discipline and how to properly utilize your time will help keep you on track and reduce stress as your schedule becomes more demanding. Good time utilization skills will help you prioritize tasks so you can complete school work and assignments on time. As you improve your time utilization you will become more organized, confident, and avoid procrastination. Check out this video YouTube video on time management to transform the way you view time.

• Refer to these sites for tips on time utilization:
  • schoolguides.com
  • collegeboard.org
  • gradepowerlearning.com
  • collegexpress.com

Second Semester Actions

Assess Future Career Goals

Start thinking about your future career goals. You may not know what your career of choice is yet, and even if you think you know, you may change your mind over the next several years. Exploring your career interest helps to narrow your focus and allows you to gain exposure into various career options.

• Identify your interests and explore careers through the websites given below:
  • Career Assessment Test
  • Career Aptitude Test
  • Self Assessment Test
• Talk to people working in careers that are of interest to you. Speak with school counselors, teachers, recent college graduates, and professionals in the community.

Stay on Target/Prepare for Next Year

Meet with your school counselor again. You will want to meet with your counselor to go over course options for your sophomore year. You will need to ensure your course schedule is challenging enough to prepare you for college and you are on target to meet A-G entrance requirements. This gives you an opportunity to discuss summer classes to make up any course(s) you received a grade lower than a C. If you are an ambitious student and would like to get ahead or look into taking college level courses this is something you can speak with your counselor about.

Take challenging courses next year. Taking honors courses or college-level courses like Advanced Placement courses. As a senior these course can help you prepare for college level course work — and these are also the courses that college admission officers like to see.

Research Financial Aid

Learn about financial aid options. College is expensive, but the cost of college should not be the reason you do not attend. There are literally thousands of financial aid opportunities to help you pay for college. Review the Financial Aid page on this site to understand the various forms of financial aid and how it will assist you to pay for college.

Look / Apply for Scholarships. Applying early for scholarships allows you more time to rack up money for college. Applying early means you will have more opportunities to win scholarships. There are many state, and national level scholarships for Freshman students. Check this link to research freshmen scholarships and to get you started on your quest to find, apply, and win as many scholarships as you can.

Summer Actions

Become Familiar with College Entrance Exams

Understand the PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 10. The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Assessment Test or the PSAT 10 will be given to all GHHS Sophomores either in the Fall or the Spring. The PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 10 is specifically designed to assess the reading, writing, and math skills of sophomore students. The test gets students familiar with the college board SAT testing process and can identify students likely to succeed in AP courses. You can find more information about the PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 10 on the CollegeBoard website.

Explore Summer Opportunities/Programs

Look for summer academic programs. Make your summer count by developing your skills. Summer programs are a great way to experience life on a college campus, explore new and exciting fields you may want to pursue for your college major, make friendships with students from around the globe and, perhaps even earn college credit for the courses you take. Visit the College and Career Center to learn about specific summer program opportunities.

• Check out these websites to find summer programs:
  • Summer Programs for H.S. Students
  • College Transitions
  • Best Value College Summer Programs

Look for jobs, internships, or volunteer positions. This is a great way to help you learn about career paths and industries of interest to you. Look for opportunities that will matter to your future. Gain exposure in things that you are interested in. Refer to the Career Exploration page of this website to get information on job, internships and volunteer opportunities.