Life After High School: College Edition

This listicle is for any student to help prepare them for college. Preparing for college can be very stressful, but here are some things to help keep your mind at ease as you transition from high school to college. 

1. New Opportunities and Experiences
   1. Whether you stay local or branch out, college is a fresh start for many people. There are some experiences you gain from college like making lifelong friends, holding internships, and having the chance for career opportunities on and off campus. College will not only help guide you through these four years, but set you up for success afterwards. There are even fun things you can do around campus, such as volunteering, partaking in clubs/events, being an ambassador, work studies, fraternities/sororities that will all allow you to gain new and different experiences than ever before.

      

1. Grow Intellectually and Socially
   1. 1. College is a great place to grow mentally and gain knowledge from a variety of subject fields. College gives you the chance to grow your skills for your career and adult life which will benefit you long term by providing overall stability in your life. Many college students enter with a closed mindset or overall nervous attitude and within a couple days they were making friends, communicating more than ever, and reaching out to participate and collaborate with others.

         

1. Be Independent 
   1. While at college, living on or off campus, you get to be yourself and learn who you are as a person. Not everyone gets this opportunity growing up, but college is a wondrous place that allows you to learn about yourself, grow into that person you may not have always shown, and even change to that person you have always wanted to be. As an adult, you make your own decisions and be who you want inside and out. It gives you the chance to be creative and stand out.

      

1. Explore
   1. While studying, you get to explore what majors you want to go into, what you want to minor in, explore extracurricular activities, find new passions for clubs and organizations, go to music events, become an artist, and so much more. There are so many things to do while in college; you can join sororities, fraternities, clubs, intramurals, study groups, and so much more!

      

1. Find Yourself
   1. College is the time where you can build your skill set, figure out what you want to do with your life, find your passion, follow that career that gives you hope, bond with new people, take those risks, and learn more about yourself than ever before.

      

1. Paying for College and Housing
   1. One of the main questions students and parents have about college is “How do we pay for college?”. There are many ways to go about paying such as using grants, loans, FAFSA, scholarships, work studies, etc. To find the best option for you/your family, start by talking to your high school and college counselors to look at the different plans specific to you/your student(s).

      

1. Advice from your Comm Teachers
   1. Mrs. Barton [Digital Media & Digital Communications in the 21st Century]:
      1. “Immediately read the syllabus for each class and write down important dates in your calendar.”
   2. Mrs. Frias [Arts & Entertainment, Comm Apps, Literary Genre Film, & Media Criticism]: 
      1. “In college, take advantage of the time you have in between classes. You get a lot of downtime because you are not in a building from 9:00-4:30. Use the time between classes to rewrite or type your notes and color code them, work on assignments or research for your classes or stop by a professor’s office hours if you need help. Time management is key! You will have a lot more time but managing it the right way and sticking to it is the hard part.”
   3. Mr. Treviño [AP Government & AP Economics]:
      1.  “I would say to please try to do something new at any chance you get in college whether that is academically, or student organizations that are socially focused or academically doesn’t matter. Just try to remember being uncomfortable and outside of your comfort zone will always give you opportunities to grow and learn more about yourself.”
   4. Mr. Polinard [Advanced English 2]: 
      1. “My advice is simple: go talk to your instructors during their office hours. Even if you’re not struggling, it’s a smart idea to establish a good rapport with them.”
   5. Maestra Driggers [Spanish 1, Spanish 2 Adv.,& Spanish 3]: 
      1. “#1 – Arrive early to your classes! There are so many students in a university that you’ll have to fight for parking spots. When you see another student returning to the parking lot, follow them to their car! Even better, ask them where they’re parked so that you can go near their car and wait for them to leave their spot. #2 – Don’t procrastinate! Don’t expect the same chances you get in public schools. Professors don’t care what your reasons are if something happens and your assignment is late. You can fail the class for not turning in ONE paper!”
   6. Mrs. Salinas [Animation 1 &2, 3D Modeling, Art History AP/Art Appreciation]:
      1. “Doing something new is important because when I started I wasn’t sure what I wanted to focus on, but exploring art and ceramics just really ignited that flame and creativity and it opened me up to what I ended up transferring to another university for architecture. Just be open.”