5 Things To Do As A Rising Freshman This Summer
Level 1 - Baby Steps
Welcome! With the summertime upon us, many parents and students are trying to find ways to make the most of their summer.
The first thing to remember is that you should take some time in the summer to rest and recharge from the academic year. The science shows that students who take rest in their summers tend to perform better. It is similar to exercising a specific muscle - you can keep working it out, but you will receive diminishing returns without changing things up.
That is not permission to just take the summer off though.
To help with the summer, we have put together 5 things that rising freshmen can do to maximize their chances of success in the coming academic year and best prepare for college.
Map Out Graduation and Academic Requirements
Take the opportunity to evaluate your high school graduation requirements and determine what you need to graduate.
Most counselors at schools will make sure that your academic track has all of the requirements in it, but you need to make sure that you maximize the schedule in a way that works for you.
For example, your academic record through three years is predominately what you will have to show when you apply to colleges and universities.
Decide for yourself - would you rather show mostly requirements and easy courses in that application or a more challenging course schedule? You can take precalculus as a junior or as a senior in high school, but only someone who took it as a junior will be able to include it as a part of the initial college application.
Evaluate Potential Extracurriculars
As an incoming freshman, you do not need to make any particular choices about which extracurriculars you will be involved in.
All you need to be focused on is coming up with a way to sample as many as possible and align them to your interests.
As a general rule of thumb, you should look to be involved in at least one of each of the following:
Academic Interest or Affinity Group (e.g., Mock Trial)
Community Service (e.g., homeless shelter)
Interest Driven (e.g., French club)
If you think in these terms, you will set yourself up to at least have options in each of these areas.
Eventually, you will cut down on the activities and focus, but for right now, you can get a feel for what you like and what you don’t like.
Confirm Your Academic Interests
If you have not yet figured out where your academic and career interests are, take the summer to narrow them down.
You do not need to know something specific (e.g., I want to be a cardiovascular surgeon) but you do need to know if you are interested in medicine.
Almost everyone has talent, so there are no excuses that you “suck at everything.” You just have to look at where you have natural advantages over others and where you naturally excel.
If you need a clue, think of it this way - what do non-family members naturally tell you that you are good at?
Whatever those things are, start focusing in on those.
The sooner you know your strengths, the sooner you can start playing to them.
Make Sure You Are Being Challenged Academically
As you go into your freshman year, take the time to make sure that you have a challenging course load.
Specifically, do not take the easiest schedule you can. Take some Honors and higher level courses that will challenge you.
You need to know what you can handle and excel in. One mistake students make is taking easier courses early on in high school and then not taking enough difficult courses later. It ill-prepares them for college and more importantly, significantly limits the college options you have.
Freshman year grades can often be forgiven. Everyone understands it is a time for transition, so if you get a B, you can easily overcome that.
Take the chance to know what you can and cannot handle early on, when the consequences are less.
Understand GPA and Class Rankings For Your School
A small thing that can turn into a big thing - GPA.
You need to know how GPA is calculated - are there weightings assigned to students based upon the types of classes they take?
You also want to know how class rankings work - does your class actually rank students?
You want to know this not to stress, but to understand the rules of the game and what you need to be concerned with.
If your class does not provide weighting for taking more difficult AP/IB courses, then understand you may not rank as highly as other students who take an easier class. Depending on the colleges you apply to, you will need to decide which matters more - the course load or your class ranking.
For example, if you go to high school in Texas, you can qualify for automatic admissions to a public university if you are top 10% at your school. But if your school does not weight courses, then you may be advantaged to take a lower level class if your goal is to get into the University of Texas.
Know how things are done up front and adjust your strategy accordingly.