SAT's are a very big factor of you getting in to college these days. Almost all schools throughout the USA accept SAT scores, and a good number of the schools *REQUIRE* that you take this form of standardized testing. The test is very long and tedious. I recommend you take the test twice! Once in the spring of your junior year, and once in the fall of your senior year. People who take it more than two times are crazy! lol. I didn't do very well on the SAT's, I recieved a 1500 out of 2400. That is a very mediocre score, thank god I had a 3.7 gpa.

Your GPA is your accumulative average of all your grades throughout high school. This is a huge factor of getting into school, along with your SAT score. A good GPA shows schools that you worked hard all four years, and that you will continue that in college.

Extra Curricular Activities include Sports, Clubs, and Community Service. I was always big into sports I received 7 varsity letters, 3 in baseball, 4 in bowling(yes bowling is nerdy, but my team was back-to-back state champs ). I never really did any clubs, or student council, etc, but those things will definately boost your resume to get into the school of your choice

There are several factors you must take into account when picking a school you want to apply to. My main factors in choosing my school were:

1.Size of School: School size is a major issue when picking a school. If you like learning in a small, more personal environment, you should choose a smaller school, where the student/teacher ratio is smaller. A big school offers giant lectures halls, with professors who don't know any of their students names. Many people like to learn in a big environment, and are very good at teaching themselves. Personally I chose a smaller school, because better teacher/student relationships help me learn, and help me receive better grades. Some people also like big schools for the huge SPORTS programs. At Duke vs. UNC college baseketball games there are 60,000 screaming students from the two schools, which is insane. Other people like a smaller school, for a calmer environment.

2.Location: Location is a huge factor as well when choosing what school you want to apply to. Some people are so sick of their hometown they travel 3000 miles away to go to school, and some stay at home and just commute to the local college near their home. I attend a school approximately an hour and a half away from my house. I am ALLOWED to have my car at school, and many people stay at the school during the week, and return to their homes on the weekend(suitcase school). I like being away from home, but I can still drive back if I ever needed to for an emergency. Please think about this topic when applying to schools.

3.Majors: It is extremely important to make sure you no what you want to major in(will discuss later in post) and to make sure you are applying to a school that has your major. No sense of applying to a school that doesn't have your major. Don't worry about where your friends are going, girls, etc. You will make many friends when you go to school.

4.Partying/Greek Life( ): This shouldn't be the reason you are going to college, but you can research to see if your school is known for partying or not. I avoided certain schools that were labeled as "coke" schools(cocain) or anything bizarre like that. My school has a good number of fraternities/partying oppourtunities and its a blast. Planning on pledging next fall. *note on greek life* You may not want to pledge a fraternity that isn't affiliated with the school. This could entail horrible hazing(but this also gives you more respect in some people's eyes)

Applying to schools is very hectic and can be a pain, which is why I recommend starting this as soon as you get your first SAT scores back. You have to take into account a few factors when applying.

1.Does submitting the application to this particular school cost money? Sometimes application fees can be up to 100$! This is a way the schools moderate how many applications they go through so they don't have to read a million of them.

2.What do you need to apply. Letters of recommnedation?, Official Transcripts, etc. Make sure you go on the school's website to see what their application entails.

DO NOT PROCRASTINATE! Everything about getting ready for college is very stressful. All the paper work, letters of recommendations, mailing of forms, etc, can really bring a person down. You cannot let any of this get to you and be lazy! I made this mistake, and it was the fall of my senior year, and I hadn't applied any where. One day i had to put the xbox controller down and get my tihs* together! You should be excited to go to school! Just remember to relax, and realize that this is the beginning of the rest of your life! After college you won't have to run 10th lobbies anymore, because you can make 6 figures a year making actually advances in life. There are people out there trying to cure aids, prevent pollution, build safer bridges, etc. Don't sweat it, college is the best time of anyone's life!

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