Irvine College Tutor Tips So Youve Made Your College Choice

Irvine College Tutor Tips So Youve Made Your College Choice Tips From an Irvine College Tutor: So Youve Made Your College Choice? Now What? Tips From an Irvine College Tutor: So Youve Made Your College Choice? Now What? On May 1st high school seniors made a commitment to a college or university. Except students who were wait-listed, pretty much everybody knows where they will be attending school next year. All of that hard work, standardized testing, advanced placement classes, and tutoring hours have finally paid off. So what should students focus on? Do they need to get started thinking about college right away or should they simply concentrate on graduating high school? What should they do over the summer? There are a lot of questions students, and their families have about the best way to prep for college after making a decision. These are a few of the most important things high school seniors can do once they have done their final choice. 1. Pick freshman classes if necessary Some universities will give the incoming freshman the opportunity to choose their first-year courses right away. In some cases, students can choose from a few different packages of approved courses for their major while in other circumstances they can just pick four general ed classes to get started. Its important for incoming freshman to find out how many classes will make them an official full-time student. Four or five classes are considered full-time; however there are always some exceptions when it comes to late start classes or prerequisites. If a student needs to take prerequisites, they should make sure theyre taking these in their first semester so they can move forward. Also, its recommended that new college students take at least one or two classes in a subject they will actually enjoy. This will make the academic transition run more smoothly and provide an overall more enjoyable experience (READ: 4 Differences Between High School and College). 2. Arrange an appointment with an academic counselor Its essential for students to make an appointment to meet with an academic counselor on a regular basis. There are so many important details that incoming freshman will not know about, and they will also be distracted by the many things they need to do to adjust to living on campus and meeting a whole new set of friends and classmates. Academic counselors provide a fantastic amount of one-on-one information that can help students graduate on time and be successful through any difficult or stressful circumstances that may occur. 3. Verify what conditions the acceptance carries Most college acceptance letters are conditional. This means that seniors in high school will have to do some things to maintain their admissions. For the most part, this means either simply passing all of their second-semester courses and graduating on time or maintaining a specific GPA. Some schools might have additional requirements especially if the student is on scholarship or receiving financial aid. 4. Get to know potential roommates Students will spend plenty of time in their dorm room once they move on campus. Having a great roommate can make a difference in a college freshman’s social life. Its a good idea to get to know potential roommates and pick out a person who will share a similar schedule and lifestyle. Its also better for students to meet with these potential roommates if possible just to get a feeling if its somebody they could live with for a year (READ: 5 Things to do Before Your go to College). 5. Get comfortable with the campus In many cases, students will be traveling relatively far away from home thus it may be difficult to spend too much time on campus over the summer. However, students who live within a reasonable driving distance from their college should consider spending a little bit of time on campus. Its important to get to know where all of the good places are to get food, study, and just hang out. The campus will be a student’s home outside of the classroom for the next four years. It can be incredibly overwhelming to get onto campus the very first day and be searching for four different lecture halls. Spend some time wandering around in advance to get comfortable. Get a head start on your college courses this summer with the help of a private Irvine college tutor. Call us today for more information. All blog entries, with the exception of guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us write.