As the second semester of school approaches, more students are getting admitted to colleges worldwide, and have already thought about where they plan on going. Now that all the stress is gone about getting admitted it is important to focus on what comes after that. One of the first and most important things you should start to think about is how you plan to pay for college, whether that would be financial aid, scholarships, or grants. It is also extremely important to start researching the school you are planning on going to, some schools that may be good for others may not be your speed or community and you should always consider that. Some schools may not offer the clubs, or the life you want for example if you are really into sports some schools don’t have football teams or other types of sports.
While other schools may have all types of sports but not any of the clubs that you want. Another important thing to remember is to follow up on any emails you get from the school! There may be different types of deadlines that you have to complete, for example, payments or housing. In addition to this housing is one of the most important things to plan for in college, colleges have all different kinds of housing. Some colleges have apartments available on college campuses, or there is normal housing, like double dorms and triple dorms. It is also possible that you can live off campus any of your 4 years of college and you should look into that if you are interested, but there is a huge possibility that it’ll be more expensive and harder to find people to live with.
When looking for roommates it is always important to look on Instagram, for example, most schools have a page where you can meet other students to become friends or even possibly roommates! It may seem scary at first but there are always resources available. It is also very helpful to tour the campus, if you showed up to college and you didn’t like the campus it would be an extreme let down, it is always important to make sure you 100% like the college you go to or else you would be paying a huge amount of money only to end up being miserable.
Keep your grades up, if you did get admitted into college it is still possible that they can revoke the acceptance, to prevent this from happening keep your grades up, you are on the last stretch. Even though college can be extremely stressful there are always a ton of resources to help you with the process. One of the most welcoming experiences in college is freshman orientation, this is where you can meet other freshmen and you are shown around the campus and are told everything you will need to know for college.
One of the options that you can have at school if you want to cut down costs is a work-study. A work-study is a job that you do on campus that will cut costs from your tuition. This is an amazing opportunity and can help you financially over time. Or there are other work options on campus where they pay you directly. Either one is extremely important and you should always look into it. Payton Stuart a Junior at Saugus High School mentioned, “I have already started thinking about where I am going to College next year, Alabama is one of my top choices because of the atmosphere and how much of a social life it has, I also want to go to a school that has a fun football team and has all different kinds of sports. College requires a lot of planning but it is always good to plan and start weighing your options earlier.”
Overall get on top of all the things you have to get done for college! Procrastinating will not help and try to figure out what you’re doing for college as early as possible and will not be as stressful if you start early. Planning for college may seem very scary and overwhelming but as long as you stay ahead on deadlines, figure out housing, get in touch with people, and figure out how you are gonna pay for college. It is all attainable and easy as long as you get everything done right and on time!
