• You are Almost There!

    This is your year to shine! Start to think about where you want to be in 2 years. How about in 5? Where do you see yourself 10 years from now? You may have a really clear picture in your head. You see your self with a college degree, working full time to support your wife and new born child, you bought a house and are keeping up with your car payments. Maybe you have no idea what you are wearing to school tomorrow.  Either way there are plenty of things you can do now to get a head start on the rest of your life.

    • Start researching Jobs and Careers.
    They say that if you do something you love, you will never have to work a day in your life. And you know what the best thing about that is? You can get paid for something you are already good at! You can try coming up with a list of things you think you are an expert at. Maybe you know how to fix computers since you do it for all your relatives all the time anyways, perhaps you are a talented artist, or maybe you have skills at making your own beats and music. Whatever it is that drives you, there is a pretty good chance you can make a living out of it. Not sure what your talents are? Ask your friends, family, or your teachers. Sometimes they can see things you are good at you don't notice because you are too busy being good at them!

    Once you have your list start looking for careers that match up with your abilities. Ask your counselor about upcoming career fairs, ask questions, start looking at your options.

    • Think about your plans for after high school.
    Will you work at your uncle's store? Are you planning to attend a college or university? Do you want to learn a trade such as carpentry or wielding? Whatever your plans are for after graduation, it is a good idea to start thinking about that now. Make a list of colleges and or trade schools/apprenticeship programs you can apply to.
    • Sign up for the SAT/SATII
    Many colleges and universities require you to take a standardized test as part of the admission requirements. But this is not all bad. You can increase your eligibility and have a better chance of getting in the college of your choice if you perform well on the SAT, and even if you don't, you can take the SAT more than once, and many colleges take into consideration your best scores. You can find practice questions and more information about the SAT at the College Board website.

    • Take all the Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors courses you can handle

      Rigorous courses not only look great in your transcript, but it prepares you better to take on college courses. Also if you sign up to take the AP tests, you can earn college credits before you even start!
Last Modified on January 22, 2012