5 Ways to Get a Head Start on the Admission Process

It's always a good idea to be thinking about your college applications. Doing these five things now will help you stand in the admission process later!

It’s always a good idea to be thinking about your college applications. Even if you're a freshman or sophomore in high school, there are a lot of things you can do that will pay off immensely in the long run. Beefing up your high school résumé, getting involved in groups and taking on leadership positions, and honing your study and writing skills are all things you can work on now to help get your feet off the ground! Read on to see what else you can do to make sure your college applications are as strong as they can be come senior year. 

1. Get involved in extracurricular activities

Not only are extracurriculars fun, they look phenomenal on college applications. Plus, there are endless options. Do you want to have a more active role in your school? Participating in student government not only ensures that you help plan all of the awesome events that go on, but it will help showcase your leadership skills to colleges. Volunteering in your community is a spectacular way to feel good and serve others while impressing admission boards. Really, if there is anything you love, it’s almost guaranteed there will be some sort of activity to help you simultaneously enjoy yourself and boost your résumé.

Related: How to Get Involved in Extracurricular Activities in High School

2. Study for the PSAT/SAT/ACT

These tests are a pretty big part of college admission, so studying for them is crucial. In some cases, it may be the final decision between two students in a college admission decision. Not only that, but you might be eligible for the National Merit Scholarship depending on your PSAT score. (And we all know scholarships are a huge help!) Get a feel for standardized testing by taking practice tests and checking out books, apps, websites, and other resources to help you study. (A lot of online test prep resources are free!) 

3. Look for scholarships

Speaking of scholarships, it's never too early to start hunting for opportunities to save money on college. There are so many options available for all high school students, not just juniors and seniors. Many companies offer essay competitions or have random drawings, and websites like CollegeXpress will send you regular emails informing you of upcoming scholarship deadlines. One quick tip when searching for scholarships is to narrow down your search options to fit your interests. It makes the process a ton more fun!

Related: Scholarship Search Best Practices You Need to Follow

4. Practice writing college essays

One of the toughest parts about applying to colleges is the admission essay. A simple five-paragraph paper is fine and dandy, but there are going to be a lot of papers just like that. Colleges are looking for students who stand out, so use your essay to show your individuality. Many books and websites have examples of prompts and responses and offer tips on how to shine through your writing.

5. Schedule campus visits

College is a big deal. You spend four years of your life there, learning and making memories. Therefore, you need to find a school that feels perfect. Scheduling visits will give you an early glimpse of campus life and gives you a better feel of what you are looking for. It seriously makes it easier to pick schools when filling out applications.

Related: Campus Visits: The Best Resource to Use in Your College Search

There you have it...five little tricks to help you get a head start on your college applications now so you can stand out later. Let’s hope they help! Still feeling lost? You can find even more application advice in our College Admission section!

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

About Zia Sampson

Zia Sampson

I am currently a first-year student at Loyola University New Orleans, where I'm majoring in Mass Communications, both Strategic Communications and Journalism, and minoring in Sociology. I'm in the University Honors Program and the Social Justice Scholars Program. In my free time, I like to watch Netflix, sleep, and read. I am a big animal lover, with four cats and two dogs, and I have two older brothers and a twin sister. You can follow me on Twitter @ZiaSampson.

 

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress

College Quick Connect

Swipe right to request information.
Swipe left if you're not interested.

Alabama State University

Montgomery, AL


Michael

Michael

High School Class of 2021

CollegeXpress showed me that Western New England University was a great match for me both with curriculum and location. CollegeXpress is an excellent resource both future and current college students.

Emilie Delgado

Emilie Delgado

$2,000 Community Service Scholarship Winner, 2013

CollegeXpress has tremendously helped me in my search for financial aid opportunities as I enter my college career. It is easy to navigate and quickly narrowed down scholarships that I could apply for. Being awarded the scholarship will greatly help me in my finances regarding books and tuition. Thank you for this opportunity. Without CollegeXpress, it would have been more difficult to apply. I would recommend this site to everyone!

Dani York

Dani York

High School Class of 2022

CollegeXpress helped in my journey by comparing multiple colleges for my final decision. While looking at different colleges, I was able to compare the tuition expenses and that landed me with the college that I’m currently enrolled in, Western Kentucky University. Thank you!

Victoria

Victoria

High School Class of 2019

CollegeXpress has helped me by opening my eyes to new opportunities. I learned about such easy ways to get financial help to achieve my dreams while also learning about myself and who I truly am. I know this isn't a very long explanation of what CollegeXpress has done for me, but nonetheless, I believe it's crucial to how I developed as a person throughout my time as a college student.

Melanie Kajy

Melanie Kajy

High School Class of 2021

CollegeXpress has helped me tremendously during my senior year of high school. I started off using the college search to find more information about the universities I was interested in. Just this tool alone gave me so much information about a particular school. It was my one-stop shop to learn about college. I was able to find information about college tuition, school rank, majors, and so much more that I can't list it all. The college search tool has helped me narrow down which college I want to attend, and it made a stressful process surprisingly not so stressful. I then moved to the scholarship search tool to find scholarships to apply for because I can't afford to pay for tuition myself. The search tool helped me find scholarships that I was eligible for. The tool gave me all the information I could ever need about a particular scholarship that was being offered. The CollegeXpress scholarship search tool is so much better than other tools offered, like the Chegg scholarship search. Thanks to CollegeXpress, I was able to apply to tons of scholarships in a relatively easy way!