we’re excited to announce our new “high schooler’s guide to the future” ebook that we made just for you. we teamed up with our friends at collegexpress (they know a ton about college applications!) to produce this ebook. and combined with our expertise on test prep, we’re confident that this resource will guide through all the ups and downs of preparing for college while you’re in high school.

the ebook is written like a timeline with tips for what you should do during each year of high school. you’ll learn all you need about:

* ap tests
* extracurricular activities
* managing stress
* choosing schools
* financial aid
* working with your parents
..and lots more!

if you’re ready to start preparing for your exciting college future, download the free ebook here.

you can also read the entire ebook on slideshare here:

 
we hope you find this helpful! if you have any questions or comments about this resource, feel free to leave them in the comment box below. we’d love to hear from you. 🙂

the post magoosh + collegexpress: high schooler’s guide to the future appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

but looking back, i realize now that my “can’t wait to get out of here” attitude actually robbed me of the moments i should have cherished back then. i only got to be the 14-18 year-old me once, and i really should have made the most of it.

so today, i thought i’d share some of those woulda-shoulda-coulda moments with you. for any high schoolers out there who’re like me, counting the days down until you’re free of those high school halls, you really do have a lot of be grateful for!

1. you’ll never have this much free time…ever again.

you probably don’t believe me when i write this because you feel very busy–you’ve got homework, club meetings, a part-time job, sports practice, volunteer hours, and you need time to eat and sleep too! but trust me on this–life only gets busier. in college, you’ll have a much heavier workload and more life to manage without your parents around as much. when you get a little bit older, you’ll have a full-time job and your fair share of grown-up problems to juggle in the mix. then add in a spouse down the road, and maybe some kids or a promotion at work, and your free time slice just gets smaller and smaller. so instead of complaining about how much time you don’t have right now, take time to appreciate the breaks that you do get to have. i mean, you have entire summer and winter vacations all to yourself!

 
2. your counselor could be your new bff.

my family immigrated to the u.s. when i was about 12 years old, so none of us had a clue about the u.s. college application system. without my college counselor, i would have been lost through the entire process. in my freshman year, she sat me down and planned out my classes for every year of high school. during my junior year, she planned out a test prep workshop for some of her students and informed us of which tests we’d need to take and when. and in my senior when i got my acceptance letters, she helped me make one of the most important decisions of my life–and one that i’ve never regretted–to go to uc berkeley. so if you haven’t already done this, i definitely recommend taking the time to build a relationship with your counselor at school–you’d be surprised how much insight and support they can offer you if you’d only listen. (shout out to ms. kaye woot woot!)

 
3. you don’t have to be bored.

there are so many opportunities for you to take advantage of in high school so that unlike me, you won’t be forced to watch reruns of america’s next top model to pass the time (if that’s you, stop it. stop it right now!) i mean, did you know that you could study abroad while you’re in high school? yeah, you read that right–you can visit another country right now and have a life-changing experience under your belt even before you get to college. and that’s just a start! you could make a difference in your community, begin your own startup company or even fight to end slavery. it just takes you being proactive and grabbing the right resources, and you just might find a gem of an opportunity right under your nose! and you’ll never have to utter the words “i’m bored” ever again.

 
4. it’s only 1 phase–out of the many phases–of life.

while you’re in it, this phase of life can seem like the greatest reality–like it’s all there is to life. but this, too, shall pass. whatever mistakes you might make, or whatever you might feel limited by, it won’t last forever. with a little perspective shift–and probably as you get older–you’ll be able to see that this is just one part of life that ends and changes, just like every other phase of life. so treat it as just that–one stage of life that you are in for the moment, but that very soon will become just a memory.

 
takeaway

it’s really all about your perspective! remember that there is a lot available to you while you’re in high school and be sure to make the most of it (instead of complaining). then one day in the future, when you look back at your high school days, you’ll be able to see them with the fondness–and not regret–that they deserve.
 

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finding answers to questions like these can become overwhelming really quickly, so we thought we’d help simplify things by going right to the source of great info. this week, we chatted with university of vermont admissions on twitter and asked them the questions you’ve been thinking. here’s what they had to say:

we asked:

@uvmadmissions 1. how can a student know if they’ll fit in and really thrive at uvm? #magooshu

— magoosh sat (@magooshsat) march 6, 2014

they said:

1 @magooshsat get on to our campus for a #uvmvisit to get a firsthand feel for what it’s like! http://t.co/1uqardhsyk #magooshu

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 7, 2014

we asked:

@uvmadmissions 2. what’s the number one reason you would turn down an applicant to your school? #magooshu

— magoosh sat (@magooshsat) march 6, 2014

they said:

2 @magooshsat we practice ‘holistic review’ when reviewing a student’s application; one thing will not ‘make or break’ a student #magooshu

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 7, 2014

we asked:

@uvmadmissions 3. college is expensive! so what do you recommend for financially strapped students applying to uvm? #magooshu

— magoosh sat (@magooshsat) march 6, 2014

they said:

3 @magooshsat keep those grades up! #uvm automatically considers applicants for merit-based scholarship! #magooshu http://t.co/jyikd8bvuk

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 8, 2014

3 @magooshsat check out student financial services for merit, need-based, & application scholarships #magooshu http://t.co/jyikd8bvuk

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 8, 2014

3 @magooshsat for estimating cost, definitely check out our net price calculator. #magooshu http://t.co/dccc5wohve

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 8, 2014

we asked:

@uvmadmissions 4. should a student choose their school based on how their sat scores compare to that schools average sat score? #magooshu

— magoosh sat (@magooshsat) march 6, 2014

they said:

4 @magooshsat this ties into our ‘holistic review’. we look at the whole picture to determine admissibility #magooshu…

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 9, 2014

4 @magooshsat the transcript is a crucial piece so definitely check for our school’s entrance requirements. #magooshu http://t.co/grrbgwukax

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 9, 2014

4 @magooshsat keep in mind, uvm’s 7 different schools/colleges has slightly different requirements! #magooshu http://t.co/grrbgwukax

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 9, 2014

we asked:

@uvmadmissions 5. are repeated low sat scores a deal breaker for uvm? #magooshu

— magoosh sat (@magooshsat) march 6, 2014

they said:

5 @magooshsat we practice super scoring, and look only at the highest testing score from across multiple testing dates #magooshu

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 10, 2014

we asked:

@uvmadmissions 6. final piece of advice you’d like every uvm applicant to know? #magooshu

— magoosh sat (@magooshsat) march 6, 2014

they said:

6 @magooshsat definitely make a visit to the schools your considering for a sense of the community you will be joining! #magooshu

— uvm admissions (@uvmadmissions) march 10, 2014

if you have any comments or questions you’d like us to ask the admissions committees for you, leave them below! we’d love to hear from you.

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