Things You'll Need:
- Determination Passion for success Goals
-
Step 1
Plan your coursework. Your high school coursework should reflect a strong academic foundation. Don't take study hall when you can take an extra elective or work to improve your literature, history or math scores. Your academic performance in high school influences private colleges that examine your transcripts.
-
Step 2
Identify your interests, skills and aptitudes. If you're interested in literature but don't care about chemistry, this is something you need to know. Identifying what you are interested in and what you are good at can help you develop career possibilities, pick a major and even narrow the colleges you are considering.
-
Step 3
Explore financial aid and college tuition options. You can start applying for scholarships and grants as early as your sophomore year. Entering competitions for scholarships regularly, competing for grants and getting a job that helps you save money toward your college tuition can help alleviate the financial burden when you enroll.
-
Step 4
Emphasize writing. Writing is a critical tool that is vastly underrated in high school but invaluable in college. Expand your vocabulary, learn to think critically and develop the necessary tools to write persuasively and logically. You need to know how to research material and present it.
-
Step 5
Participate in extracurricular activities. Private colleges look for a broad range of interests and time management abilities. These are fundamental to your success in college and later in life. Community projects inside and outside of high school as well as participation in sports, band, choir, yearbook, school newspaper, debate team or theater can prove determination, commitment and talent.
