America's Best Colleges for B Students. Tamra B. Orr

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      Go over your past tests, quizzes, worksheets and homework assignments. If you did something wrong on them, make sure you understand what it was. If you don't, then ask. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes if you turn around and use the experience for learning and understanding more.

      Lastly, check to see if there is a way to earn some extra credit in the class where you are struggling. If there is, do it. It will help your overall grade and make a better impression on your teacher.

(2) Reorganize your priority list.

      At the risk of sounding like your parents (and one day, you will realize how intelligent they really are), one of the most important steps you can take in high school is to make your studies a top priority. Does that mean that you will never see your friends and that you must give up any semblance of a social life? No. Instead, it simply means that when you think about your day, school should be high on the list, somewhere below breathing, eating and drinking, but way above watching The Three Stooges marathon on television.

      If you have homework and your best friend calls and asks you to come over and hang out, give it some thought. Do your best to look beyond the fun of the moment to the potential reward down the road. It's not easy—but it is the mature thing to do (so be sure and let your parents know you made the responsible decision and earn a few brownie points in the process).

      By making school a priority, other things will fall into line. Doing homework and studying for tests means better grades, and better grades mean a higher GPA and most likely a better performance on the SAT or ACT. In turn, both of those will strengthen your chances of getting into more colleges. Amanda (Mandy) Warhurst Webster, senior associate director of admissions at Salve Regina University, says, “Students must realize that the senior year is very important. You have to remain focused on academics and come in with a very strong first semester.”

      Please remember that difficulty of admissions does NOT equal quality of education. Just because a school is really difficult to get accepted into does not guarantee that it is the highest quality or best fit for you. Keep an open mind. If you haven't heard of the college, it doesn't mean that it isn't a wonderful place. I am personally biased towards small colleges—they give you individual attention, professors and other administrators know your name and you have the chance to develop the academic self-confidence you need.

      —Judith Mackenzie, Mackenzie College Consulting

(3) Use your summers wisely.

      Counting down the days to summer break is an educational tradition. Imagining how you are going to spend those long, hot, lazy summer days can keep you occupied for hours. Chances are that your plans include sleeping in, being with friends, finding a beach, exploring a career as a couch potato and generally doing as little as possible. Without ruling out those possibilities, why not include a few things that could actually raise your chance of college admission? Here are a few possibilities:

       Get a job that will teach you important skills. Colleges value students who work because it demonstrates responsibility and maturity. The skills you gain will also help you move up the ladder so that the next job you have will be better.

       Read that list of books your English teacher handed out. Doing this will not only give you a head start on the fall but will also help you prepare for the standardized tests.

       Volunteer in your community. Colleges like to see students who are involved and give back to their neighborhood or community. Plus, think of the sense of satisfaction that you'll receive from helping an elementary school child read or by making the life of a senior citizen less lonely.

       Take a summer school class at your high school or a community college. You can do this to review material from a class that you didn't do as well in or to get a jump start on your classes for the fall. The biggest question that college admissions officers ask when reviewing your application is this: Will you be able to handle the academic courses at this college? Show that you will by taking a class.

      You still have lots of days to be lazy or sleep in, so find a balance.

(4) Start on that college essay NOW.

      College essays (as you'll see in Chapter Four) can be extremely helpful in getting admitted to colleges. Don't wait to plan what you will say in an essay until you have to actually write it. Begin to brainstorm ideas and work on the basics you will need to know to write an outstanding essay. Don't put it off! That would be like waiting until the homecoming game to work on your tackling or waiting until the debate tournament to think about what position you are taking on an issue. Start now!

      Brush up on basic English skills and start thinking about what ideas you might want to write about. Refer to the sample questions listed in Chapter Four and think about how you would answer each one. Go to the library and check out a book on writing a quality, winning college essay. Read the samples to get a feel for what admissions officers seem to prefer. Think how you would approach the same or similar topic. Line up your reasons, examples and anecdotes now, not later.

(5) Get to know your guidance counselor.

      For many students, the guidance counselor is just one of those people in the background of your high school life. You rarely see him or her except on special occasions (or if you are in trouble). You have time to change all that! Schedule a visit with your guidance counselor. Ask for tips on how to improve your chances of getting into college. Ask for help in searching out the best options. A guidance counselor is a person that is there to help you, so make yourself accessible. Ask questions. Follow up on advice.

(6) Shed the fluff and take advanced placement, honors or college prep courses.

      A number of colleges do some rearranging of your grades that you might not be aware of. They will look at the classes you took in high school, throw out the “fluff” classes and recalculate the “core” classes. Journalism, shop, drama, home economics—all gone. Only science, math and English might remain. For many students, this is an unpleasant surprise because the grades they got in their elective classes were the ones responsible for driving up their overall GPA. Knowing this, you might want to choose different classes for your junior and senior years. Throw out the easy classes and take advanced placement or college prep courses instead. Some suggestions include these classes: algebra, geometry, foreign language, laboratory science and English. The honest fact is that a B in a core class will benefit you more than an A in any fluff class.

      Patrick O’Brien adds, “Junior year for many is like boot camp, or to say it another way, it's more like college while the frosh and sophomore years are more like middle school. It is a breakthrough year with greater opportunities but also greater challenges. More self-direction is expected,” he adds. “You should expect it of yourself. Keep all things in balance.”

      Mark Campbell, vice president for enrollment management at McKendree College, advises high school students, “Don't be tempted to take the soft senior year. Continue to develop your writing!”

      Here is a helpful chart for converting your grades over to the point system used for computing GPAs.

A	4.0
A-	3.7
B+	3.3
B	3.0
B-	2.7
C+	2.3
C	2.0
C-	1.7
D+	1.3
D	1.0
D-	0.7
F	0.0

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