What should be done to prepare for foreign universities in high school 1?

In my previous article, within the scope of the dream of studying abroad, “What needs to be done for university preparation in high school?” and “Where to start?” We talked about the issues. When the number of things to do is so high, of course, it is necessary to put them in a priority and order, and to divide them into years and parts within a plan. Today, I will be sharing with you the control charts that you can use on a yearly basis in order not to miss the preparations to be made and to complete the process completely without getting overwhelmed while high school education continues.

If you want, let's start with the High School 1 or the new name High School 9th ​​Grade list;

High School 9th ​​Grade Planning Checklist

If there is no school abroad guidance, talk to your private counselor about your university plans and check whether you have taken the university preparation courses you need (there may be courses that you must take to apply to some departments and some universities), make sure you organize your time plan accordingly. E.g; Many universities abroad prefer that you have taken English, history, mathematics, science and one additional foreign language course for 4 years. Create yourself a 4-year “to do in high school” plan.

- Important notes,

- report card documents,

- Awards, Medals, Certificates of Achievement & certificates you have received,

- Certificates of Appreciation, Acknowledgment and Honor,

- School and out-of-school Community Service and Social Responsibility Projects participation certificates,

- Volunteer Affairs and Charity Services documents,

- Records of activities you lead

Create a folder where you keep digital and physical records of important documents.

Find special hobbies and activities that you will be interested in outside of the curriculum. Investigate community service activities in which you will be involved and useful. Universities seek students who are responsive, with highly developed talents and abilities, and who have also worked to increase their personal leadership qualities.

Contrary to popular belief, first grade high school grades are important and are taken into consideration. For this reason, if you think you need academic success and struggle for academic success, it would be appropriate to get course support. Many high school 1, 9th grade students are ready to spend this first year in half learning, half resting mode with their adolescent feelings, due to the effect of having finished secondary school and being tired from the high school entrance exam. However, the High School 1 curriculum is actually quite challenging with detailed science courses such as advanced mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics, and it is a step in which basic sciences that are an introduction to higher education are learned. The more solid the ground, the more comfortable it will be to climb on top of it.

There are many higher education institutions where four-year grade point averages are generally taken into account in university admissions, and neglecting even a 1-year grade point average seriously affects the weighted high school graduation diploma score. In this regard, it is important for the student to be conscious and for the family to be a guide. Likewise, it will not be possible to interfere with the average of the previous years, and it will not be easy to make up for the points lost in 1 year in the next 3 years, when the curriculum will become increasingly difficult.

Learn how the GPA (Grade Point Average) is calculated. Likewise, there are differences in the Turkish grading system, but GPA is an internationally accepted grade point average statement. While some schools will calculate your GPA on the transcript, you may not usually be able to get this service in public schools, so it's helpful to quickly learn how to convert your grades to GPA format from a variety of sources.

To determine which occupation you are interested in, start by browsing websites with detailed descriptions of occupations and showing your work and interests. Participate in the career days organized with the participation of high school graduates and professional business world employees, listen to the interviews, and ask the questions in your mind. Meet with familiar people in different professions around you, try to learn their job descriptions from their language. Identify the university departments that provide this education regarding your professional orientations formed in your mind and start researching.

After determining which department to study at the university, it is necessary to see which universities have this department and which ones stand out. This stage requires doing a more extensive and intensive research, as the subject reaches a dimension where much more details such as which country, which city, which campus are involved.

Take the PSAT (SAT preparation exam) in October. This exam can be done at the school or it can be taken from outside SAT exam centers. Since this exam is held worldwide, you can learn the exact date of the exam in Turkey from the guidance or consultancy units abroad. This test is performed by the College Board Platform, and detailed information can be found on the College Board website. This exam is just a nice test for the SAT exam. 

In addition to being a preparation, if you get a good result, it can also be an indicator for you to win a "national success scholarship".

Access the websites of the universities you are interested in, with the outlines, and access information such as application conditions, minimum exam types and grades, all special conditions that will strengthen your hand in getting admission, and take your notes.

Talk to your overseas counselor or guidance service about AP classes and college summer schools for high school students, and request information. If possible, be interested in a job, internship or social responsibility project where you can work in the summer. It is very important to be active during the high school summers and not to waste time in entering university. Likewise, the summer period is ideal for some of your projects that you have trouble finding time for when school is open. Doing these activities together with the lessons can cause you more stress and decrease your exam grades. For this reason, it will be an advantage for you to spend the school term and the holiday period by concentrating on the subjects suitable for its purpose.

In my next article, we will discuss what to do in High School 2, 10th Grade.

References

California Career Center / 12 Tips for getting into your college