In order to be successful in their post secondary admissions and academics, high school students need to start planning now for college. Their school success will determine their college success. Normally the studying challenges in colleges are more difficult than high school and students need to develop good study habits while they are still in high school to be able to combat more difficult studying challenges they will face in college.

There are a number of activities that a student can partake in while still in high school to improve their chances of being accepted by a college of their choice. One example is extracurricular activities. If a student partakes in and excels at extracurricular activities they will have a good record on their application form which will show colleges that they are able to succeed both inside and outside of the classroom.

College planning means that a student needs to stay on track and not lose sight of their goals. A student who realizes that they need to do as much as they can to increase their chances of being accepted knows the meaning of proper planning. Students should keep challenging themselves in school by pursuing advanced courses or by taking a foreign language which is a requirement of most colleges.

Preparing in advance for the college entrance exam is a great example. When preparing for a college entrance exam, the student should consider how their strengths can help them to excel and think about ways to improve their weaknesses before the exam date. They should take the SAT and the ACT as early as possible just in case there is a need to retake either to get a better score.

There is no way a student can plan for college without doing college research. A student needs to set certain standards that they would like their ideal college to meet. A student needs to think about the factors that are the most important to them such as the location, and do research on colleges that meet this criteria. If they can afford it, they can visit all of the potential colleges to see what it feels like but if not there are other possibilities such as virtual campus tours and phone interviews.

However, it makes no sense to plan for college if the student does not have the funds to attend college. Most of the time, this is the responsibility of the parents. They need to save for their children to attend college. The earlier they start saving for college the better. A great way to save for college is to invest in stocks which can build up value and can be cashed when needed for college. It is not always necessary to save the money for all four years of college. There are several possibilities available to obtain financial aid for college. A student loan is one of the most common ways to do this. There are several possibilities for paying off a student loan after graduating.