With less than a month till the end of classes, seniors are getting ready to graduate and go off into the world on their own. Seniors who are planning to begin college need to prepare adequately in order to have a smooth entry into this foreign educational system. Some may have an idea of how to prepare and others may not. With that being said, it is better to know exactly what to expect when entering college, how to thrive within the institution, and how to take advantage of the resources being made available.

Before heading into college, students should consider that they are entering a new environment, especially if they decide to reside on campus, and should try to get to know what benefits the institution offers and how they can take advantage of those benefits.

In an interview with college graduate and advisor, Clinton Reynolds, he stated that the “first thing a prospective college student should do before starting college, is to visit the school’s website, especially the section that relates to campus life. There, the student would find quite a cluster of services offered by the school for free.” Mr. Reynolds made it clear that following this simple step is important in allowing a student to get to know the school better, making the transition easier.

In preparation, students should also consider garnering an understanding of the classes they have applied to take in their upcoming semester. Students should read about the class, its requirements and what to expect in terms of the level of difficulty. When asked, how a student should go about doing this, Arlette Butcher, a junior at Lehman College, advised that, “students should go to the  ‘Course Description’ section on the school’s website, read about the class there, then they should further their knowledge on the course by searching for outside information on it via books or even google.”

This aspect of preparing for college is very important and seniors at MBHS are already doing this with help from their College Advisors. For example MBHS senior, Jelani Felix, has taken up Calculus lessons realizing “[he] had applied for a calculus course and knew that [he] would need help in the subject after reading the class requirements and realizing the class’s difficulty”- a major factor in getting prepared to face the academic challenges in the college curriculum. Additionally, according to an article by Bradford Holmes at usnews.com, “university courses typically do not review prerequisite or background material”, therefore it is suggested that students review their key high school academic content that relate to their future college courses. This practice will help prepare students for upcoming courses

Subsequently, students should have an idea of what they should bring from home to campus, if dorming, in order to be comfortable and physically prepared. A myriad of college institutions provide a checklist of the items that are allowed on campus, thus the school’s website would be a great place to start. Nevertheless, it is important that one brings along important paperwork (birth certificate, health insurance card, driver’s license, etc.), business attire, comfortable wear, room basics such as  bed sheets, pillows, bath towels, toiletries, etc. These basic needs and a few excesses should be sufficient for “college survival” as stated by Clinton Reynolds, who learned much from his past college experience.

As observed by advisors and graduates, transitioning from high school to college can be daunting for many seniors. However, the key to an easy transition is ensuring that the student is aware of the requirements of the institution and is prepared to take that major leap.  Like in another other situation, planning is important and, according to Reynolds, “it would also be wise, to have a calling card ready to call home, in case all else fails.”