With the semester coming to an end, the next big concerns are the future. College readiness is always a topic of discussion at high school, which brings up the question of how do you prepare for college.

Counselor Mrs. Kara Miller graduated from Carrol College with a bachelor’s for Secondary Education in Spanish and Psychology and graduated with a master’s from the University of North Dakota. She prepared by taking action for herself and focusing on keeping up with her work.

“I really just focused on good student habits- trying not to procrastinate, finding supports and resources when I struggled, asking for help but putting in the work to really learn material, taking classes that challenged me and ones that gave me balance: finding the sweet spot of growth but before burnout,” Miller said. “I also talked to a lot of the grown ups I trusted and respected in my life to learn about their journey and soaked up some advice and warnings.”

 Mrs. Miller recommends focusing on yourself and what you personally want to do.

“Take time to really reflect and learn about your interests and personality profile and explore the careers that people like you have high job satisfaction,” Miller said. “Life is too short to hate a job you spend doing every day. I LOVE my job and should have probably seen the signs heading me this direction so much sooner.” 

Mrs. Miller also suggests taking this path by yourself to further grow yourself. 

“Don’t let your parents/others do it for you,” Miller said. “Growth and independence happen in the small things: make your own doctors appointment, go to the DMV to get your license plates renewed, manage  your own bank accounts, sit down to do your taxes,with parent support, do a work experience and grow in those face-to-face networking opportunities, call and ask questions to the admissions office. It IS scary at first, but trust me- you will get better and more confident at those things and then everything becomes “Figureoutable”! Then you become unstoppable.”

One of our other school counselors, Jenna Carter, suggests thinking about your health. 

“Take some time to focus on your mental health and wellness,” Carter said. “Really explore ways to practice self-care and take time to learn additional skills that you might need when you are off at college with less support.”

Gear Up Advisor Jeanie Stukey had a unique experience when preparing for college.

“My parents always talked as when we would go to college, is wasn’t a question of “if’,” Stukey said. “I took college prep classes in HS, I took the ACT and SAT my junior year.  I started exploring colleges my junior year, and visited several with my parent in the Northwest during fall of my senior year. This was a bigger deal for me, as I am from Alaska and it required flying down to the states to tour colleges. I wish I would have at least considered the option of attending college in Alaska. This may have saved me time and money, but I didn’t even consider it, and no one suggested it to me.  I took on student debt, and I wished I would have factored in cost/debt in my college decision.” 

Mrs. Stukey advises you to think about money management and preparing your own personal financial plan.

“As Wyoming students, we are really lucky to have the Hathaway Scholarship program available to graduating HS students,” Mrs. Stukey said. “Take advantage of it, as it can be used to help pay for technical programs like welding and Mechanics, as well as a traditional 2 and 4-year college degree. It’s the biggest reason why many WY students can graduate from college without student loan debt.”

This is why the high school puts a more noticeable stress on cross-applying the newest grading system, to allow students to have the best opportunity to achieve these kinds of objectives in college, as detailed in a previous article titled New Assessment System.