Establishing Excellence: What High School Students Need to Do To Get into Their Top Pick University
Top-pick universities are usually highly popular options for students, which means you need to so much more than just be good. You need to be excellent. These universities can open so many doors, especially when you take advantage of the clubs, societies, competitions, careers services, talks, and more that are hosted throughout campus.
You can do so much at your top-choice university, but getting in may not be straightforward. If you haven’t been striving for excellence every step of the way, don’t worry. There are things you can start doing right now to help you get accepted into your top pick university.
- Understand Your Current Standing
The best way to understand just how much work you need to put into getting into your top pick university is to understand the average grades and SAT/ACT scores of the school in question. This way, it doesn’t matter if your dream university has a low acceptance rate. If you can prove that you’re better than the average student, you immediately improve your chances of getting in. You can find this information and even calculate your current chances of acceptance online at CampusReel. Keep in mind, of course, that meeting the average grade isn’t the be-all-and-end-all. There are more ways than one to help you and your application stand out.
2. Build a Productive Routine
Everything great was achieved in small steps. Those small steps can start with eating a healthy breakfast in the morning, exercising to get oxygen circulating through your system, and leaving on time so that you’re not stressed and haggard throughout the day.
Other ways to improve your routine are to break it up. Many find it hard to study in one go. Those with ADHD, in particular, will find it hard to sit still for long. That’s why you break it up into smaller chunks and keep consistent with it, even if you have your parents help.
3. Identify How You Learn
If you want to excel academically, then you need to identify how you learn and why you do well in certain areas and not in others. For many, the biggest obstacle is just how information is explained in the classroom or in textbooks. That’s why it’s important to look online for academic resources that explain things in ways you can understand. There are interactive tools, YouTube videos that break down concepts well, and documentaries to help you visualize things like history. All of this can help improve your grades and establish lifelong learning habits that will take you far.
4. Showcase Your Skills
Every student today knows that getting into a top pick university requires more than just good grades. You can have perfect grades and still not be enough. That’s why you need to showcase your skills. If you’re outgoing, then join clubs, sports, or competitions. If you’re introverted, create projects and showpieces. You can get those pieces published, can enter them into competitions of their own, or even work on getting them out into the public eye.
5. Get Up if You Fall
One of the most important skills to learn that will help you throughout life is to roll with the punches. Failure is never the end. It’s just another challenge you need to meet. Being able to get back up and persevere, trying new ways to tackle the problem is great not just for you personally but also to improve your chances of getting into your top pick university.
