Freshman Year

It is never too early to start planning for the future!

Build a solid academic foundation:

• Credits are awarded on a semester basis and indicated as .5 credit for each semester of a course passed. The “averaging policy” applies only to math courses, foreign language courses, chemistry, physics, and accounting. The averaging policy states that full credit may be earned for a course failed in the 1st semester if the average of both semesters grade is a 70 or higher. Credit will not be given when the second semester grade is the failing grade. Therefore, if a student fails a semester, they will perhaps have to retake that portion of the class. They only have a semester to be successful, not the entire year to make up a failed 1st nine weeks grade. So, work hard each semester!
• Build strong academic, language, mathematics and critical thinking skills by taking challenging courses.
• Study hard and get excellent grades. Most colleges like to see at least a 3.0 GPA to meet their admissions criteria. In addition, to qualify for the Tennessee Lottery Scholarship you need at least a 3.0. So start now!
• Remember to buckle down early, since even your ninth-grade A's (or D's) will count in the eyes of most college admissions officials.
• Strengthen your vocabulary by increasing your reading.

Develop your interests:

• Colleges want to see passion and commitment. If there is something that really excites you, explore it. Too often, students wait until junior or senior year and then hurriedly - and unconvincingly - pad their resumés.
• Take some time to think about why you want to go to college, which may have a huge bearing on where you should apply.
• If you're old enough to get a summer job, try it. You can get good experience and save money for college. Not old enough? Consider volunteering or enrolling in an educational summer camp. This could help you find your interests and start narrowing down some career choices.
• Research careers and talk to your parents or other adults about your interests and goals. Find opportunities to meet people working in the professions that you think may interest you.

Make this a solid year to base the rest of your years off of:

• Keep an academic portfolio and co-curricular record. By the time you are a senior or applying for a job, you can quickly put together a resume and not have to remember what you did three years prior (you can do this by setting up an account through www.collegefortn.org to start an academic profile)!
• Create a file to keep:
1. copies of report cards
2. a record of honors and awards
3. a list of extracurricular activities, clubs or sports involvement at school, volunteer work, community service, and paid employment.
• Focus on your grades and your interests. If you learn how to handle school, extracurricular activities, and a social life now, you'll be ready to apply to college senior year.

Plan ahead:

• Get to know your counselor. You can get a lot of good advice as well as a letter of recommendation.
• Browse through college literature or surf the web to get an idea of what kinds of schools may be of interest to you.
• Check out what high school courses colleges require.
• Know NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) requirements if you want to play sports in college.
• When ready to register for next years classes, challenge yourself academically. Slightly lower grades in challenging courses are better than higher grades in easy courses.
• Choose electives carefully, ensuring that they don't replace the college-preparatory courses you need.