<p>Ok, so I found my article. Here it is:</p>
<p>As I contemplate my high school accomplishments in preparation to send off my college applications, I cannot help but think I might look more impressive to colleges had someone told me a few crucial things.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Read all the time. I went through a period sophomore year when I only read when required and wasted my free time watching Gilmore Girls reruns on ABC Family. While Gilmore Girls is an amazing show, every book about colleges I read since then said my SAT Verbal score would be better if I had just read every day instead of watching television.</p></li>
<li><p>Do not ever slack off. I got in that bad habit when one of my freshman teachers gave, what I saw as pointless, busy work that we never corrected, so I saw no benefit in doing it. Do not be like me. Do the pointless busy work. You do not want to get in the habit now when your teachers may give you partial credit if you turn it in late because you may not be able to kick the habit when there are no extensions.</p></li>
<li><p>Stay really organized. Get an assignment notebook you like. For me, the school ones are too small so I got my own. I recommend the New York Public Library Student Planner ($9.99) because, not only does it give ample room for assignments, but it has separate sections each day for tests and extracurricular activities. Also find a system that works for you. I write my assignments on their due date, not the day I am assigned them. This is easier for me because I am usually assigned homework weeks in advance, so I forget be the time the due date comes around where I wrote the assignment. I does not really matter how you stay organized though, as long as you do.</p></li>
<li><p>Be sure you plan out your weeks so that if there is a big game on Tuesday, you can already have your homework done by Monday so you will not have to stay up late working on it. Of course, it is hard not to procrastinate, but if it is something like a paper or a big project, I suggest getting it done earlier than the night before the due date so that you can take it to your teacher to make sure you are on the right track. There is nothing worse than failing because you misinterpreted the directions.</p></li>
<li><p>When it comes to extracurricular activities, pick clubs and teams that you will enjoy and which will demonstrate your passions. Do not join the football team just because your best friend did when you hate pushing people and getting tackled and would rather join debate. Not only will you meet new friends, but, trust me, it is much more fun to do things you want to do. Once you find something you love, throw yourself into it because colleges look for students who are passionate about their activities. Also make sure you stick with it. Colleges look for committed students who wholeheartedly dedicate their time to a few activities, rather than students who join a lot of activities but do not really care about them.</p></li>
<li><p>Become good friends with your teachers. Always show up on time to class; even though the new attendance policy says tardiness does not matter, it does. Do your homework, busy work included. Participate in class; now is the time to learn to voice your opinions, questions, etc. if you are shy. If you are having trouble, go after school for help. I have never encountered a teacher who has not been willing to meet with me individually, whether in class or outside of class. Not only will you most likely get a better grade, but asking for help shows your teachers that you care about learning and they, in turn, might be able to be one of your teacher recommenders come college application time. Note that most colleges require recommendations from core teachers (English, math, science, social studies, languages), so do not only form good relationships with your elective teachers! You want as many choices as possible.</p></li>
<li><p>If you have not already, go meet your counselor. Go today. Right now. This is the one person who, no matter what, will be writing a recommendation for almost all of your applications. That means you want this person to know your name, what you do, who you are as a human being. Help your counselor as much as possible so that they can write the best possible recommendation for you.</p></li>
<li><p>Do not stress. So this is a little hypocritical of me, as I am stressing about college applications and school as well, but in an ideal world, do not stress. If you do find yourself stressed, find your own form of relaxation. Whether this is Gilmore Girls or sudoku puzzles or playing a sport, everyone needs a way to relax. I have learned that the best way to not stress is to take a night off. Do not do homework for a night. Get some ice cream, watch Friends reruns and go to bed early. It is not a big deal if you do not finish your homework because you can do some of it before school, some after you finish a test early and the rest at lunch. Of course, I am not advocating doing this every day. That is not a good idea because your work will never be complete enough, but substandard homework every now and then will not ruin your grade. </p></li>
<li><p>Realize that an 89.6%, in most classes, is the same as an 100% on your transcript. Take advantage of that, obviously not in all of your classes because then you would not have any possibilities for teacher recommenders (see number 6), but if you are having a tough time balancing all of your homework and extracurricular activities one month, do not stress out about not getting and 100%.</p></li>
<li><p>The most important piece of advice I can give, however, is to learn as much as you can about the admissions process and start as early as possible. It will make the summer before senior year and the fall of senior year much more enjoyable. I started researching colleges and forming my resume freshman year. I kept a database of interesting colleges and a word document detailing my extracurricular activities so I would not forget any of them come senior year. I took my first college tours the summer before sophomore year. By the end of junior year, I had decided where I was going to apply. Then I spent the summer before senior year reading every book the library owned on the college admissions. Why all this preparation, you ask. Why not? For something that will define the next four years of your life, you should be as prepared as possible so that the process is as easy and stress-free as possible.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Here are also two books applicants should read:
1. "The Truth About Getting In" by Katherine Cohen, Ph. D: My mom got me this book when I entered high school, and I have referenced it almost weekly. I drew the most information from this book while preparing for the college admissions process. Ms. Cohen gives an excellent overview about the whole process with very worthwhile tips and examples. No applicant should be without it.
2. "The Gatekeepers" by Jacques Steinberg: This reporter followed a Wesleyan University admissions officer, as well as several Wesleyan applicants, through his year reading applications. There is no better resource for discovering what colleges are looking for than reading about actual applicants and the decisions made concerning their applications.</p>
<p>Some of the specifics of my article are school-specific, like our attendance/tardy policy and our transcript/grading system, but the basics apply to everyone.</p>