John Morgan

Guidance From Ms. Hailey Brown

ALL 10th Graders

• • Continue to keep your grades up.  Grades, grades, grades. Consider your grades as your salary in a job. Your job is to go to school and your salary is your grades.  The higher your grades, the higher the reward.  An occasional "C" is okay, but you want to aim for something higher.  If you're doing the best you can and you receive a "C", then that's okay.  Students with an occasional "C" still have plenty of options.  Work on self-discipline and time management. 

  • Put effort into extracurricular activities.  By the time you apply to college, you should be able to demonstrate depth and leadership in an extracurricular area.  Think about what you can bring, not only to a college community, but what you can bring to Laurel.  How can you make things better?

  Early Fall

  • Keep your grades up.  Junior year is probably the most important year for earning high grades in challenging courses, especially if you have a few minor bumps in 9th and 10th grade.  Improvement in 11th grade shows a college that you've learned how to be a good student. Your senior year grades usually come to late to play a major role on your college application.

• • Continue gathering college information.  Go to college fairs, attend college nights, and speak with college representatives who visit your high school; use an online college finder and search top college lists. You may be able to narrow your choices or add a school to your list.  

  • Make a college list. Your list of colleges should include schools that meet your most important criteria (for example, size, location, cost, academic majors, or special programs). Weigh each of the factors according to their importance to you and develop a preliminary ranking of the schools on your list.  Include "reach", "safe", "target" schools in this list.   

  • Evaluate your education options.  Now is the time to follow a more specific path. Decide whether you want to pursue full-time employment, further education or training (such as a vocational-technical school, career college, or two-year or four-year college), or a military career. If interested in attending a military academy, talk to your counselor about starting the application process now.

  • Update your resume' to include leadership roles in extracurricular activities. Get involved and make a difference. Colleges are looking for future leaders, not passive bystanders. 

  • Talk to your parents about your future goals.  Now is the time to have that sit down and discuss with them about what your post-secondary goals are.  After all, they do have to participate in the financial aid process! 

  • Get help if you need it!   If you're struggling in a class, don't just sit there, fall asleep, act out, or ignore it; ask your teacher for assistance.  Seek out extra assistance and tutoring to get your skills up.