While athletic ability is an important part of the college admissions process for the high-school athlete, it will mean little without the academic strength to back it up. Your academic record is based on your grade-point average, your course selection, along with your SAT or ACT scores.

First and foremost, you’ll want to insure that your course work will meet College admission requirements for English, Math, Foreign Language, Science, History and electives. We highly recommend that you earn an Advanced Studies Diploma or qualify for Advanced Placement courses. Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes carry more weight, and the additional work will be worth the rewards. College admissions officers would rather see a “B” in AP chemistry than an “A” in regular chemistry. They know that succeeding in these classes is a good predictor of how you will perform in college.

Your job is to earn the very best grades you can. Not only do top-tier colleges and universities face an avalanche of applicants, many schools have revised their admissions requirements. If your grades don’t pass muster, you may need a tutor or other special assistance.

Outside of coursework and grades, your scores on standardized tests, either the SAT and/or the ACT, will affect your chances for college admission. MSA recommends that you take the SAT and ACT preparation courses and practice tests in your Junior year. This will give you an idea of what you need to concentrate on to boost your scores when you take the official version of both of these tests in the fall of your senior year.

Remember, though, that in the end, colleges are looking at the whole student. Grade-point-averages, SAT and ACT scores, your athletic abilities – these are the major pieces of the puzzle. Yet, the fact that one summer you did community service for disadvantaged tots, or have demonstrated compassion and leadership in some other way, will be the icing on the cake that admissions officers just love to eat!

As you start the exciting road ahead, let’s leave you with this quote from motivational speaker Denis Waitley:

"The secret to productive goal setting is in establishing clearly defined goals, writing them down and then focusing on them several times a day with words, pictures and emotions as if we've already achieved them."

NOW GO FOR IT, COMMIT TO IT, AND DON'T LOOK BACK!