Check Requirements.

Take the time to read into the schools that you want to go to, and LOOK AT THEIR REQUIREMENTS. Some of the schools that I really wanted to go to had requirements that I didn't know about until it was way too late. Some schools have minimum grade point averages, some have required community service. So read read READ the things that you need to do. No one wants to be held back by their own wrongdoings.

Don't let requirements hold you back.

Don't let one missed requirement stop you from at least trying to get into your dream school. Just because you are missing a few hours of community service doesn't mean that you won't get in. You should still try, and a perk now is that most schools have waived the application fees, so submitting more than three is no longer a financial burden. I got into all of the schools that I applied to with little to no community service experience, but it is all in the way that you talk yourself up.

Attendance matters (I'm sorry).

Unless you are dying, bleeding, or puking, try to go to school. Attendance will teach you that being present is the best way to see the direct correlation between showing up and better grades. One of my favorite things is watching the panic of students the day before the final, emailing the entire class, hoping someone would send them ALL their notes. They won't because you need to go to class. Fun fact: in college, the average price PER CLASS (each day) is about $80.00.

Get to know your teachers.

Take the time to meet your teachers and introduce yourself because then they will remember you, and think about how of all of the student that they saw that day that you were the only one to take the time to say hello. You will see the difference. Make this a tradition because when you are in college you will want to set yourself apart from the two hundred other kids who just want to leave early.

This helps with recommendation letters if you chose to further your education, and for future employers.

You decide how successful you are.

One thing that is important to know is that you will only be as successful as you allow yourself to be. If you want to have the dream job, make honor roll, make dean's list, then you have to work for it. If you want to not show up to class then you don't want good grades. It is sadly simple but people seem to not understand this.