high school studentIf you’re someone who always wants to know the reason behind why people do certain things, you’re probably thinking of majoring in psychology once you get into college. For those of you who dream of working in the psychology field one day, it’s best to start preparing to earn a psychology degree as soon as possible, even if you’re only a freshman in high school.

Take AP Psychology

Unfortunately, psychology is a course that’s uncommonly offered by high schools. However, if your school offers many AP classes to its students, AP Psychology is probably one of them, especially since it happens to be one of the easier AP classes.

Make sure you get an “A” or “B” as your final grade in the class. Also, study using prep books like Barron’s and Princeton’s during March and April to guarantee yourself a four or five on the AP Psychology exam in May.

Start a Psychology Club

If you have some peers that are also deeply interested in psychology, consider starting an after-school psychology club at your school. The focus of the club can be entering and prepping for various psychology competitions for high school students, or you can simply conduct cool and interesting experiments related to psychology.

Not only will starting a psychology club get you more immersed into the idea of psychology, it will also make you look quite impressive to colleges and universities, especially if the club becomes very successful under your leadership.

Focus on Math and Science

As you progress towards a degree in psychology, you will probably notice math and sciences like biology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and chemistry becoming more and more important. Therefore, it is imperative that you master high school math and science, so you have a strong knowledge base to build from once you hit college.

Being only average at science won’t prevent you from getting a psychology degree if you work hard, but it will probably limit your career options once you finish college. If you’re not strong in science, you will have to go into less science-heavy fields like education and social work. However, if you’re good at science, you have the opportunity to become a neurosurgeon, psychiatrist, psycho-pharmacologist and more.

Sign Up for Psychology Programs

If you look around, there are probably plenty of pre-college psychology programs available to you both online and locally. These programs can provide you with some academic exposure, and it will give you a good idea of whether you truly want to pursue psychology in college. Brown University offers many courses, such as Introduction to Clinical Psychology and Brain Basics: From Biology to Behavior.

It is never too early to start prepping yourself for a psychology major. By doing the things listed above, you’ll be ready to tackle all your psychology coursework once you get into college. Also, you’ll be more likely to get a high GPA, which will guarantee you plenty of opportunities in the psychology field in the future.

 

Further Reading:  Preparing for a Major in…Psychology