By Lauren Stromberg
In two weeks, Provo High School seniors will graduate from high school and begin a new chapter of their lives.
Fifteen percent of those graduates will attend BYU Summer Term or Fall Semester, according to Claudia Allen, college and career counselor at Provo High School.
Provo High School goes to great lengths to prepare their seniors, she said. The school helps with applications and financial aid.
Counselors also have conferences with each student every year to ensure students are taking the right classes needed to apply to college.
Jon Hintze, 19, from St. Louis, Mo., finished his freshman year at BYU this April.
He said he feels his high school adequately prepared him for his first year at BYU.
Hintze said advanced placement classes were helpful in his preparation.
“The way my teachers taught was very similar to college classes,” Hintze said. “Your grades are based a lot more on test grades than homework assignments.”
Benjamin Brooksby, 18, from Edina, Minn., has been at BYU since Winter Semester.
He agrees that his high school prepared him for university life.
“My high school had lots of programs meant to gear people towards college,” Brooksby said.
He said the counselors taught the seniors about applications, and speakers taught them all the “tricks involved with college life.”
No matter how their high school prepared them, Hintze and Brooksby both agree their on-campus social life eased them into the freshmen experience.
“I think, I learned a lot school-wise and, I think, I learned a lot of things that made me independent,” Hintze said.
Hintze said his ward was very instrumental in transitioning him to BYU.
Brooksby agreed that dorm life was helpful for him.
However, he said he believes his roommate helped him the most.
“He always had advice about how to handle college things,” Brooksby said. “He was almost a junior, and so he had a lot of experience to share.”
Now that Brooksby has finished his first year at BYU, he has some advice for incoming freshmen.
“Take ever opportunity to learn.” Brooksby said. “Go to the orientations, all the help sessions, and take every opportunity to get the tricks of the trade down.”
Provo High School graduation is May 29.
