I on occasion discuss with my sons (both now in college in STEM fields) what they'd have done differently in HS knowing what they know now. They both pretty much list the same things:
1. Focus less on grades and more on learning. A tenth of a point in GPA here and there mean very little, however, the failure to be accustomed to rigor means everything.
2. Your class rank means almost nothing and the colleges know it.
3. Even if you've exhausted the HS curriculum and have a couple of years of college level math classes, continue taking them until you graduate, it's amazing how much math you forget if you don't keep doing it. Also, if possible, complete all of your required math for college before you get there, math classes are often used "weed out" classes and made unnecessarily trying as well as often being taught by those you often have trouble understanding because of accent left over from land of origin.
As was discussed on another thread in this forum, please ensure meticulously that classes taken at a local college will transfer to the college and program your child wishes to enter later. Colleges are getting increasingly picky about transferring credits as they're looking to maximize income. Many programs limit the credit hours that can be transferred to 16, some won't accept certain AP classes as valid to replace their similar courses. Yet others only accept credits from a community college if accompanied by a associate's degree. Our family has been put through the mill on this issue, please be diligent on checking on it.
