Question: What should i add to my college portfolio? I am 16 years old, and plan on going to college when i get out of high school and would like some advice as to what i should include in my college portfolio? For expmple, i know to include copies of all of my report cards... but what else should i ass to it?

Answer: Well, there isn't really such a thing as a college portfolio unless you plan on majoring in something like the arts.  In that situation you would need to include drawings, photos, music recordings or any other samples of your work that would show your abilities. If you are planning on going straight into some coursework like philosophy, psychology, biology or something then it really isn't necessary.  Instead you would need to show that you are a well rounded person and include as part of your application that you volunteered or worked in different areas or that you won academic prizes/scholarships or some type of talent that you have in which you either participated in or won recognition in.  Typically colleges won't want to see report cards prior to high school because it doesn't really show much, but definitely include award type material that you won at any age.  But in general when you apply, you need to put in a college application, the application fee, letters of recommendations and an essay.  If you have a particular school in mind, you can take a look at their application right now to see what they want.  You can also see the types of questions they want you to answer as part of their essay portion (some schools won't require essays) and if the essay asks about volunteer type stuff or why your a good applicant, you might want to start doing some extracurricular activities either as part of the school or outside of school.  Just remember, it's not only about grades, it's about the other stuff that you do as well.  If you haven't done anything much then definitely start doing some stuff now before the actual application process is due.  good luck!
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