Life After High School: What to Expect and How to Prepare • Verto Education

After high school, life will change. Some friends may disperse to colleges across the country, while others are busy with work. You may have a job or classes lined up, or you may be wondering what happens next. If you’re unsure about how life will change now that you’re officially an adult, you may also be wondering: how do I turn the next step into something meaningful?

Read on for advice on what really happens after high school, how it feels, and how to manage what’s next.

Life After High School: What’s it Really Like?

Life after high school means no more getting up early to catch a school bus. No after school sports and homework before bed. But, what fills your time? And, how does it feel to manage all these changes? Managing life after high school is a balancing act, for sure.

Independence

Independence can be exhilarating — no one telling you what to do and when to do it. It can also feel overwhelming — so many decisions! It’s easy to get behind when no one is telling you when to wake up, when to leave the house, and when the next project deadline is. Get ahead of your schedule with a time management strategy.

Get a Time Management Strategy that Works for You

A whiteboard to-do list, a digital calendar, an app, a paper planner are all ways to track your schedule. The trick is to find the system that works for you and stick with it so you don’t feel overwhelmed. For example, plan time each Sunday to review the upcoming week so you’re prepared and check your planner each night before you go to bed so you set your alarm clock accordingly.

Build New Routines

You had routines in high school, now you’ll need to build new ones so you feel confident and on top of everything you need to do. If you’re taking a class, review your notes and work on assignments daily. If you’re now cooking for yourself, create a plan for meals. Set a day for doing laundry, ordering groceries, and other weekly tasks. Having a routine will help you feel prepared and make sure everything gets done.

Find Time for Self-Care

Relaxation, exercise, and time with friends are important, they keep you feeling stable and happy. Build these into your day and week so you don’t get overwhelmed or lonely. For example, if you were in a sport or club, you may want to find community options — a recreational soccer league or gaming club to continue to include these in your life.

Transitioning to Adulting

In addition to managing independence, there are skills that grown ups need that high schoolers don’t use as much, like managing money, cooking, and handling other adult life skills.

Money, Money, Money

Money can become problematic fast if you’re not paying attention to it. The flip side of that is when your money is under control, everything else feels more doable.

First, create a budget so you know how much you earn, how much you need to set aside, and how much you can spend. Start by looking at the amount you earn after taxes. Then, calculate how much you need to spend on food, rent, subscriptions, gas, car payment, utilities, dining out, and all the other things you want to do each month. For expenses, like gifts or travel, that you may not purchase each month, set an amount for the year and divide by 12. So, if you spend $2,400 on travel each year, the amount you should save for it each month is $200. After you’ve covered your expenses, put money aside for savings. Ideally, you would like to have an emergency savings of 3-6 months of living expenses.

Once you have your budget set, track your spending. Where are you spending more than your budget? Are there areas that are costing you less than you thought? Adjust to maximize saving and reduce spending as much as possible. When your money is managed, you’ll feel structured and relaxed as you make decisions from how much to spend at a night out or how to save for a trip or upcoming payment.

Other Adulting Skills

Here’s how to handle the top life skills that young adults manage each day:

Managing credit: Having a credit card, and paying it off, builds your credit score. The flip side of credit is that it can become stressful fast. Choose a credit card with a low maximum limit that you know you can pay off each month. Leave it at home when you’ve reached your spending limit so you aren’t tempted to over spend.
Cooking: It doesn’t have to be complicated. Make a list of foods you like to eat on repeat. Then, create a shopping list to make those foods.
Cleaning and laundry: Choose a day of the week for laundry day. It could be Saturday after your work clothes need to be washed, or midweek when you have a free evening.
Vehicle management: Put oil changes and routine maintenance on your calendar so you don’t miss one.
Healthcare management: You may start paying copays and other health bills that come in your name, even if you are covered under your parents’ health insurance. Make sure you get information about the healthcare you have, which providers are covered, and how to schedule appointments and pay bills.

After high school, some friends will move away, while others aren’t as available. Instead of seeing people every day, you’ll see them occasionally. This can feel lonely and you may wonder who’s still your friend. Get ahead of loneliness by scheduling regular get-togethers.

Also, the summer after high school is a great time to make new friends entirely. New experiences mean meeting new people. Explore options, like taking a class or even a gap year, that introduce you to an entirely new community.

Time for Self-Discovery

There’s no doubt you will learn a lot about yourself after high school. The best way to figure out who you are is through challenge and pushing yourself to do new things, such as:

Travel: Join a cultural exchange or study program. A gap year abroad will challenge you to see how you adjust to new environments and expose you to new cultures, people, languages, and learning.
Internships or Jobs: There are more job options than you experienced at your high school career fair. Take a few internships or short-term jobs to see what you like (and don’t like). What you learn in these short-term experiences will help you decide what to do for your career.
Classes: Sign up for classes at your local community college to learn about topics you didn’t get to explore in high school, or try something completely different. You may find that, even if you didn’t like high school, studying mechanics, art, or writing is different when it’s on your terms.

As you engage in these experiences, manage your emotions and keep track of your journey by journaling or capturing what you’re experiencing. Remember that now is the time you’re developing your values and solidifying what matters most to you.

Pay attention to what feels best to you. Do you value creativity? What about helping others? Do you value personal freedom? What about new experiences? When you read over your notes, you may be surprised at the person you’re becoming.

Life After High School: The Big Changes

High School	Post-High School	How You May Feel	Why you May Feel this Way
Set schedule each day	Work schedule or a more flexible college or work schedule	Overwhelmed, Stressed	You’re managing more unstructured time, and managing your schedule on your own
Frequent reminders from teachers and parents	Managers at work and professors at college expect you to self-manage	Frazzled, Overextended	Find a system that works for you: planners, organizers, and calendars can all help you manage your deadlines
A set group of friends	New community or lack of old friends in town	Lonely, Excited	Find new interests and learn how to build community
Built-in safety net	Need to initiate search for resources	Confused, Stuck	Learning how to initiate and use resources on your own, with some input from people you trust
Parents may step in when things get rough	You are the one who steps in	Anxious, Unsure	Practice self-advocacy, independence, and problem solving

Using the Transition Well

Embarking on life after high school doesn’t have to feel like a cold plunge. It could, instead, feel like the start of a new journey that transforms you into an adult. You also don’t have to go it alone. If you’re excited for new experiences and self-discovery, but not quite ready to dive into college and career, taking a year to travel and learn can be the best way to use your transition time.

Verto Education provides structured international experiences in places from England to Argentina. With Verto, students are able to pursue new global experiences, build confidence and independence, and earn college credits – while still benefiting from comprehensive support from start to finish. If you’re looking for a transition from high school that feels bold but also keeps you supported and on track academically, explore how Verto might be the path you’re looking for.