One of the exciting things about entering the health care field is how many flexible opportunities there are to find the career of your dreams. This flexibility starts even before you enter the field professionally.

Still in high school, but ready to start planning for your health care career? Read our tips on how to plan your studies during your  freshman year, sophomore year, junior year and senior year.

• Put school in reach: Enter the pipeline.
• There’s nothing that says you have to go straight to school: Take a glide year.
• Explore your fields of interest by giving them a try: Volunteer.
• Getting to know a professional in your field: Find a mentor.
• See what health care professionals do: Try shadowing.
• Studying science isn’t like studying other subjects: Get a strong science foundation.
• Test anxiety can be manageable: Ace your standardized tests.
• Not feeling so hot about your test performance? Take a second shot.