JUNIORS

Junior year! The very words strike fear into the hearts of college-bound students everywhere. It’s long. It’s grueling. It’s a rite of passage.

With the hardest classes you’ve taken to date, the most demanding teachers (it’s a conspiracy), final grades counting the most in your high school career, standardized testing up the wazoo, and researching and visiting colleges, you have very little life outside of school during junior year.

But the good news is that it comes and it goes. Believe it or not, you will survive, and before you know it you’ll be looking back on it. Do you want to look back with regret or with pride? YOU CAN CHOOSE RIGHT NOW. Go ahead, choose!

Fall Semester

• PSAT (October!)
• SAT and ACT test prep
  • Decide which test is best for you, or try both, and work to get your highest possible score
  • Remember, some schools are test optional and most will Super Score the SAT. However, only some schools Super Score the ACT.
• Consultation
  • Narrow down the list of schools you want to apply to 
    • Visit more schools and research online schools that fit the profile you are looking for
    • Your school may host representatives from different colleges to talk to students about their university. Pay attention to this! Sometimes the representatives are the very people that read your application and admit you!
  • Brainstorm topics for your CommonApp essay
  • Consider the activities you’ve been doing and, if needed, try new things related to your current interests or intended major
  • Research scholarships available for juniors— there are more than you think!
  • Plan for the last two years of high school and what you want to accomplish before college
• Remember to maintain the study skills and note-taking techniques that have worked for you so far! 
• Junior year is the last full year of grades that will go on your transcript for colleges to see. It’s either time to improve or keep doing what you’re doing!

Spring Semester

• Take the SAT or ACT for either the first or second time
• Consultation
  • Plan for the summer
    • Visiting schools and finalizing the list of ones you want to apply to
    • The SAT and ACT both offer summer exams, should you take them? 
  • Discuss topics for the CommonApp essay
  • Get advice on what teachers you should ask for recommendations
  • Plan for a successful senior year and how to demonstrate an interest in schools
• Ask teachers for recommendations. These teachers should be ones you have a strong relationship with, not necessarily ones whose class you excelled in.
• Write the CommonApp essay and begin brainstorming ideas for supplemental essays
  • You can write these over the summer or at the start of senior year, but getting them done now (or at least starting them) is the most effective use of your time

Typical Standardized Tests Confronting Juniors

• SAT
• ACT
• SAT Subject tests
• AP exams