Advice to the Future Junior

Junior year, the year also known as the “Big Year” and “The Year that Counts the Most”. It’s time to start prepping for the SAT and the ACT and maybe even SAT 2’s, thinking about college or even going into the military. It’s a lot to place on the shoulders of sixteen and seventeen year-old students.

When asking people who have survived junior year for advice, the most common answer is “don’t slack off and keep your grades up”, but there’s more to it than that. This is the first year that most students have a prom, the year with junior autobiographies, National Honor Society applications and possibly college applications are filled out. All of these events are huge in students’ high school career.

Maintaining Balance

Junior year isn’t that bad if you know how to handle it. This year, like previous years of schooling, requires a delicate balance between school work, extra-circulars, work, and free time.

Taking advanced classes is appealing to colleges, it shows that you’re willing and ready to handle a rigorous academic year. However, don’t bite off more than you can chew, those advanced classes take a lot of dedication and time to do well in them. Colleges do want to see other things on your application besides advanced courses, such being in different after school clubs, sports and/or activities that you participate in. It demonstrates that you are a multi-faceted member of your school and community. Just remember that, while being an active member in clubs is great, having leadership roles in those groups is infinitely more important, and when it comes to colleges, leadership in one or two clubs is much more admirable than just being involved in five or six clubs. If you have a job or are applying for one, make sure your working papers are filled out and that your boss knows that you are a full time student and can only work part time, and most importantly make sure it fits into your after school schedule.

The Big Exams

After sorting out your classes, extra-circulars, sports, and work schedules, it’s time to focus on when you will take the SAT and the ACT. Both exams are offered multiple times throughout the school year. Prep classes, which are optional, are also available for these exams.

You do not need to take both exams, one or the other will satisfy most college application requirements. However, you may take both, and you can take them again if you are unhappy with your scores.

College: Decided and Undecided

In addition to taking these exams, it’s time to dip your toes into the water in terms of deciding if you’re going to college, and where, as well as what will you study. If you have already taken the Practice SAT or Practice ACT, you might already be receiving emails from colleges trying to recruit you to come to their institution. After taking the ACT and SAT, you will most likely get even more notifications via email, mail, phone calls, etc. This can get overwhelming and frustrating, and it’s recommended to make a separate e-mail specifically for colleges, as your inbox will fill very quickly of college recruitment e-mails..

If you don’t know what you want to study, that’s okay, you have plenty of time to figure it out. Start by looking at hobbies and things you like to do; it can help guide you to a major.

If you have an idea of what you’d like to study, start looking at schools and see if they offer what you’re interested in.

The best way to start is to get an organization system going in which will benefit you the most. Start making a rubric in terms of what you’re looking for in a college:

• Do they offer what you want
• Big school or small (in terms of population on campus)
• Distance from home/location (urban, suburban, rural)
• Tuition price
• Are Freshmen allowed to have cars
• Is this an accredited college or university
• Do they use the Common App or do you need to fill out one of their applications
• How much financial aid and scholarship money do they give

Once your system is in place, sort out the different colleges to help narrow down where you might consider going. Setup some college visits to these schools; take a tour, talk to admissions people, and most importantly: don’t be afraid to ask questions. I strongly recommend that you take notes about the college that not only pertain to your rubric but how you feel about the college. You might be in love with a college on paper but when you visit the campus, you might hate it. After visiting, you should be able to narrow down your prospective colleges even more.

Remember to have fun, keep your grades up and maintain balance.

Sincerely,

A Junior Year Survivor