Junior year of high school makes a big difference. The decisions you make in 11th grade determine who you are as a candidate for colleges. Whether it’s honing in on your academic interests or finding the perfect activity for you to lead, make your choices carefully. Read on for our guide on how to succeed during this crucial time in your high school career.
Take a rigorous course load. Your high school curriculum is one of the most important components of your college application. Make sure you’re signed up for a good mix of classes that includes at least the core subject areas—math, science, English, social studies, and a foreign language—and use elective courses to explore topics that excite you. This way, you can take the required courses for college while discovering possible new interests. You should push yourself to take a challenging course load while maintaining strong grades.
Junior year is prime time to hone your involvement in activities that are important to you. If you’ve been participating in something for a while already (a sports team, a school club, band, theater, etc.) plan on staying consistent with those activities in your junior year. You might want to seek leadership opportunities within the organizations you’re a member of or take on other responsibilities within those groups if you have the time. Even without being the founder or president, you can hone your leadership skills through positions such as event planner or treasurer—or even just by taking initiative and making an impact.
If there’s a new activity you’re genuinely excited about, jump in! It’s important to strike a balance between the activities you’ve been committed to for years and the ones you want to try as you learn more about what matters to you.
We highly recommend that when it comes to letters of recommendation, you choose teachers who have known you for longer than just a year. So, chances are, your future recommender is one of your 11th grade teachers. While you might have great relationships with the teachers from your first two years of high school, you’ll have grown a lot as a student and as a person since then. Your 11th-grade teachers are ideal letter writers because they will have worked with you for a full year, and they’ll have a more up-to-date impression of the kind of student you are.
Even though many colleges and universities are test-optional now, submitting scores at the high end of a school’s range can support your applications. Many students take their first standardized tests in the winter or spring of junior year, so make use of the fall as time to study and prepare. If you haven’t already determined which standardized test you want to take, start with our guide to the SAT and ACT to see which test fits your style.
As the year comes to a close, make sure to prioritize your assignments. Which classes have final papers and which have group projects? How many AP exams are you taking in May? And what about finals? Thinking about the work that lies ahead of you can be daunting. But making a plan for getting the work done puts you in control. Take the lead on any group projects to make sure things get done. Remember that AP exams are scheduled over two consecutive weeks; make sure you know when your exams are and prepare accordingly. Your other commitments don’t pause because of the APs.
It’s also time to confirm your summer plans. Are you traveling, working, or starting an internship? Do you have a creative project waiting for you when school lets out? Have you been accepted at a pre-college summer program? Take a careful look at the calendar and make sure you have planned for some downtime before your summer activities get underway. Summer is a crucial time for college applicants to wrap up your initial college visits and narrow down your school lists. Sit down and talk to your counselor about your options, top choices, and any remaining schools they think are worth a visit from you.
Familiarize yourself with the Common Application. It’s a good idea to look ahead to the kind of information you’ll be asked to provide when it comes time to apply for college. You might start making notes about your activities or creating a resume. You can even start filling out the Common App. The Common App clears all of its data over the summer, but you can fill it out and store the information in an offline document to save yourself time down the line.
Revisit your SAT/ACT plan. If you are planning to take the SAT or ACT in August or October of your senior year, the summer before senior year is a good time to schedule in SAT practice. Make sure you have all the resources needed. Sign up for tutoring or use online tutorials to brush up on materials.
Make sure you know what subjects need improvement–especially if you have already taken the SAT/ACT once–practice questions that cover those topics. Check out the high end of the median scores at your top-choice schools so you know what you should be aiming for.
Start thinking about senior year. Some senior leadership roles are decided in junior year. Which of your extracurriculars are most meaningful to you and where would you like to lead? Are you ready to run for senior class office or apply to be editor-in-chief of the school paper or yearbook? You can also be thinking ahead to the fall when other opportunities will open up.
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