If you’re a high school junior, chances are you’ve thought about college. (The fact that you’re reading this blog is a good sign.) You may not know, however, that winter of your junior year—i.e., right now—is the time to begin the process that will eventually get you there.
You have about 9 months before the earliest college applications are due. For the procrastinators out there (I know, because I am one of them), this may seem like an awfully long time.
To provide some motivation: if you do not start now, no amount of scrambling in the fall will truly make up for it. I crammed my college search process into the fall of my senior year. Because I didn’t do enough research, I was unhappy at the school I chose. I ended up transferring.
After researching and visiting colleges, your biggest job as a junior is to take the right standardized tests, which includes either the ACT or SAT. Beyond that, there are a few small-but-important things you should do in the coming months to boost your admissions prospects and ease the stress of your senior year.
Contrary to popular belief, your senior year is a fairly busy time. In addition to the big school events—e.g., prom, senior day, homecoming—you will be maintaining or improving your grades with the most challenging school work you’ve had so far. (No one reading this is going to “coast” through senior year with easy or few classes, right? You know that looks bad on your college applications, right?) You’ll also be completing your applications, which involves looking up information, writing essays, securing recommendations, and, in general, lots of thought and proofreading.
If you start the college admission process as a junior, you'll also be prepared to submit an early action or early decision application in October or November of your senior year, if appropriate. Many schools now offer an “early admissions” option and it usually gives you better odds of getting in.
Below is a roadmap of the essential college-related activities for your junior year.