Essential Steps for High School Juniors to Prepare for College Application Season
Three years down, one to go! Looking back on the past few years, the time seems to have flown by. With just a few weeks remaining in your junior year, it is important to take advantage of every day and make sure you have done everything you need to do to begin preparing and planning for life after high school.
Finish Strong
We know that junior year is the hardest year for many students, with classes getting tougher and teachers expecting more. In some cases, the grades from this semester may be the last grades a college sees before making a decision to admit you. Even though warmer weather may be approaching bringing fun events like prom, now is not the time to loosen up when it comes to academics. Keep pushing yourself for a few more weeks. You have come this far. You don’t want to regret slacking off. Your senior self will appreciate this extra push.
Staying Active in Your Activities
In the third year of high school, it is likely you have found the opportunity to take on more significant leadership roles within your extracurriculars. If you have not taken on a leadership role, now is the time to figure out where you can step into a role in one of the activities that you really enjoy.
Are there certain areas that you excel in? If so, consider getting involved in ways that will allow you to hone in on that specific talent. Specializing in an activity will demonstrate your desire and commitment to your craft, which is something admissions find attractive when reviewing applications. However, a word of caution–adding too many new activities at this point in your high school career may look suspicious to a college. You certainly don’t want a college thinking you are adding activities merely because you think it will look good.
Looking Forward to Senior Year
While it may be tempting to plan a fun and relaxed course load for your senior year, now is not the time to take it easy. When reviewing applications, colleges will look at the classes you take as a senior. Admissions officers consistently tell us they want to see as much if not more rigor demonstrated through your senior class schedule. Kevin Dyer, Senior Assistant Dean of Admission at Franklin & Marshall College said, “Our selection process, as competitive as it is, relies on finding students who have chosen to continually put their best foot forward, not just in grades, but in course selection as well.”
“Our selection process, as competitive as it is, relies on finding students who have chosen to continually put their best foot forward, not just in grades, but in course selection as well.”
Now is also the time to finalize that you will meet all of your graduation requirements. Work with your high school counselor to ensure that you have taken the correct classes. If you find that you haven’t, it is better to discover that early on during your junior year so that you can readjust prior to your senior year. Also, if you have your heart set on going out of state, cross-check your classes to make sure you are meeting your university’s requirements as they may differ from your high school’s.
When selecting which electives to fill your schedule with, it is smart to choose classes that are in or related to the career field or major you are considering. This will provide you with the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in your field of interest. For instance, if you are considering majoring in graphic design, see if your high school has any design or art classes that you can take. This will help show admissions committees that you are thinking ahead and already preparing for your life as a certain major.
For more information on choosing classes wisely, check out North Shore College Consulting’s blog, What you Must Know When Planning your High School Curriculum.
Request Your Recommenders Wisely
Ideally, you will want to choose a junior year teacher from one of your core academic classes, but if you have an established relationship with another teacher, certainly reach out to them as well. You will want to have two letters of recommendation when you begin applying, so it is a good idea to reach out to teachers in two separate subjects. You should ideally have one letter from a teacher in English, social studies, or foreign language, and another letter from a math or science teacher. Having letters from two different disciplines will show your prowess as a student.
Before you formally ask someone to provide a letter of recommendation, make sure to check if your high school has any rules surrounding the process. Many high schools do have policies in place, restricting students from asking for letters until May or possibly not until the fall of your senior year. Knowing these policies will ensure that you are not just following the rules, but are respecting the time of your recommender. When you are able to ask for a recommendation, be sure to provide your updated resume as well as any important information you would like them to include or discuss in their submission.
If you want to have a letter of recommendation from a person outside of school, look to the coaches, employers, or mentors who you have worked closely with. This recommender should be someone who knows you personally and is able to speak knowledgeably about your strengths outside of the classroom. Though it may be tempting, providing letters from famous or well-known people that may be an acquaintance or friend of a friend will not amplify your application. Instead, it is best to choose your recommenders wisely so that admissions committees can get to know you on a deeper level.
Still unsure about who to ask to write you a letter of recommendation. Read North Shore College Consulting’s blog, Everything You Need to Know About Letters of Recommendation.
Creating Your College List
By the end of your junior year, you should have a general idea of which colleges you are most interested in attending. Though this list will be subject to change, it is important to narrow down your options so that you can head into your senior year with a clear path in mind.
Once you have created your list, devote time to researching specific application requirements for each institution. Having a short list of your top schools will allow you to better keep track of deadlines which will become increasingly important. Research the different application options offered at each school. It is important to know whether your school has a rolling admissions process, meaning there is no set deadline, or if they have various application deadlines throughout the year.
Many schools have Early Action deadlines, which are earlier in the application cycle, usually in November. Early Action applications will require you to have your materials in early, but will also provide you with an earlier decision, typically within early to mid-January rather than later in the spring.
Another application option you may see is Early Decision. While this application looks a lot like Early Action, Early Decision differs significantly. An Early Decision application can only be submitted to your top school, and this admission decision is binding. A binding decision means if you are offered admission, you are required to withdraw all other applications to other institutions and enroll at the college. This might be a great option for you, but it is important to know the ramifications of this specific type of application and to speak with your parents before making this commitment.
Planning to Succeed
By the end of this school year you should have sat for at least one ACT or SAT exam.
If you are still testing, there are many great free or relatively inexpensive resources available online. Simply Google ACT/SAT prep and you will find thousands of websites and videos to help aid in your studying. Check with your high school or local public library to see if they have digital or hard copy study materials that you can check out. Talk with your family members or older friends to see if they have any recommendations on how to best direct your study efforts.
It is also important to take time and research the testing requirements at the colleges or universities you are interested in. Many colleges will remain test-optional for the 2023-2024 application cycle. Knowing what test scores your future school requires will help provide a better idea of whether you should continue to test. Ask whether your college will superscore, meaning if you take the ACT or SAT multiple times, they will select the highest section scores to determine a “super” score. This is a great option if you do choose to retest, as it may increase your composite score. It is also important to keep all of your score reports together in one place so you’re able to analyze them in the context of one another.
Regardless of how you prepare, when you test, or what your college’s requirements are, the bottom line is this: you want to do well. While test scores are not as important as they once were even at schools that require scores, having a strong test score may give you a boost in the admission process, but more importantly, it will increase your confidence, knowing you can do anything you put your mind to!
Imagine Yourself as a College Student
While your freshman year of college is still over a year in the future, your junior year and the beginning of your senior year are ideal times to visit the colleges you are considering. Visit the admissions webpage at each individual college and see what visits they offer. Most institutions will offer a general campus tour and information session, but many offer larger prospective student events throughout the year which are also fun to attend. Additionally, colleges are still continuing to offer virtual information sessions and campus tours, so if you can’t get to the actual campus, you should definitely take advantage of these opportunities.
Being on a college campus may feel a little strange, but it is important to really take time to picture yourself as a student on each campus. Work with the admissions team and schedule a time to sit in on a class in your major or attend a sporting event. If you have friends who are current students, see if you can stay in the dorm with them so you can get a taste of life in a residence hall.
If you are not able to visit every single college you are interested in, at least put your name on their mailing list, or connect with an admissions representative through email. This is a great way to receive campus updates and stay in the loop on interesting news and stories happening at each institution. Connecting with schools in this way will demonstrate your interest in enrolling, which is important for admission. Most importantly, take the time to really see what each college has to offer and allow yourself to dream!
Get Your Documents in Order
Learn more about the supplemental information that you are allowed to submit during the application process. While some schools limit what you are able to provide, it is wise to begin creating and refining your resume or portfolio before you begin applying. Take time to make sure these documents accurately reflect your academic abilities as well as your extracurricular involvement and talents.
Many colleges will require you to submit supplemental essays along with your application. While some schools release essay prompts in the summer, most are released in early August and typically coincide with the date that applications open.
Many colleges and universities require applicants to submit a personal statement. Your personal statement is a critical component of your application and provides the opportunity to share more about who you are, your goals, and what makes you different than all of the other applicantsl. This is not an essay that you want to wait until the last minute to write! In fact, you should consider beginning your personal statement in the spring of your junior year, especially if you have a busy summer ahead of you!
If any of your colleges are on the Common App, your junior year and the summer before your senior year is a great time to begin filling it out. While information like your test scores are subject to change, having the biographical portion filled out will ensure you have one less worry once you dive headfirst into the college application season. One important detail to keep in mind is that if you choose to add colleges to your Common App, do not fill out any college-specific supplements. Any of those specific portions will disappear when the Common App rolls over at the end of July, leaving you to add that information all over again.
Developing Skills for Life
Though you may think you are far from the edge of adulthood, it is just right around the corner and you need to be building skills now, so you are ready for when college and “adulting” officially begin. Now is the time to make nice with your counselor if you have not already. They will play such an instrumental role in your senior year and in helping you put your best foot forward as you apply to colleges.
A lifelong skill to continue to build upon is your love for reading. Though it may seem like the majority of your reading involves homework or studying, challenge yourself to find ways to read for pleasure. Use reading to learn new skills or expand your knowledge about current issues or topics that interest you. Having a healthy relationship with reading will set you up for success in so many ways.
Just as you have throughout high school, continue to keep your passwords and login information documented and secure. Once you begin applying to college, the number of unique logins you will have to keep track of will likely double! Having a system in place to track and manage your passwords will not only help make logging in a million times easier but will give you one less thing to worry about.
We know college admissions can be overwhelming. If you need help with any or all of the steps, contact us today. North Shore College Consulting would love to help take some of the stress away and help you find your college home! We have options for all needs and budgets!