Congratulations sophomores! You just completed your second year of high school. You are literally half way done (through the end of 12th grade) and figuratively 2/3rd of the way done (colleges guarantee they review your grades for admission through 11th grade). Your junior year will be a very important year when it comes to preparing to apply to college. How prepared you will be for your senior year and for applying to colleges will be determined by how focused, diligent and disciplined you are in your junior year. Can you do things this summer, however, to prepare, position yourself more positively, grow and mature in ways that will benefit you in the college application process and beyond? Yes! Below are some tips I want to give you that I think are important for you to take advantage of this summer.
- Stay involved– Up to this point in your high school career you have hopefully been involved in certain activities, volunteered for various organizations, attended certain camps and had various jobs. Continue to do these things if you enjoy them (or need to) and if possible, grow in leadership and responsibility as you get older.
- Keep Reading (and Speaking)– This is easy for some and not for others. These two disciplines, however, will benefit you greatly in the college application process as you take the SAT/ACT within the school year and begin to speak with college admission representatives more when you tour colleges, these representatives visit our school and you have college admission, job and scholarship interviews in the near future. If you can put yourself in situations/circumstances where you have to speak in a group setting, speak in front of a group of people or even interview, these opportunities will only prepare you for future opportunities.
- YOU communicate with adults…not your parents– Some of you may have been doing this the majority of the time already and that’s great! If you need to ask a question, follow up with or call off/end something, YOU need to be the one to make this communication, NOT MOM AND DAD. Why do I emphasize this? I am going speak from personal experience. As a college counselor, I need to speak into the maturity and growth of my students when I write them a letter of recommendation that is sent to the colleges they apply to. I have to write a letter for 90% of the senior class. Which seniors stand out to me? The ones that I have had communication with, answered questions for, been able to have conversations with from time to time. If I never talk to you, and just talk to your parents through the college application process, how will I know anything about you except what is on your resume? I appreciate and respect your parents…I really do, but I enjoy hearing from you! AND I know college admission counselors think the same thing.
- Take a college class online– Many colleges offer high school students the opportunity to take a general education class online for up to 80% off of the actual cost that you would pay if you were to take the class as a freshman in college. If you did not do this the summer after your sophomore year, don’t worry, you can definitely do this after your junior year and senior year. If given the opportunity, why would you not head to college with a few online courses under your belt, at a fraction of the cost, having earned credits that you don’t need to take anymore at the college you attend. Please click here to view the blog post that I talk about earning college credit while in high school.
- Continue to serve– As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called to serve others and utilize the talents, gifts and abilities God has blessed us with to bless others. This needs to be our first motivation to serve. Is serving others going to also help you stand out in the college admissions process, yes. Serve in capacities that you enjoy and would like to grow in responsibility. Serve those less fortunate than you. Serving will grow you in many ways emotionally, psychologically, physically and most importantly, spiritually. It will also encourage you to develop and grow relationships that will last a lifetime.
- Get a job– Working, while earning some money, will allow you to grow and mature in many ways. You will meet new people, do tasks that you don’t necessarily enjoy but have to do well, work under a supervisor that you may or may not get along with but need to, serve/communicate with customers that can be difficult at times, learn tasks that you never knew how to do before and work longer hours for the first time. These are all tasks/responsibilities that encourage a GROWTH MINDSET which is so crucial for you to have as you get older, go through the college application process and apply for future jobs in college and beyond.
- Begin preparing for SAT/ACT– I would like to emphasize that it is still early for you to take the SAT/ACT. I recommend that juniors take their first SAT and ACT in December, February or March of their junior year and take whichever test they do better on in May or June. It’s my understanding, from years of viewing scores, that students do better on the SAT/ACT the more class time they get under their belt and the older they are. I would also like to say, however, that you are the one registering to take the test and you can take it as early and as many times as you would like. There is nothing wrong with taking it early and some sophomores, who have been on the highest track in both math and English for their 9th and 10th grade years, and performed very well academically, can take it at the end of their sophomore year and do well. This is great! What you are doing is moving up the timetable of when you will be done taking the these tests. When should you begin preparing for these tests? This is up to you. I recommend doing some prep on your own to get familiar with each test before you take it the first time. When you know which test you did better on (see chart), then you can spend some money (or not because they are free resources you can utilize to prep) on a specific course that will prepare you for this test. I recommend taking a course through Revolution Prep who we partner with at DC. Please click here for our DC dedicated Revolution Prep webpage with future courses being offered and services they provide.
- Take the most rigorous courses possible– More and more emphasis is being put on course rigor by college admission counselors today, especially if they are test optional and you end up not submitting test scores when applying to a college. This doesn’t mean that you should take every AP class even if you think you’ll get a C. Colleges still want to see A’s and then B’s. If you are capable of getting an A or B in a more rigorous class, you should take that class. Also keep in mind, if you are unable to take a class because of a schedule conflict. This will not disadvantage you in any way because I can explain this to the college and they do not count against you anything that was out of your control.
Lastly, I would like to say that your junior year will be a very important year for you to prepare and position yourself well for your senior year and the college application process. You will have Career Stewardship class with me. If you thoroughly complete the assignments you are given and participate in class and in the other opportunities that are provided for you, you will most definitely be ready and prepared for the college application process at the start of your senior year.
