Your junior year will be the most demanding because there is so much going on. This post will make sure you are on top of everything.
An important goal for you by the end of junior year is to create a nearly finalized college list. This list should have colleges across many different selectivity tiers. During the school year you should be learning as much as you can about the colleges of interest. Of those, you should note when they visit your school or your area, and make time to see their presentations and possibly meet their admission officers. A reason to have a nearly finalized list by the end of this year is so you can start writing those essays in summer.
When it comes to schoolwork, the most important thing of course is that you need to keep your grades up in a rigorous curriculum. Junior year grades are given the most weight in college applications because it is the most recent full year that is available. In contrast, only the first quarter or first semester of senior year grades is available.
This is also the year for taking the SAT or ACT if you haven’t already done so. Yes, you should take a standardized test, even though many colleges are currently test-optional because you can choose to send them only to places where it helps you. Take practice tests to see if one exam works better than the other before signing up for the real thing. Colleges give equal weight to each one. It’s best to take the test as early as possible so that you have plenty of time to retake if you are unhappy with your score.
This year you will continue to develop your area of exceptional talent (or “spike”An exceptional talent in an academic or extracurricular area... More) that strengthens your application for the most selective colleges. If you haven’t already done so, read my advice on how to choose extracurriculars and how to develop a spike. Starting in December, look for upcoming summer classes or camps that help you with this.
And yes, the summer after junior year will be busy. In addition to working on your spike and writing essays, you should try to visit any remaining colleges of interest, to the extent that your budget allows.
