Many high schoolers describe 10th grade as the year that the academic workload starts picking up. Your first goal is to maintain strong grades in a rigorous courseload, as that remains the foundation of your application, even with holistic admissions.
If you haven’t already done so, start following the habits needed to earn great teacher recommendations. While it’s more likely that you will choose your junior year teachers for your recommendations, there can be valid reasons to choose your sophomore year teachers (for example, if your sophomore year teacher is also the coach of an activity where you excel).
Tenth grade is also when you need to start honing in on the extracurricular activities that are most likely to develop into your spike. In particular, starting in December look for summer camps or activities that reinforce your intended spike.
In terms of testing, take the PSAT for practice in 10th grade if your school allows. Do this without any prep beyond taking one SAT practice exam, just so that you understand the question format of the PSAT. This will help determine your baseline score, and possibly identify areas you need to focus upon before you take the real test.
This is also the year you should start creating a college list. And if time and budget allows, consider visiting some colleges. Your goal this year is to learn what types of colleges you like (e.g. big vs small, rural vs urban), rather than the specific colleges you want to attend. Treat the list as a living document subject to frequent revisions.
