Junior Year To Do List

  • Junior Year

    AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

    • Meet with your counselor to confirm your courses for your junior year and senior years. Make sure to take the right balance of rigor and challenge to get into a competitive college.
    • Register for the October 25th PSAT and ask for a fee waiver.
    • Take ownership and get involved. Join a club or athletic program and develop your team and leadership skills.
    • Keep a log of your community service hours.
    • Identify accomplishments and achievements you will list on your resume


    NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

    • Prepare for the SAT and/or ACT - Begin preparing for the SAT and/or ACT at the start of junior year, with plans to take each test twice. Continue preparing throughout your junior year.
    • Learn more about colleges - Use online search tools, attend college fairs, speak with college reps and ask friends already in college for their thoughts on different colleges to begin formulating an opinion of where you want to go. Continue this process throughout junior and senior year.
    • Make local visits to college campuses - Take time in the fall of your junior year to visit local colleges. Even if these aren't schools you want to attend, this will provide you with an initial sense of what college is like.
    • Take the SAT and/or ACT - Take the SAT / ACT for the first time winter of junior year. As most students do better their second time, plan to test again the spring of junior year or fall of senior year. If you are worried about the cost of the test, ask your guidance counselor for a fee waiver!
    • Take SAT Subject Tests for courses ending in the fall - SAT Subject tests, which are required for some colleges, are best taken immediately after you've taken the relevant class and while the material is still fresh.
    • Make a list of target colleges - Identify ~10-15 colleges of interest, with the goal of having several schools at varying levels of selectivity (some "safety," some "match," and some "reach" options). Continue updating this list throughout junior and start of senior year.
    • If possible, set up appointments at your top target colleges - Call ahead to admissions offices of colleges you want to visit. Note that certain colleges offer "fly-in" programs to cover cost of travel for students with financial need. Continue setting up appointments throughout junior and senior year, but don't worry if it is not possible for you to visit your target colleges.
    • Search for traditional scholarships - Once you are mid-way through your junior year, it's time to begin searching for more traditional scholarships that are specifically made available to students in their senior year of high school. Continue searching throughout junior and senior year.