Dear Juniors,
It's that time again; running through aisles picking up pens, pencils and paper for the school year. Oh, how I remember those days when Classical Magnet would give me this outrageous list for school. You are one year away from starting your life. Class of 2018, this year came faster than you expected huh? Well, I know how it feels; I know when I was a junior I couldn't believe it. I screwed up my sophomore year and I was more focused on picking my GPA and make my chances of getting into a good school possible. Junior year is a very important year, the more you do junior year the easier your senior year will be. You have to think about SAT's, careers, 2-year schools or 4-year schools, loans and maintaining a good GPA. Yeah, it's a lot and it can get overwhelming but that's why I am writing this article; to help relieve some of that anxiety and stress.
Fall/winter Semester:
1. Keep your grades up all year.
I'm not saying you need to get all A's but be in good standings. Colleges are looking for growth and consistency. I messed up badly my sophomore year, I was very close to having to redo the grade. I did alright my freshman, awful my sophomore and excellent my junior and senior year. Show schools that you are serious. Times are changing, they want students who are going to stay and graduate. So make sure you start figuring out what kind of student you are, start building and securing good study habits.
2. Secure down at least 5 schools.
Take into consideration tuition, distance and if it's a private or public university. I didn't know all the cons of going to a private school until I put my $500 deposit down. Research that school, look at reviews, talk to some students. What I did was take my school name and hashtag it on Instagram and Twitter. I stalked their Facebook and Instagram account. Another thing I would recommend is visiting schools once every two months or whatever works with your schedule.
3. Consider all options.
There aren't just 4 years out there. There are two years and many people are now taking that route because it's cheaper to be quite honest. You could get your prerequisites out of the way and then go to your dream school and get started on your career.
4. SAT's SAT's SAT's! STUDY STUDY STUDY!
I can't stress this enough. Please do well, please try your best and don't bullsh*t the test. Go on The College Board, search your school and see their percentage of incoming freshmen SAT scores. Make a goal that you have until April, one word a day or just staring at the book something is better than nothing. I didn't get into my top choice school because my SAT score wasn't high enough, it broke me but it's reality. I know for a fact if my SAT score was higher I would've gotten into the 3 schools that denied me. GPA isn't enough sometimes.
5. Prepare for the future.
What would you like to do? What do you see yourself doing in ten years? Get some ideas flowing, talk to people. Take some online tests to see what careers match your personality. As your junior year comes to a close you should be ready to tackle down senior year. But you can't feel complete until you have a rough draft of your senior essay. I recommend that you have something written down as a college essay. Also, I can't forget this as well, find 3 teachers who could write you a recommendation letter. This is very helpful because in October teachers are writing 30 or more letters for other students but you have not only already got a head start on your college essay but 3 recommendation letters.
Lastly, this is a lot of information to take in but have fun, you know? This stuff is very important but you are also important don't overwhelm yourself. You have eleven months of junior year. You got this.
I hope these tips helped. I didn't have anyone telling me any of this information as a Junior, I slowly started to realize and pick up these things as the year went on. Lastly, don't let anyone tell you it's "too early" to get started on preparing for college and your future. Start now and make it easier for yourself. I hope you enjoyed this informative piece.
peace n love!
