If you have not already begun, it is time to get started! Juniors who begin planning for college now will give themselves a few extra months to prepare quality applications and find better fit schools. Unfortunately, many students delay planning until the summer before senior year and end up squeezing months of work into just a few weeks before they submit their applications which are often sub-par. Here are a few things to work on over the next few months to help you prepare to apply for college before you begin senior year.
COLLEGE SEARCH
Begin researching colleges online and thinking about the qualities you want your future school to have. Often, students do not know what they want until they actually set foot on a few campuses. Planning now allows you plenty of time to do some visits this Spring while the semester is in full swing and you can get a feel for student life on campus. Use your breaks and weekends to do some campus visits. If you can not visit, do your best to research online and connect with past or current students to get more information.
RESUME BUILDING
Take the time to truly write down everything you have done throughout high school. Include activities both in- and outside of school as well as jobs, hobbies and awards. Write quality descriptions of the activities and your role in the organizations. Doing this now will give you a better picture of what may be missing. While it is not a good idea to suddenly add lots of new activities or clubs, you still have time to increase your involvement in what you currently do and add things which complement it. Writing your resume now will also make the process of completing your application later much simpler.
TESTING
If you begin preparing now, you have months to prepare for the Spring and Summer SAT and/or ACT test dates. You should allow yourself 4-6 weeks to prepare for the tests and by taking them earlier, you will have time to get your scores, work on your areas of weakness and retake them before you have to submit your applications. Also, taking these tests early will give you an idea of where you stand and what level of schools you should consider your targets, safeties and reaches. Students who end up taking their tests in the Fall of senior year face the added stress of having to worry about getting the new scores added to their applications and making sure they arrive in time to be considered.
ESSAYS
The Common Application recently announced that their essay prompts for the 2020-21 application year will remain unchanged from the past year. This means you have plenty of time to brainstorm and write your best essay. Schools which require other essays may not announce them until later in the summer, but you can get this one out of the way early and often times it can be re-used for schools which do not use the Common Application. Take the time to write several drafts and review for grammar and content improvements.
CAREER EXPLORATION
A very important part of college planning is figuring out what you want to study. While you may change your mind several times throughout the next few years, you can do some exploration now to get on the right path. Organize job shadows, internships and/or summer exploration programs to help you dig a little deeper into potential careers and college majors. Do not be afraid to ask family and connections for help with organizing these opportunities. Even if it is only for a few hours or days, that may be all that’s needed to help you eliminate or solidify your interest in something.