12-2-16

By:  Alexandra Kielty

Junior year is a crucial year for college planning. Juniors don’t have to make any important decisions yet, but it is the time for pursuing information and being the best candidate possible. Many juniors are unaware of the steps they should be taking towards their future, as a senior, I have already been through the stress of the college application process. From experience, I know how often people try to push their advice about college and it can be difficult to decipher which advice is actually useful.  Petersons.com has made a helpful checklist that will help to clarify what juniors should be doing in this preparation year.

Students should:

1. Stay on track with grades: students should not slack off or think their junior year is not important because every year counts.
2. Take the PSAT: taking the PSAT prepares students for the SAT so that they can get the best scores possible.
3. Make an education plan: decide if college, entering the workforce, or the military is the right fit.
4. Make a college list: compile a list of colleges of interest to obtain information about.
5. Continue getting information on schools: students should be attending college fairs, putting themselves on mailing lists, and going on college tours.
6. Organize a testing plan: prepare for all important tests and know which colleges require certain tests.
7. Meet special requirements: if students are planning are playing sports in college and need to meet special requirements they need to be on top of them so they are prepared.
8. Get involved: participate in as many extracurricular activities as possible to become a more desirable candidate.
9. Narrow down: start making college lists smaller so only the top colleges are in mind.
10. Talk to your family: students families are an important part of their decision and having family members feedback is vital to their success in applying.

These tips, and the many others on the website, are extremely helpful for a student who does not know where to start their college search journey. During my junior year this article gave me peace of mind and let me know that I wasn’t falling behind and that I was in a good place. I felt  confident in how to approach my college search and what I needed to pay close attention too. This checklist eliminated most of the fear and anxiety I had towards college and my future and I hope it will be helpful to my peers. I am now in the middle of receiving my acceptance letters and I could not be any more excited to decide where I will be spending the next four years of my life. Junior year might be overwhelming and might make people second guess their ability to even get into school but I can safely say the stress is worth it. There is no better feeling than opening a letter and seeing that a school wants me to attend. All of the hard work and long nights filling out applications become distant memories when thinking about college and what it will be like.

Here is the link: https://www.petersons.com/college-search/planning-list-eleventh-students.aspx