The junior year of high school is when things need to become a bit more focused when preparing for college. You will have lots of things going on around you, driving, perhaps a first job, a busy social life, etc. but if you are planning to go to college, there are some things that are important to do during the junior year. These things don't take a significant amount of time, but when you plan ahead and get them done now, you will find that your entry into college is far less stressful with more opportunities in front of you.
In the fall of your junior year, you should be planning to take the PSAT. This is the year that "it counts" in terms of National Merit Scholarship qualifications, so this is a good time to start the school year off with a test preparation course. Many students do this, but they make the mistake of trying to learn Geometry, Algebra, Chemistry, or World History all over again. This is not the way to prepare for these tests. By this time in your high school career, you should have been laying a strong foundation in these subjects already. The proper test preparation process is instead the process of learning how these tests work and developing strategies to test more efficiently. A good SAT or ACT test preparation course will focus on the types of questions asked and how to decipher the codes of the test itself, leading to better and higher scores. This takes practice, and you will want to begin this practice early in the junior year.
If the year is started with this type of effective test preparation, then you will find that as you move into the PSAT in October, there is less anxiety over the test itself. Ideally, you will have already taken several practice tests in years past, but this is the year that the test preparation process will really help to put you over the top. In addition to the PSAT, students should plan to take the SAT and ACT in the fall of their junior year. Again, assuming that the test preparation is done earlier in the year, taking these tests for record will be a very natural process. In the spring of the junior year, you will want to take both of these tests again, with some review time spent on the techniques learned in the test prep course. By now, your scores should be rising and there should be an increasing confidence with the testing process. If the spring scores are not as high as you would like prior to the senior year, consider taking another set of tests in the summer if they are available to you.
And finally, over the course of the junior year, you should be in the process of comparing and contrasting your potential college list. If you have started this list in your sophomore year, as would be ideal, then you will have done some narrowing down by now. If you did not start this in the sophomore year, then over this academic year begin to cast a wide net of possible colleges, looking at about 10-12 that fit not only your anticipated area of study, but other interests as well. Don't limit your options too much yet. Think big. Look at extracurricular activities, nearness to business complexes and shopping malls if you anticipate having to work through college, include geographic areas that sound interesting. Set up some simple comparison charts for these schools and then compare your scores to the average scores as posted by those colleges. Your goal is to start from a larger field of possible schools, but then narrow this down to about five or six by the end of the junior summer.
Over the course of the junior year, these simple steps will help smooth the way for an easy transition into the senior year, where other items will need to be taken care of. It is important to continue working industriously in school, getting good grades, and working on any volunteer or civic projects that you might be interested in. Those things show that you are a well-rounded student, and while it is not your civic duty or volunteer work that will get you into college, those connections and interests will help to keep you balanced.
Good grades, competitive SAT/ACT scores, and focused attention to the colleges that best suit you will still be the most effective and sure-fire way to open the doors of any colleges that you are considering, but taking the time to strategically focus on testing strategies and selection during the junior year will add great benefit to your college bound goals.
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