College Admissions Tips For High School Juniors

Compiled by Katherine L. Cohen, Ph.D., CEO & Founder and the team of counselors at ApplyWise.com

You made it through the first half of junior year, which means you’re on your way to being a senior and ruling the school! Although college may seem far away, it’s much closer than you think. Now’s the time to develop concrete ideas about where you want to go to college, and make sure that your course load, test scores, and extracurricular activities will help your application stand out. Follow these tips from the ApplyWise team of counselors to get the most out of the next semester and have a less stressful and more enjoyable senior year.

Make a balanced preliminary college list
Start your search by familiarizing yourself with many different colleges and universities. By now, you’ve probably received countless pamphlets and e-mails from schools across the US, and you can expect to get a lot more in the next year. Get a priliminary list from your guidance counselor. Use the Internet to facilitate your research on the different options that are available. Visit the web sites of the schools you are considering, as well as sites and sponsors such as CollegeBoard.com and ApplyWise.com. There’s tons of information available at your fingertips!

Use this time to take a serious look at each school and get a sense of what is important to you. Think about the ApplyWise three C’s – classroom, campus, and community – and whether those aspects of life at each school appeal to you. Narrow your options by location, size, academic programs, campus life, and any other factors that are meaningful to you. Be sure that each college on your list is a good fit academically and socially, and especially in today’s economy, you’ll also need to consider a school’s financial fit too.

If you think a school is a good fit for you, make sure you are a good fit for that school. It’s important to create a balanced college wish list that includes “safe,” “target” and “reach” schools. Safe or “likely” schools are colleges where your academic profile is significantly stronger than the middle 50 percent of students who are typically admitted. Target schools are colleges where your profile is similar to that middle 50 percent. Reach schools are colleges where your profile is not as strong as that middle 50 percent. If you want additional help in figuring out how your profile compares, you can seek out the help of a college counselor.

Get to know your guidance counselor
Make an appointment with your high school college guidance counselor today. By evaluating your test scores, grades, personal interests, and other admissions factors, your guidance counselor can help narrow your college search. Additionally, your counselor can help determine where you need to improve your grades and what courses you need to take to be considered a competitive candidate for admission. He or she can also help you decide which standardized tests to take—it may not be necessary for you to take both the ACT and the SAT.

The more your guidance counselor knows about your needs and your academic and personal goals, the better the advice he or she can give you in the next few months. Plus, it’s likely that your counselor will be writing a recommendation letter for your college application, so it’s important to build a solid relationship with him or her.

Make an impact with your extracurricular activities
Admissions officers look for students who make an impact on others through their activities. However, colleges are not looking for a “jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none.” Applicants who are consistent in their commitment to a handful of activities or are specialists within a particular field have an advantage over serial club-joiners who show no leadership or dedication. The activities you choose to involve yourself with outside of the classroom are also indicative of who you are as a person, what your interests are, and what kind of an impact you’ll make on a college’s campus.

Plan the perfect senior year
Many students think the final year of high school will be the easiest, but you must avoid “senioritis” at all costs – senior year grades count. In fact, colleges have rescinded students’ offers of admission because of poor second semester senior grades. An offer of admission is contingent on a student passing all courses listed on his or her senior year schedule. Not only should you strive to maintain strong grades, but it is also important to push yourself and take challenging courses your final year of high school; hard work and dedication will pay off in the long run. However, remember that while you want to be challenged, you also want to make sure your course load is manageable given your schedule and academic ability.

Not sure where to start? Many colleges and universities will provide a list of required or recommended courses that students should take in high school. For any college you are seriously considering, research the high school academic requirements and make sure you have met them.

Get to know the Common Application and other college applications
The college application process can be overwhelming and confusing for students. Take initiative now during your junior year and explore the Common Application and other college applications. Familiarize yourself with the different parts of the application. Look at essay topics and begin thinking about what you want to write about. Keep in mind that the application is revised every year, so chances are next year’s application will differ slightly. Despite this, many components of the application remain the same. Getting an early start is a great way to alleviate some of the stress of the college application process.

Junior year is an exciting and important time in your life. Use these tips from our expert counselors to make the rest of your junior year count and better prepare yourself for the college admissions process next fall.

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