Most college-bound seniors have now made their final decision and commitment about where they will be next year. (Most. Some are still hoping for a waitlist opening. Some are still navigating financial aid and aren’t sure they’ll end up where they plan to go. Some are deciding late that they want to go to college and are grabbing rolling admissions spots or checking out community college offerings.) That means the clock is really ticking for current juniors, who have approximately 51 weeks to complete their own admissions process. An entire year from now may seem like a long time to get it all done. It may seem like a really short time. Both are true: it’s plenty of time, but it will go by really quick.
Some juniors are already far along the path. Others are just beginning. Wherever you are in the process, there are four things you should do before the end of this school year.
Do your best at school and finish with the best grades possible. Some people will tell you that your junior-year grades are the last ones that count. They’re not right: colleges will ask for grade updates, and it will be conspicuous if you suddenly have less rigorous classes or are getting worse grades. Colleges can, and sometimes do, take back your acceptance if they think you’ve let yourself become too much of a slacker. But they’re not completely wrong, either: senior-year grades will get checked, but they won’t be scrutinized like your transcript for 9th-11th grade. Your GPA and rank at the end of this year are much more likely to be your “official” ones for college admissions purposes, so finish this year as strongly as possible.
Decide if you will take the SAT and/or ACT. I don’t encourage anyone to rush to take one of the tests. Many universities are still temporarily test optional, and many are permanently test optional. It’s very likely you will not need to submit test scores, and there’s no good reason to take the test if you don’t need to submit them. You should base your to-test-or-not-to-test decision on fact and research, not a gut feeling. “I’m sure I’ll be fine without test scores” is not a wise approach, nor is “I have to take the tests, because schools really require them even if they say they don’t require them.” Look at the testing policies for any school you’re interested in. Also check the requirements for any major scholarships and honors programs at those colleges. See how necessary test scores are for you, and proceed from there based on the facts. You can take the tests in the late summer or fall—you don’t have to do that now.
Set up test prep if you think you need it or want it. Don’t sign up for test prep if you’re not really sure you need it. Test prep can help, but not if you’re passive about it. If you’re not going to really work at test prep, then it will be a waste. There are all kinds of ways to get help preparing for the entrance tests. There are classes through the big companies like Princeton Review, Kaplan, and Test Masters. Lots of school districts and local colleges offer test prep. There are private tutors and smaller companies that offer personalized programs. Khan Academy offers free prep, and you can also work independently with a test prep book.
If you’re in any AP classes, go ahead and take the exams. If you don’t get a score you’re proud of on an exam, you don’t have to report the score to colleges. And no, it doesn’t “look bad” to colleges if you take an AP class but don’t report the score. But when you do get scores you’re happy about, you can report it and it can boost an application. Your AP scores in 12th grade won’t affect your applications, but earlier ones can. If you’re nervous about not taking the SAT or ACT for test-optional schools, having some solid AP Exam scores that reinforce your high grades can make you feel a lot more comfortable with it down the road.
Line up rec letters. Teachers who may write you a letter of recommendation have a long time before they’re due. But don’t wait until the last minute. Don’t even wait until the last month! Find time to have a quick conversation with the teachers who know you best. Let them know that you’ll be requesting an official recommendation from them, and ask them if they have any questions or suggestions. It’s a much easier conversation to have when there’s a lot more time for it. Now is the right time to ask, even if they won’t have it written until much later.
Do some large-sweep online college searches. Even if you think you have a preliminary list ready, spend time reading through lists and descriptions in case you’ve missed something. Just looking at a list of “Best Colleges” is worthless. Don’t waste your time with that. But doing some searches for more narrow topics can be useful. Look for rankings of top colleges for several majors you’re interested in. Search for best colleges in the geographic areas you’re interested in. Look for colleges that have other qualities you’re interested in. Be sure, though, to look at multiple sources and cross-reference the lists. Never trust a single source. Also, don’t put too much weight on the actual rankings: the difference between number 12 and number 28 may be minimal. And never stop at just the top five or 10. A rule of thumb for dealing with rankings from any source: assume the top 50 are tied for first place.
So, for example, imagine you think you’d like to major in biology or environmental science. You like the mid-west. You want a school with a strong sense of school spirit. I’d recommend you search: “best colleges for biology,” “best colleges for environmental science,” “best colleges in mid-west,” “best colleges for school spirit,” “most underrated colleges in mid-west,” “best colleges for your money in mid-west,” “best colleges for your money biology,” and “best colleges for your money environmental science.” For each, try to find several different lists or rankings, and look at the top 100 if they go that deep. The important thing is to look for patterns and which programs show up on multiple lists. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of them, and don’t take time to stop and do research on individual schools as you go. Just look at lots of lists and look for patterns and repeating names. This takes time, but it’s also pretty low-key. Do this before you start asking counselors and teachers for more specific help or doing deeper research.
I know you’re busy. You’ve got final exams. You have projects and competitions. But you’ve also got 51 weeks left. The heavy lifting is going to happen this summer and fall, but you can set yourself up to have a much easier time if you’ll take care of these things in the next four to five weeks.
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