Juniors, Your time is coming up as well - so let's take the spotlight off of the seniors for a moment and checkout the to-do list below. Are you on track?
December College Checklist for Juniors
By JEFFREY NEILL
With Thanksgiving behind us and our next
vacation just weeks away, it is easy to let the college process slip our minds
temporarily. However, there is plenty that can be done now, particularly
planning. Taking advantage of these winter months can make an enormous
difference come summer and next fall.
Be Committed to the Process
The college application process, from
research through to submission, takes about 40 hours of work by the student.
You do not need to wait until the summer or the fall of your senior year to do
much of this work. Just 15 minutes per day — a study break, really — will have you
through 40 hours by the middle of August, happy and satisfied with the
knowledge that you are well-situated for the senior fall. Be diligent and
committed, and the process will take care of itself.
Communicate With Your Parents
This is your process, but you should
make sure that your parents are informed and contributing to your college
search. Take time to talk with your parents about the ways in which you want to
involve them. Have this conversation early and often, even weekly.
Set up a schedule for visits, even though you
may not yet have a list. Follow up with your parents after meetings with your
college or guidance counselor. Work to understand your family’s financial
situation. Explore costs as well as financial aid and loans. These all are
essential conversations; now is the time to set up a plan for how you will
communicate.
Plan Your Summer Now
December
is the ideal time to make plans for the summer so that you don’t scramble at
the last minute to pull something together. Have you considered an academic
program to pursue advanced work in a field of interest, to bolster or
supplement shaky areas of your transcript, or to explore new disciplines not
available during the regular academic year?
What about a job? Can you make and save money
for college? Have you considered an internship? Community service or volunteer
work? Travel? Are there sports or arts camps that would assist in your plans?
Discuss with your parents and college or guidance counselor a plan for the
summer. Be deliberate and intentional in your planning, and reserve some down
time, too.
Research, Research, Research
Begin to construct that college list. There
is no substitute for visiting a college for a tour and interview or information
session, but there is much to be said about getting online and exploring.
Individual college Web sites can be enormously helpful in providing a sense of
what your experience could be. What courses could you take? What courses must
you take? How difficult is it to double-major or to switch majors? If you are
undecided on a major, how might the college’s curriculum assist you in
selecting one? What drives social life? How many students live on campus? What
are the application requirements? Are SAT Subject Tests required? Keep note of
these items that you deem to be important. The more of this information you can
obtain and process, the more informed your search will be.
Make a Standardized Testing and Test Prep
Plan
Many juniors will receive PSAT results
shortly. Take time to review them (and/or any other results that you have,
including actual SAT and ACT results or any state exams) and put together a
plan for future tests.
You should also carefully consider if and how
you will go about preparing for those tests. Results from previous tests should
figure prominently into any plan. To prepare, some students will opt to take
courses or to work with tutors. You may also self-study by using free resources
from the College Board or ACT Web sites. Regardless, now
is the time to plan.
Be Genuine and Explore
This time of year, you will hear much about
“what colleges want to see.” Of course, the danger here is in pursuing any end
exclusively because colleges want to see it.
Be genuine. If you are going to commit your
time to anything, be sure that you are doing so because it is of significance
to you. Ultimately, this is what colleges want to see, and they are
exceptionally talented at sniffing out students who do things exclusively
because they are trying to impress.
Keep in mind that we are all lumps of clay,
still being formed. Remain committed to those things that are important to you,
exploring positions and experiences of leadership, but do not close the door on
new opportunities that might help you learn more about that unknowable enigma:
you.
