Junior year is usually seen as the hardest year of high school, but if you don’t start planning ahead for senior year, it can be just as stressful. If you are planning on attending college immediately after high school, it is important to start figuring out your interests and what college best fits you. You can also start these things even if you are not an upcoming senior yet!
1. ACT / SAT
Getting your desired score on either of these tests is one of the best places to start. If you are unsure what score you need, I recommend looking up colleges that you think you might like to attend. Also, don’t be afraid to take both of these tests. They are both different, and some people find different ones to be best for themselves. Along with this, find a book that has practice tests, so that you can go into the tests with some background knowledge of what it will be like.
2. College Majors
Deciding on a major can be a difficult task. Right now you do not have to know exactly what you want to be, but having some idea of what you like and do not like can be very helpful in choosing colleges to look into.
3. List of Colleges
Once you have some sort of idea of what you are interested in, whether that be related to location or affordability, start looking at colleges you want to apply to starting in the fall. I recommend narrowing it down to five colleges you want to focus on, and go from there.
4. Scholarships
College can be very expensive, but taking advantage of scholarships can lower the price. Look up ‘scholarships for upcoming high school seniors’ to get started. Many colleges offer scholarships for higher ACT and SAT scores, so it is important to do the best you can on those tests. Also, look for scholarships being offered in your local community.
5. College Applications
Although most college applications do not open until the fall, it is important to look at the requirements for the colleges you are interested in attending.
These can all be fairly daunting tasks, but if you work on them throughout the summer you can reduce the amount of stress they may cause when you begin your senior year. Most importantly, remember to balance these things with rest so that your education, mental, and physical health are both wonderful going into your final year of high school!
Click here to see what you can do this summer, especially if you’re going away to college!
