10 Ways to Jump Start the College Admissions Process Junior Year

The critical decisions students make during their junior year could have a major impact on the next five years of their life— and long beyond. This is the year students start narrowing their lists of colleges and potential academic paths. This is the last full year of grades that college admissions officers will review.

Whatever college you plan to attend, a clear strategy will guide you toward your destination. Here are ten tips from the college advisors at International College Counselors that will help high school juniors jump start the college admissions process.

1. Stay organized. Keep a calendar with essay deadlines, scholarship deadlines, test dates and other deadlines. Set up special folders for college-related materials and plan how you’ll keep them straight. Designate a place for reference material and one for correspondence. Start a notebook just for the admissions process. Write down all user names and college application passwords as well as thoughts about schools. Keep a log of correspondence, phone calls, meetings with college representatives and visits to each school.

2. Choose your classes wisely. The choices you make for your junior curriculum are the most important. The difficulty of the courses matter. Instead of going for the easy “A,” you need to choose classes that will challenge you. Colleges like to see students who have shown that they challenge themselves.

3. Explore personal interests. Join some clubs. Run for office in the clubs. Take part in different activities outside of school. Take classes of interest at a community college. Now is a your chance to find out what you like to do. Extracurricular activities also show that a student is well-rounded and knows how to manage their time efficiently.

4. Prepare and take standardized tests. Plan your junior year testing schedule. Take the PSAT/NMSQT, which is given in October. If you do well on the exam, you can qualify for a National Merit Scholarship. You can take either the SAT or up to three SAT Subject Tests on one test day, or the ACT, which is offered on other dates. Aim to take the SAT and ACT early in the year so that you are done before April and can save May and June for subject tests and AP tests. Taking the tests early will also give you time to improve your score, if need be.

5. Consider possible majors. The best way to start a list of possible college majors is to start with personal interests. These interests can include animals, nutrition, film, medicine, writing or a million more. It may even be a motivating school subject like algebra or literature. The idea here is not to commit to a career path, but to try and narrow down career possibilities.

6. Research colleges. Start narrowing down your choices of colleges and universities. Information can be gathered in books and on websites. Attend any local college fairs, as well as presentations by traveling college admissions officers. Go on college campus tours. Talk to alumni or current students. In the spring, draft an initial college list.

7. Discuss money. Talk with your parents about financing college. Talking about money may help you understand how much college really costs, and how much a you may need to do to help defray the costs through applying for private scholarships, taking AP courses, and getting good grades.

8. Search for scholarships. Research scholarship opportunities and apply to them. There are many scholarships open to students in their junior year. When looking for scholarships, you may also discover many scholarships they may want to apply to in their senior year. Students who apply to scholarships need to make sure they proofread everything and meet all deadlines.

9. Get to know the junior year teachers and college counselor. Set up appointments with your teachers and counselors and leave a positive impression on them. This is preparation for the all- important college recommendations.

10. Seek expert assistance. The admissions process can be confusing and overwhelming. Seek the advice of an expert independent college advisor, like one at International College Counselors. From help choosing colleges, going on interviews, editing essays and applications, refining extracurricular activities and more, an expert private college advisor can give students the tools they need to get into the college of their dreams.

Junior year comes with a lot of stress, but with planning, positivity, and hard work, it can also be a time filled with excitement about the future.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE COUNSELORS:

This year, college advisors at International College Counselors helped more than 200 students find, apply to, and gain acceptance into the college of their dreams. The expert college counselors at International College Counselors are dedicated to helping students and their families successfully navigate the college application process. For more information on International College Counselors or to contact an expert college counselor, please visit http://www.internationalcollegecounselors.com or call (800) 452-9090.