As a college student, you are going to be involved with an array of activities, clubs, and organizations, and are sure to have a busy schedule! You will, however, always be a student first, and academics reign supreme during your time as an undergraduate student. As such, your academic success in high school is undoubtedly the most important part of our application review. To be considered for admissions to a college or university, you will complete and submit college applications during your senior year. However, much of the process relies on what you will do during your junior year of high school.
Here are some tips for high school juniors on how to prepare best for this process:
Be Informed
Junior year is the best time to become an informed consumer, learning about colleges and universities, and visiting college campuses is the best way to do that. I always encourage students to visit an array of different types of schools¾big and small, rural and urban, public and private. Most colleges will host on-campus events in addition to traditional tours and information sessions, so be on the lookout for those, as well. Additionally, many schools will offer off-campus events and receptions in your area (especially for schools out of state). Most admissions officers also travel to high schools in the fall to meet with students. If your school allows you to meet with a visiting admissions counselor as a junior, take part in that opportunity! Lastly, you can and should take advantage of online research. We recommend you rely on the information found on school-specific websites, including the main website of the school, and particularly the admissions section of that site. Be wary of some information you may find outside of school-hosted sites—not everything on the internet is accurate!
Focus on Academics
Junior year is also the best time to strengthen your candidacy as a strong applicant. Standards and expectations will vary from school to school, but no matter what institution you are applying to, academics are important! Our main job in admissions is to ensure you are academically prepared to be successful at our institution. The best way to prepare and to present yourself as a strong candidate for admission is to perform well in rigorous coursework. It is important to demonstrate to an admissions committee that you have challenged yourself with both your course selection and in your grade performance. Admissions offices will review your grades for all four years of high school, but your junior year is particularly important, as it is the last FULL year of courses and grades we will see in your college application.
Know the Priorities
We often begin our review by looking at your cumulative GPA. Perhaps more important than your cumulative average, though, will be the trends in your grades. We will look at each grade for each class, see where your strengths and weaknesses are in each subject, and look at the progress you have shown from freshman to sophomore to junior to senior year.
I often describe junior year as the foundation of your college application. Your freshman and sophomore years are building blocks that help you to get to the true foundation of work in your junior year. Senior year will be important as well, of course, but in many ways will serve as the “final touch” on your application. Senior year is when you will actually put your application together and “package yourself” for admissions. Essays, extracurriculars, and personal qualities are the ways you add some personality and dimension to the most important part of your application: your academics.
Manage Your Stress
I always remind students and families that there are lots of aspects of the college admissions process that are out of your control. To manage your stress, I would recommend for you to worry about only those aspects of what you can control. Remember that you can’t control the past. You can’t control or change, for example, your grades from high school years you’ve already completed. You CAN control the grades of the present. In short, stay calm, stay focused, and concentrate on the controllables, and you will fare well!
Jon Korhonen has worked in college admissions since 2009 and currently serves as Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions & Enrollment Services at Boston University Metropolitan College. He has a BA of Communication from UMass Amherst and a Masters of Education from Harvard.
