Now that the first several weeks of the school year has passed, here is everything high schoolers should do to make colleges want them.
Almost every student who attends high school has the mindset that junior year is the most important year and is where they start to really focus on college. Well, that is only partly true. Yes, junior year is where students usually start planning on joining more clubs, or earning a leadership position, and doing their research of what college they’d want to attend, and study for the SAT. However, to amaze colleges, it does not start in junior year, but as early as freshman year.
Freshman Year
Believe or not, trying to have colleges want you starts in students freshman year of high school. People usually believe that this year doesn’t count and colleges won’t care for it so they do poorly in school and sacrifice their grades for their social life. And it’s understandable that freshman’s want to socialize, after all they are in a new school with new people as classmates, but those bad grades won’t be improve the following years and instead come back to haunt you. This is the number one mistake freshman make, because they don’t know that those grades count towards their overall average and will have an affect towards their GPA which can determine if you get accepted or not from colleges.
Rosie Iraeta, a Kingsborough college graduate, stated “I remember during my freshman year, clubs were a way for me to have a social life. I made friends in those clubs while at the same time balancing my school work. It was difficult because, there were times where I would have to decide to cancel plans with my friends because I had an essay to complete or a test to study for. But there are many benefits in joining after school clubs.”
Keep up with school work and grades are important things freshman should do. But also considering joining after school clubs. At John Dewey High School there are many clubs to join and it very easy to create a new clubs if they don’t already have it. Joining after school clubs during their freshman year is important because not only can they make new friends but they’re able to include those clubs when they’re completing their college application their senior year.
Sophomore Year
Their second year into high school, is where they are just getting the hang on how high school works. Well, here are three things 10th graders should complete during this year.
Starting with joining a few AP courses. At John Dewey High School they offer over 20 different AP classes that students are eligible to take if they are interested. These classes are more challenging than the regular classes, but they are college readiness and in May if they pass the final exam then they are saving $3,000 from taking that course in college. It’s also a great thing to add in their college application and it boost their GPA higher.
Another thing sophomores should do is to do their best on the PSAT. This is a practice exam that is taken at school for free and gets students the feel of what it’s like to take the SAT, the material on it, and what they need to work on. Many sophomores don’t take this exam serious and it’s usually because it has no impact on their average or transcript. Which is true. But it’s important to pretend this practice exam is the real one because the results are able to tell them what they need to study for the actual one next year. No results would be authentic is there isn’t effort being put into it.
Every high schooler, no matter their year, will always hear someone tell them to join clubs because they are crucial to college applications. If they didn’t join a club in their freshman year then they most definitely should this year. And if they are interested in joining a sport team even better. Be in at least 4 different clubs or a sport team. Yes, it’s time consuming but trust seniors like Lizeth Martinez, “Colleges want well rounded students who do more than focus on their academics. And joining clubs demonstrates to them
Junior Year
The year where high school students start to do last minute things because they want to impress colleges. Junior year is considered to be the hardest year in high school due to the academic pressure on them. It’s the year where many students feel stressed and overwhelmed with trying to maintain grades high, study for the SAT, joining college now classes, and more extracurricular activities.
Mr. Chiaia says, “I think that, [the idea that junior year is the hardest year] is a big myth. If students stick with their study habits, utilize their resources here, talk to their counselors, talk to their teachers, it can be a smoother year while balancing what the future holds.”
Throughout this year grades should not be caught slipping and if students are interested in going to college, students should start generating a college list, and asking themselves questions like, What am interested in majoring in? What schools offer those majors? How far do I want to go with my education?
Mr. Chiaia advises, “Juniors should be focusing on their academics, making sure their grades are as high as they can be. If they are interested in college, generate a list of schools that interest them. I encourage juniors to retake the career assessment, because as teenagers’ minds change so frequently, our interests change, doing it again you’ll be able to see how your results differ or stay the same. Once you have those results, you could get into that college search and start looking at different programs. That way when senior year comes you don’t have to do all this work at the start of the year, you can enter the year a little more relaxed.”
Senior Year
Their final year of high school. From September to early January, seniors are busy completing their college applications. They are overwhelmed with running around school asking their teachers for letters of recommendations, making final decisions on what colleges they are applying to, what to major in, etc.
There are some seniors freaking out because they’re noticing that they might not have a lot of extracurricular activities to put down on their application. Something teachers and guidance counselors hate to see.
Other than applying for colleges and scholarships, senior year is when they are able to take a breath and relax. They start to enjoy their last year of high school before they graduate and start getting serious about life. Keep in mind that grades still matter. Trying to maintain a high GPA and perfect attendance is still important.
Keep in mind that the more involved students are in their school, the higher chance they are to get accepted.
