<p>I'm going to be a junior in September and I'm kind of terrified.</p>
<p>Looking back, what advice would you give your rising junior/junior year self?</p>
<p>Spend less time worrying.</p>
<p>@DiscipulusBonus I second that. Everyone says it’s the difficult, most stressful year, but I think it’s more of a transition period. Many kids that didn’t before start taking AP classes and don’t do well because they aren’t used to the work load. Everyone’s taking SAT/ ACT for the first time. Everyone’s trying to improve their grades, join more clubs, make varsity sports because “it’s junior year.” Basically many people see junior year as the time to get their act together because they really didn’t before, and while that’s not bad, it really is much better to have been working hard in fresh and soph years too. That said, it’s not as bad as people say. Prepare yourself, do your homework, don’t slack off OR spread yourself too thin trying to be superwoman/man.</p>
<p>At some point you will end up having a test,project, and essay all do on one day.Don’t freak out.I remember I would get bad anxiety sometimes and it would really throw me off.Just plan your stuff out well and you will be fine.Don’t lose motivation at the end of the year like me. Begin and end strong even after your AP tests to show colleges that your the real deal.Good luck and don’t stress out. 
</p>
<p>Get your SAT/ACT done with early in the year so you don’t have to worry about them during APs/Finals.</p>
<p>Get subject tests out the waaaay.</p>
<p>I would say 5 things:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It is usually to late to raise your GPA/Rank</p></li>
<li><p>Get all SATs/ACTs out of the way</p></li>
<li><p>Spend summers working/volunteering/college HS programs</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t join sports/clubs last minute </p></li>
<li><p>DO NOT AT ALL COST SHOW A NEGATIVE TREND w/o A VALID REASON!!! IT HURTS YOUR APP IF YOUR EA</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Start your essays early.
Don’t procrastinate if you can avoid it.
Try to increase your SAT/ACT scores if possible.
Don’t worry. You will get into many wonderful colleges. </p>
<p>@halcyonheather - Do you know what year common app essays are supposed to change? I know that the rising senior class has the same prompts the graduating/graduated seniors had, but do you know if they’ll be different for my year?</p>
<p>Above posters basically summarized what I would say. Also, I know you’ll be super super busy with homework, SAT/ACT, ECs, etc., but definitely try to schedule a little downtime with family and friends so that you don’t completely lose your sanity around March/April like I did. Good luck!</p>
<p>@sunsh0wers
They had the old prompts for a while before they changed them. There’s probably no reason to think they’ll change any time soon. I wouldn’t recommend starting your essays until your junior year (if you start any earlier, the events you’ll need to write about probably haven’t happened yet), but it’s a good idea to keep a Word document/notebook/whatever with essay ideas and random sentences you think of. </p>
<ol>
<li>Chillax more. </li>
<li>Don’t take so many APs, do well in the couple you enjoy and do well in</li>
<li>Make the most of it, its the last one before your senior year.</li>
<li>Don’t procrastinate, it is a terrible habit lol.</li>
</ol>
<p>1) Take the SAT subject tests in June. You’ll remember a hell of a lot more from AP World three weeks after the exam rather than three months.
2) Ask that cute guy in your English class out for Chipotle or something. He won’t say no. </p>
<p>There’s a ton of advice I could give myself about the college admission process and other things but I would like to highlight this one:</p>
<p>In your Junior/Senior year, the schedule frees up allowing you to take more elective courses. If you’re GPA/college rigor hungry you’ll fill up all that free space with AP courses.</p>
<p>My advice is to drop the GPA booster/saver classes. Particularly: Teacher’s Assistant (no GPA impact), AP Psychology, AP Spanish, and AP Environmental Science. Maybe AP Stats too. I didn’t listen to my counselors that wanted me to stay in the STEM program that I had dropped in pursuit of AP classes.
In the STEM program there are tons of engineering and computer courses that aren’t part of an electrical engineer’s curriculum, yet provide skills that are extremely valuable to have. Engineers have packed schedules and there simply is no time in college to take the courses I could’ve had in high school. </p>
<p>@preamble1776 - LOL I forgot everything from AP World the day after the AP. But in all seriousness, I was going to take the WH subject in June, but decided not to at the last minute because I was getting terrible practice test scores. /:</p>
<p>If only Chipotle seduced science nerds too, sigh. :P</p>
<p>-Get it together
-If you think you need help, you need help
-If you think things are happening too fast, just pull back
-Remember to smile once in a while, jeez
-Hit on some girls, don’t no one care if they’re straight</p>
<p>-Search for stuff to do in the Summer early.</p>
<p>I currently have nothing outstanding to do this Summer.</p>