Hi guys, I am going into junior year with a fairly rigorous course load (4 of my 6 classes are weighted). I still have to take the SAT in October as well as two subject tests. Any tips to manage all this? get good grades? test scores? I still have more than a month to prepare for the start of 11th grade.
-
Make sure to be kind to all your teachers and participate in class. The teachers you have junior year are the ones who will write your recommendations. You do not want to reach May and realize that you treated all of your teachers horribly and are stuck stressing out over a piece of the admissions process.
-
Start prep early for the SAT. Make sure you know that you are better at the SAT than the ACT before diving into unknown waters. The earlier you start your prep, the more time you have to adjust and enhance your scores. Take at least two real SAT tests because you can always improve, unless you got a perfect score. I recommend getting a personal tutor for SAT/ACT; group study sessions do not work nearly as well, but they are cheaper.
-
Maintain and improve upon extracurriculars. Whatever clubs or sports you did sophomore year that are relevant and important you have to rejoin. You want to get to the commonapp in the summer and make choices on which extracurriculars you want to include, not scrambling to fill the open slots with weak choices that you only did sophomore year. Also, try to get a leadership position in a club or sport as you need to show some leadership to colleges. Some ideas for getting leadership could be starting your own club or doing student leadership.
-
Be sure to make your junior year schedule more rigorous than last year’s but not too overwhelming: You should slightly increase the number of AP or honor classes you are taking.
-
Subject tests can wait until May/June. I prefer taking the tests in June, but it is a personal preference. The reason to take an SAT II in May is that it falls right after AP tests, so the information is fresh in your mind. The problem with this is that SAT II tests are very different from APs, so you might have less time to study the new information than you would like.
-
If you have not already, learn to prioritize everything. Figure out what is most important and make room for that in your schedule. If you can miss a club to get an hour extra of studying for a test, then skip the club and maintain your GPA. After all, the GPA is the most important piece of your application, so I recommend making room for that the most. I learned junior year that there is not enough time to do everything colleges want you to do, so you have to give more attention to your priorities and less to everything else.
Good luck. Junior year is hard, but you will get through it. It is the most relieving moment when you finish your last exam at the end of the school year and realize you made it out alive. There will be some moments when you think that you screwed up, but you have to get pushing on.
Do not let a bad test score or a low grade stay in your mind forever.
Do not lose track of what you are aiming for.
Do your best and show colleges who you are.
Start prepping now for the SAT but don’t go overboard. Take practice section tests consistently (say, one or two a week). Score the test immediately and look for patterns of strengths and weaknesses. If you’re really lopsided, study and practice the weak section exclusively for a while. Then practice all sections.
Don’t stress if your fall SAT doesn’t match expectations. (in fact, assume the fall scores will be lower than what you want) You can retake them in the winter and spring and fall of senior year.
Don’t worry about the SAT II in the fall - take them in the late spring. Set aside time to study but again, study in little chunks of time over a longer period.
Do homework every day. Be proactive. Do the work early. Study all your classes a little bit every day. Do whatever you need to track what is due over the next six weeks. Start projects early and work on them a little everyday.
I echo be nice and respectful to your teachers and in class. Participate in class. Ask and answer questions. Talk to them after class. If you don’t understand something, talk to them. If you are floundering, talk to them, and because you are respectful in class and participate, they will likely be able to give specific suggestions.
I also agree, your schoolwork trumps activities. If you need extra time to study for a test, call, text, or email the coach/mentor to say you will not be attending that day’s meeting because you need to study for a test. I was a robotics mentor and I asked for advance notice if a student couldn’t attend a team meeting. It could be sent at 5:55 for a 6:00 meeting.
Last, get sleep. If you find yourself staying up until 2am to finish up homework, something needs to give - and it cannot be your health. Above all - grades, EC’s, accolades, achievements - is your well-being.
Before jumping in to take SAT IIs, make sure your target colleges require them. Very few do. Often, schools will take ACT in lieu of SAT2s or simply take SAT w/o subject tests.
Junior isn’t that bad!
-Get your SATs/ACTs over with as soon as possible. Start prepping NOW if you haven’t already. I recommend taking it either oct and dec or/ nov and jan. Getting my SATs over with by Jan was by far the best decision I made Junior Year. If you are not happy after two tries you can take it again in the spring but do not wait until senior year even though you can. You will have much more on your plate and you do not want to balance college apps and studying for the SAT.
-Note: When studying for the SAT, if you don’t feel that you are where you want to be by self-studying, get a private tutor. Group classes might be cheaper but for most, they aren’t very efficient.
-SAT IIs aren’t so important. Focus on the real SAT first. Start looking at potential colleges and see if they require subject tests because most do not. If you want to take SAT IIs, you can wait until may/june. Do not waste time taking subject tests for subjects that do not relate to your major.
-Know your limits. Try to do better than you did the year before and take harder classes but do not go overboard. If you find yourself breaking down and struggling know when to maybe drop out of a class or maybe get a tutor. It is not healthy to overwork yourself.
-Along the same lines make sure that your schedule allows time for extracurriculars, volunteering, and a social life. All of these are just as important as your grades and if you find that your academics take up too much time to do anything else, don’t be afraid to cut down. Having a social life is important to your well-being. That being said your GPA is still the most important and should never be compromised. Balance is key.
-Extracurriculars are about depth, not quantity. Instead of joining 10 different clubs, join maybe 2-3 and try to be very involved with them and try to get a leadership position. Volunteer a lot. It not only looks good on college apps but it’s experience you can put on your resume.
-DO YOUR HW, Even though most of the time it is busy work and you may have too much to do on one day, don’t miss hw because that will bring our grade down depending on how much your teacher checks hw. Many teachers check every day and missing a day might not hurt but most of my teachers checked randomly maybe 5 times a quarter and that’s when missing one can really hurt your grade.
-Sleep and Eat well and on time. Critical things many juniors forget are important. Planning out your day helps a lot. Set goals for when to study/do hw and activities so you still get time to eat and sleep. Your physical health has an effect on your mental health and vice versa. Getting sleep will help you feel less stressed and thus you’ll be able to work to your full potential.
-Be friends with your teachers. Talk to them, ask about their interests and how they’re doing every day, ask questions in class, stay after school to get help if you need. Maintaining good relationships with your teachers will not only help with recommendations but you’ll like doing work for the class a lot more if your teacher likes you.
-Visit and research colleges (Spring Break is a great time to do this). I wish I started doing this earlier because I am going into senior year having not visited a single college campus and I’m still unsure about where to apply.
-Don’t get too caught up on numbers. A bad grade on a test or even a Semester won’t end you. Don’t share your SAT score and don’t ask other people for theirs. Do not compare yourself to other people. While it may seem that they are better than you in something note that you may be better than them in something else. Everyone has their own strengths. Even someone who may look like they have their life figured out still has insecurities and flaws.
Junior year will seem like hell at times but you’ll make it through and realize that it wasn’t as bad as you expected it to be. Good Luck!
My two cents- if you have to take to subject tests, don’t take them in May but rather in June. I took mine in May and had AP tests the two days before and it gets very hectic and stressful. However, for the SAT/ACT, I would take the Sept/Oct and then the Nov/Dec and be done.
Absolutely agree with getting the SAT and/or ACT out of the way early in ones Junior Year - so run through some diagnostics in the summer and prep for Fall testing. My twin D17’s did this, were very happy with their 34 ACT scores (phew that they got the same score first sitting so no drama), took it one more time to superscore (nope same scores), and then they were able to focus on their grades, sports, EC’s and being a high school kid
Study for thirty minutes a day for SAT/ACT. These minutes will add up!