Freshman and sophmore year I really didn’t do any clubs. My sister said that any clubs I’m in from junior and senior year really aren’t really meaningful since I submit college applications in the fall of my senior year. Does that mean classes that I take in senior year aren’t as meaningful too? I’m extremely confused!
Senior year is actually one of the most important years. Colleges want to see your Transcript post-grad, what classes you’re taking senior year, and if you didn’t have a good overall course rigor (senior year included), you can get rejected last minute.
This is of course assuming you want to go to a top tier competitive school.
Senior year is very important. Some schools may not use your Senior grades for admission purposes (California UC’s), but doing well senior year will maintain your provisional admission. For selective/elite schools, Mid-year senior grades will be evaluated for admissions so you want to maintain a high overall GPA.
In regards to clubs/EC’s. Starting them Junior year is preferable to Senior, since it can give a negative connotation of trying to pad your application. The best case scenario would to show involvement over your 4 years of high school.