<p>I'm starting my junior year in about a month and I was wondering if there was anything particularly important about that current seniors know about it in hindsight.</p>
<p>Bump. I’d like to know as well. Thanks!</p>
<p>Get good grades.</p>
<p>Get a good ACT/SAT score.</p>
<p>Be smart about which classes you take, and don’t be afraid to switch out of ones that are ridiculously challenging. </p>
<p>Take the SAT early to make time for the subject tests at the end of the year.</p>
<p>work harder than ever!</p>
<p>Work hard in your classes of course, but also leave time for other activities. If you’ve enjoyed playing on the baseball team or singing for the school choir, don’t give up what you love just because of the heavy work load. Junior year, more than any other year, is an important time to pursue your interests and passions. Maintain your old activities, but also explore new ones. As you grow older, your abilities and leadership skills mature. Take advantage of that. Start a new club at school or become more involved in your community. </p>
<p>Use the first few months of junior year to adjust to your courses and dedicate your study time chiefly to your classes. Then, after the PSAT in October, I would advise you to start thinking about the SAT and begin taking it around January or March. Then, once APs begin approaching, study for those in addition to studying for the SAT IIs in the same subject areas which you can take around the same time (May/June). </p>
<p>It’s totally possible to survive junior year, and not even just to survive, but to excel. It’s a both frightening and thrilling year. It’s really a roller coaster, but when it’s over, you’ll be that much closer to… senior year! Exciting, right? You’ll grow a lot intellectually and emotionally during your junior year, but just a heads up - senior year is also quite challenging in my opinion. The rush of college application season combined with last-minute SAT test-taking in addition to a heavy course load and even more leadership than ever. It’s all part of the joys of high school, so enjoy it while it lasts, and good luck to all of you! The challenge of it all makes it that much more rewarding come graduation day.</p>
<p>Don’t freak out. Seriously. The fact that any of you are on here during summer worrying about school is impressive in itself and probably puts you ahead of the curve. Junior year seems crazy, but having just finished, I enjoyed it a ton. There is nothing to be afraid of. That said, here are a few tips.</p>
<p>-Challenge yourself in your courses (and EC activities).
-Work hard – when it gets tough, just remind yourself that the pain is temporary and it will all pay off.
-Take the SAT in December or March so you have time to do it again if necessary, get it out of the way (a great feeling when everyone freaks out in March) and then focus on subject tests.
-During AP season, lock yourself indoors and study. Once you are done with APs, it feels incredible. You can smell summer and there is a huge weight off of your shoulders.
-Learn how to drive! Junior year is not all about horrible school stuff. Driving makes you feel independent and getting your license is a big deal.</p>
<p>Finally, here are the big two.
-Don’t have any regrets. The absolute worst feeling in the world is to feel like you blew something. After sophomore year, I knew that I completely blew it in many of my classes and my grades suffered (my GPA is forever affected). I felt awful. But last year, I made sure I felt like I gave it my best shot and did much better. I feel proud and most importantly, I don’t regret anything. No matter how well you do, just be sure to know you tried your hardest.
-Have fun. Seriously, the stress can get to you and quite often you will need some relief. You will hear about SATs, college, APs, GPAs, driving, prom, blah blah blah blah blah. At some point, though, you will realize that your whole grade is going through this together and it can make for some great experiences. Be social and don’t give up life for the whole year for school.</p>
<p>If you stay positive, you will realize that junior year isn’t so bad after all and that you can handle it just fine. At the end, it can feel great. (Until you look forward and see that days and days of college applications lie ahead in your future! Muahahaha!)</p>
<p>Make sure you schedule our SATs so you have enough time to take them + subject tests.</p>
<p>Other than that, gingerbreadmann is golden.</p>
<p>I agree with gingerbreadmann.
There’s so much advice I can give you about junior year but two words should sum it up fairly nicely – work hard.</p>
<p>Also, another advantageous thing to do would be to get to know your teachers a bit more, preferably outside of the classroom. Especially teachers of classes that you really enjoy taking. A simple “hey Mr./Mrs. ___, how was your weeked?” would be good for a starter. This will give them a good impression of you and you will be needing teacher recommendations at the end of junior year or the beginning of senior year.</p>