From what I’ve read, yes, colleges still look at your senior grades. That’s why most, if not all, require an end of year report, and if your grades suffer your senior year, some may actually pull admission even after you’ve already been accepted. So when they say recommended 6-8 (for your whole high school career I’m assuming), then yes, definitely make sure to continue taking honors and AP classes your senior year. It’s not a good idea to take it so easy, because colleges DO look at your senior year grades/classes.
In terms of questions about the college, I say exhaust their website first. Look for what you want to find on their website, and if you looked hard and can’t find it, then ask! It’s much better to do the research first on your own, and then if you really can’t find it, email them
For scholarships, it really depends. Some scholarships will indicate seniors only, others may indicate all high school ages, etc. If it indicates all high school ages, you can definitely apply. On scholarships. com, it asks for your grade, so it will help you find scholarships you can apply for as a junior anyway.
Hm. At this point, I wish I had know about all of the SAT and ACT study resources and used them my junior year to avoid this last minute cramming for a high ACT score. It’s definitely stressful! As a homeschooler whose parents took the ACT once, got 19-21, and admitted to college early back in their day, I am basically “trailblazing” in this area and didn’t know where to start. So definitely this, because I need scholarships and ACT/SAT scores help with that, and I’m pretty sure I will miss the deadlines for some of my schools because of it. That, and how to properly list my EC’s on the Common App as a homeschooler. I didn’t realize until AFTER I submitted 2 of the 5 that I missed a few EC’s, wasn’t as clear as I needed to have been, etc. Yeesh, ya learn from mistakes, right?