College Prep

Junior Year 'Do List':
Ten 'Musts' for January-June
BY DAVE PETERSON
© Copyright 2002 by Parents' Press
Originally published in the January 2002 print edition of Parents' Press
Illustration © 2001, Artville, LLC



1. Earn top grades, your best ever. Let nothing get in the way of this.

2. Study your PSAT score analysis and your item responses closely, to improve both your test-taking skills and your reasoning skills.

3. Register and take the SAT I in March, and use the results to make final college choices by May. (Use spring grades to refine these choices.)

4. Visit several colleges now, before summer break, in these two categories:
· Nearby campuses, briefly, to help you get familiar with different types of college campuses and to decide what types you prefer.
· Actual choices, in depth, to be sure that each college where you apply is truly attractive to you.

5. Register and take three SAT II subject tests in June, in your best current courses. Use Score Hold for later release as needed.

6. Read closely and complete all worksheets in a "How to Choose a College" booklet. Research in books and websites can help you here. Your goals: first, to define the type of college and "specs" (college characteristics) you prefer, and second, to get specific. Consider these variables: majors offered, location, academic standards, size, activities, costs, setting, campus and student types, and parental agreement.

7. Review all this with your counselor at a planning conference. Heed their advice and make adjustments in your plans and your choice of senior courses as needed.

8. Choose two current teachers who are well suited to write a college recommendation for you. Ask their permission. Work to justify top-notch recommendations.

9. Cut down on activities, in and out of school, that do not directly relate to your potential to contribute in college. Then intensify your efforts at those few talents and enthusiasms.

10. Make realistic plans for each week of the summer that will help you grow as a scholar and increase your potential value to colleges next year.
If you fall into any of the following categories, see your counselor or advisor now to learn special information and procedures in your case:
Musician, artist, actor, athlete, leader, top tenth student, bottom half student, financially needy, special needs, English as a second language, unusual background, requirement lacks, unusual goals or facilities.

Dave Peterson has been an admissions officer, high school teacher, counselor, guidance director, and consultant to the College Board. This article first appeared in longer form in the October 1997 issue of Parent.TEEN.



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Dave Peterson is a college counselor, a former college admissions officer and a consultant to the College Board. He used to run the "old" America Online/College Board college admissions message boards under the screen name of CBD Dave.

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