What should a high school junior be doing?

midwesterner
Sun, 16 Mar 2008 23:00:56 +0000

During junior year, create a list of 15-30 schools that interest you. Take note of suggestions from your counselor, parents and relatives, boss or coach, etc. By summer, you should have a substantial list and can take the next three months to whittle it down to a reasonable number. I suggest deciding on your safeties early on; make them your first applications.

Save any essays from this year that have application potential; you might also keep a notebook of essay ideas. Start writing your essays over the summer, and have several adults look at them. The more you work at them, the better they’ll be. You might want to look through a couple of books on college essays to get a feel for what works. Don’t leave this important step out and hope inspiration hits the day the applications are due!