Junior

Dear Junior,

So, you’re finally an upper classman.  Congratulations!  It’s been a long haul, but high school is half over.  It’s time to start making some serious decisions about your future.  You’re probably feeling some anxiety about making decisions regarding your plans for after high school.  That’s perfectly normal.  Everyone feels nervous about this stuff.  Remember, staying organized and being well informed are the best tools to battle college prep anxiety.  Keep all of your college related materials in one place.  A binder or portfolio is a great place to do this.  Keep all of the communications that you have with colleges, scholarships, financial aid workshops, and career planning in that binder.  This way when you go to visit colleges or attend workshops you can have all of your stuff together and easily accessable. By now you probably know someone who has recently started college.  Keep in touch with former teammates and/or friends who have gone on to college.  Ask them what it is like.  Find out what information they think was most useful to them in their quest for college admission.  Ask what classes they found to be most beneficial and what they feel they might have done differently in high school to better prepare themselves.  They can be valuable resources.  If you have a friend in college and you want to follow in their footsteps, make sure they are experiencing success in college.  A college student on academic probation (about to be kicked out of college for bad grades) may not be the best person to receive instructions from.  Start paying attention to admission, scholarship, and financial aid deadlines.  Check out the “to do” list that follows for more information.

To Do:

1.  Attend college and financial aid fairs.  Become an expert on financial aid and admissions.

2.  If you haven’t already, find a mentor.  Remember, exploring careers gives you the opportunity to find what you like and rule out what you don’t ahead of time.

3.  Narrow down career options and research the education necessary.  Not all colleges offer all programs of study.  For example, if you want to be a pharmacist and go to college in Louisiana there are only two universities that offer that program, Xavier and University of Louisiana at Monroe.  The best way to find this information is to download a course catalog from a  university website.  This document will tell you exactly what programs they offer, which classes they offer, and what you have to do to earn a degree.

4.  Request information from schools that interest you and visit them and their websites.  Today, most admissions processes are most easily completed online via university websites. 

5.  When visiting schools meet with admissions counselors, faculty advisors in the field of study that you are thinking about pursuing, financial aid representatives and other college students.

6.  Research and apply to private scholarships.  Pay close attention to scholarship deadlines.

7.  Stay focused on your school work.  Take AP and Honors classes whenever they are available.

8.  Take the ACT or SAT.  Compare your score and GPA to the TOPS requirements and figure out how much you have to improve in order to get TOPS.

9.  Enroll in summer enrichment programs. 

10.  Get a job to earn and save money for college.  It’s tempting to work and spend all of your money on the latest fashions or on flashy cars, but remember a college diploma is far more valuable.

11. Cultivate relationships with teachers, community leaders, and other adults that can support your efforts for higher education through writing letters of recommendation for scholarships and admissions.  Volunteer and be active!

12.  Stay involved!

Suggested Course Schedule

The following list is a suggested list of courses that juniors should take in order to be prepared for higher education.  Remember, when there is an AP course available and your teacher or counselor believes that you can handle such a course it is wise to subsititute the AP or Honors version of the course.  For example if 11th grade Honors English III is availabe take that one instead of English III.  Before signing up for honors or AP discuss this option with your parents and your counselor.

English III

Algebra II

Chemistry

American History

Business Computer Applications or Computer Science

Band, Fine Arts, Choir, Theater, or another form of arts

Elective (Speech, Annual Staff, Newspaper, Athletic PE etc…)

 

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