The start of the school year provides a clean slate – so brush off last year if it wasn’t so stellar or build off of it if it was particularly spectacular.
Either way, you’ve got a few things to get done – so get started now!
As you walk through the doors of your new high school, the farthest thing from your mind is most likely stepping foot on a college campus for the first time. But it’s going to happen, and four years goes by pretty fast – just ask the upperclassmen.
In light of that, do just a few things to establish a firm foundation as a high school student. This might be obvious, but work hard and stay attentive during class. The goal for sophomore year is to start honors classes so push yourself and get used to the pace of high school learning sooner rather than later.
Experiment with extracurricular activities. Chances are your high school has way more extracurricular opportunities than your middle school. Take advantage of this and attend informational sessions or inaugural meetings to see if a new club or organization might be of interest.
The more extracurricular activities on your resume, in addition to an awesome GPA, shows colleges that you’re ready for the time management demanded of college students.
But give equal importance to the elephant in the room this year: the start of standardized testing. While you’re not ready for the SAT or ACT, it’s time to start gearing up with the PSAT, offered on specific national dates, as well as the PLAN, which will be administered by your school on a date specified by the school administration.
These tests can help determine a lot for you, like which is best suited for your college applications. Some students perform better on the SAT than the ACT and vice versa, and these tests are indicative of which will paint you in the best light. In addition to the practice you’ll no doubt do in the classroom, prepare on your own as well, i.e. start taking practice tests now.
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