Sophomore Focus
Sophomore Focus
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Congratulations
Sophomores, you’ve completed your first year of high school and know what it takes to succeed! If you’re not where you want to be, reach out to your CCR coach, counselor, or teachers for guidance.
Use this year to build leadership skills—run for a club office or apply for the Hugh O’Brian Leadership Scholarship. Challenge yourself with AP, and Dual Credit courses and work on raising your GPA.
Start preparing for the ACT and SAT with practice tests and test-taking strategies. Begin your college or career planning—make a list, visit campuses, or start job shadowing.
Academic Goals
Academic Goals
• Plan your high school courses. Do they meet your high school graduation requirements?
• Record any awards or achievements you have gotten during this school year.
• What career and technical education courses do you need to take this year?
• What Advanced Placement or dual credit opportunities are available to you and how would they benefit your future? How can you maximize dual credit scholarships and work-ready scholarships?
• Consider taking the PSAT/NMSQT exam.
Career Goals
Career Goals
• Take an interest survey or career assessment and record your results in your ILP (Elevate).
• Write your career goal down. What educational requirements will you need to meet that career option?
• Review and update your resume.
• Attend a career fair. Research the military.
Postsecondary planning
Postsecondary planning
• Write down your post high school educational or career goal.
• Take a college readiness test (ACT/SAT). Review the results and write down your thoughts in your ILP.
• Review two universities, community and technical colleges, apprentice programs or work-based opportunities that meet your post high school goals.
• Do a review of costs for those two colleges. Write your findings in your ILP (ELEVATE).
• Attend a college fair. Research the military.
The Sophomore Planning Timeline
The Sophomore Planning Timeline
August
Discuss your college plans with your school counselor, parents or another trusted adult.
Review your transcript to make sure you’re on track to graduate and be admitted.
Stay involved in extracurricular activities and community volunteer work. Take leadership roles if possible.
September
Become familiar with general college admission requirements.
Work hard and develop good study habits. The better your grades, the more KEES money you can earn.
Make notes in your college access file about awards, accomplishments and volunteer work.
October
Start a file for information about schools you’re interested in attending, financial aid and campus life.
Read as many books as possible from a comprehensive reading list. It’s one of the best ways of preparing for the ACT and for college.
November
Work on your writing skills. No matter what you do in life, you’ll probably have to write.
Start thinking about financial aid. Review the Paying for College section on www.kheaa.com.
If you live in the Fifth Congressional District, ask your counselor about the Rogers Scholars Program.
December
Check out March 2 Success, a free website that can help you in language arts, mathematics, and science.
Write colleges to ask for their academic requirements for admission.
January
Sign up for challenging classes as a junior. It may help with scholarships and getting into the school of your choice.
Talk with your counselor about AP, IB, CAI and dual credit courses.
Continue to explore interests and careers that you think you might like.
Keep your grades up so you can have the highest GPA and class rank possible.
February
Begin zeroing in on the type of college you would prefer (two-year or four-year, small or large, rural or urban).
If you’re interested in a military academy, start planning and getting information.
Write colleges and ask for their academic requirements for admission.
March/April
Visit a few college campuses and attend college fairs.
May
Keep putting away money for college.
Consider a summer job. You can save money for college and maybe find out more about your career interests.
June/July
Keep learning all summer. Check with your counselor to see what summer classes are available in your area.
Chat with college students home for the summer, especially if they attend a college you’re considering.
August/September
Take the most challenging courses you can. (Click here for Kentucky’s Pre-College Curriculum)
Get involved in extracurricular activities and community volunteer work.
Get organized. Create a college access file for:
Copies of report cards.
Lists of awards and honors.
Descriptions of school and community activities, including paid and volunteer work.
Work hard in class. The grades you earn will be part of your final high school GPA and can earn you KEES money.
Register on kheaa.com for a MyKHEAA account and to receive the Your KHEAA College Connection newsletter.
October/November/December
Attend any career days offered by your school or in your community.
Talk with your school counselor and parents about a plan that will prepare you for college.
Research college costs and talk with your parents about saving for college.
January/February
Meet with your school counselor to set your sophomore schedule. A tough course load may pay off with scholarships and help you get into the school of your choice.
Ask your counselor about Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Some schools offer them to sophomores.
Ask your counselor about International Baccalaureate (IB) or Cambridge Advanced International (CAI) courses if your school offers that program.
March/April
Continue to explore interests and careers.
Start thinking about the colleges you might like to attend.
May/June
Check into summer enrichment programs in subjects that interest you.
Find out what a college atmosphere is like by attending a summer camp at a college near you.
July
Use your MyKHEAA account to check your KEES account and to make sure your personal information and GPA are correct. If you find an error, ask your counselor to have it corrected.
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