The sophomore year should be a year of personal growth.  Continue to concentrate on academic preparation and continue to develop basic skills.  At this point, school is your profession.  In addition to working hard in school and being involved in activities, sophomores should be identifying personal abilities, aptitudes, and interests, as well as looking for ways to further develop their talents and skills.   

• Meet with your school counselor to make sure you’re staying on track.  Make sure you’re enrolled in the courses you need to prepare you for college or a career. Move on to the next level of classes in the core subjects (English, math, science, history, and a foreign language).   

• Keep your grades up.  There’s probably a lot competing for your attention, but it’s important to remain focused on doing well in your classes. Remember that a strong GPA will give you a lot of clout in getting a good college and in getting your share of scholarship money.    

• Take on new roles.  Stay involved with your extracurricular activities and work toward leadership positions in the activities you like best.   

• Become involved in some sort of community work.  Not only will this be important for your college applications, scholarships, and job applications, but it also helps you identify personal abilities, aptitudes, and interests.     

• Begin to explore potential careers.  Explore your career options in more detail—research possible careers to learn about the tasks, education, and training necessary for each occupation.     

• Begin learning about the college admissions process.  Get familiar with general college entrance requirements. Your School Counselor, college Web sites, and the library, are all good sources of information  

• Read, read, read.  Developing your reading skills will help prepare you for tests and make you a well-rounded individual.  Read as many books as you can and read the newspaper to learn about current affairs. Reading is fundamental to virtually everything.   

• Practice your writing.  You’ll need good writing skills no matter what path you pursue, so work on those skills now to get prepared. Find a teacher or another adult who can advise and encourage you to write well.  And think about this - reading a lot will help you with your writing.  Reading builds vocabulary and reinforces good grammatical usage and solid sentence and paragraph construction  

• September - Start your college search.  Decide which factors in a colleges composition are most important to you.  Start to examine the college admissions process  

• Fall - Attend the College Fair sponsored by Ed-Op.  Check out the various kinds of schools represented.  Read the materials provided.  You may find some things that appeal to you.   

• October - Take the PSAT

• December - Go over your PSAT results with your school counselor. Discuss results with your parents. By having taken the PSAT, you are eligible for  My College Quickstart, a College Board program that assists you in choosing careers, colleges and majors and presents you with a personalized study plan for the SATs. Take advantage of this service.  

• Summer - Use your summer productively.  Either get a job and make some money that you can put away for college, or sign up for summer academic enrichment opportunities.

The junior year should be a year of personal growth.  Continue to concentrate on academic preparation and continue to develop basic skills.  At this point, school is your profession.  In addition to working hard in school and being involved in activities, Juniors should be identifying personal abilities, aptitudes, and interests, as well as looking for ways to further develop their talents and skills.   

Stay involved in school- or community-based activities that interest you or let you explore career interests. Consider working or volunteering. Remember – it’s quality (not quantity) that counts. 

Explore careers and their earning potential in the Occupational Outlook Handbook at www.bls.gov/oco. 

Go to college fairs and college-preparation presentations by college representatives. 

Decide whether you are going to apply under a particular college’s early decision or early action program. Be sure to learn about the program deadlines and requirements. 

Narrow down the list of colleges you are considering attending. If you can, visit the schools that interest you. As a junior you may use 1 day for a college visit. Must bring something back on the college letterhead to excuse your day from school.

Take the ACT/SAT

Research Special Programs

Reference Materials