Sophomore  PLANNING

FALL

• COLLEGE & CAREER CENTER:   Fall semester Health classes will visit with the CCC in the fall to become familiar with the services offered and learn how to evaluate interests and career options.  All students are welcome to stop by any time or make an appointment for a 1-on-1 meeting after winter break.

• TESTING:  To learn about the differences between the SAT and ACT and to see how to prepare for and register for them, visit the Testing page.  Testing usually takes place in Junior and early Senior year, but if you are curious, you can take the PSAT or practice ACT before then.  CSU's and UC's do not use test scores and many colleges are test optional.

• BE INVOLVED:  It is good for students to join a club, engage with students from other grades, and explore their curiosity through various clubs and causes.  

SPRING

• COLLEGE & CAREER CENTER:   Spring semester Health classes will visit with the College & Career Center in the spring to become familiar with the services offered and learn how to evaluate interests and career options.  

• MAIALearning:    

  • • Log in using CLEVER.

    • Play around with it to become familiar with its features, especially how to find and research colleges.  Just for fun, add some colleges to your Considering list ( search and click on the heart) Remember, colleges on this list are for your eyes only and can be deleted at any time.  You don't need to solidify your real college list until sometime between the end of your Junior year and fall of Senior year.)

    • Portfolio/Profile:Edit this information if necessary and add your parents’ information, including email addresses.  Find your Profile by clicking your profile picture, then clicking Open Profile.

    • Experiences (aka Extracurriculars):  Begin building a resume to keep track of your extracurricular activities, leadership roles, summer jobs, achievements, and awards.  You will update this all four years and use it for college applications.  See Building a Resume for tips on wording it impactfully.  Maia calls your activities "experiences".  To enter your experiences:  

      • • • From the home page click "Portfolio" in the left blue menu bar

          • Select "Experiences" at the top

          • Click the blue "Add Experiences" button on the top right. 

• CAREER EXPLORATION:  Visit Career Exploration and Choose a Major to assess what interests you, which occupations meet those interests, and what education is required.

• TESTING:  Consider taking AP tests for any AP courses completed Sophomore year.

SUMMER

• RELAX:   Family and friends are important.  

• GET INVOLVED:  Work, intern, volunteer, or shadow a professional.   This will help you identify what interests you. Stay active in your extracurricular activities.  

• LEARN:  Get involved in a summer program.   Summer is a great time to explore your interests to learn what you like or don’t like. Examples include art, automobile maintenance, and computer coding classes.  Check out programs at local colleges or online.  See the list of opportunities in Naviance under “Colleges” tab, “College Research” section, “Enrichment Programs” link.  

• FOR STUDENTS WANTING A CAREER IN A CREATIVE FIELD:  Consider taking a pre-college program at an art/theater/music school or university with a corresponding program.  The intense learning will help you decide if that field is something you are really interested in and will help build your skills to develop a portfolio or prepare for an audition. Visit the "Specific Programs or Colleges" section of the Research Colleges page to find information on specific art/music/film schools.   Registration usually begins in the winter and continues until a class is full.

• REDO:  If you received a grade of "D" or "F" in an academic a-g course, you will need to retake that course in summer school to make up that grade so that you can be eligible to apply to a California public college (CSU or UC).  See your guidance counselor for more information.

• SEARCH:  Explore colleges online so that you know which ones you are interested in.  This will also help you be prepared for college visits at your school in the Fall. 

• AWARDS:  If you've done exceptional work in your community or extracurricular activities, try to identify awards that you may qualify for next year.     

ALL YEAR LONG

• PARTICIPATION:  Continue your participation in school and community extracurricular activities.  

• ACADEMICS:  Do your best at school.  Maintain excellent attendance.

• EXPLORATION:  Visit college and tech school campuses when travelling.  Take an official tour, eat in the dining hall, grab a school newspaper, speak with a student.  Get a feel for the college environment.

• MAIALEARNING:  Continue to update your resume on MAIALearning by entering your extracurricular activities, leadership roles, summer jobs, achievements, and awards.

• COLLEGE COSTS:  Talk to your parents about college costs and use the online tools to calculate your "Expected Family Contribution", the amount of money your family is expected to pay out of pocket for your college.  These tools are called "EFC Calculators" or "Net Price Calculators" and can be found on every college website, or use the College Cost Calculator.