Grade 10

In your sophomore year, you may start to feel anxiety about college, or you may believe that you don't have to think about college yet. While intense worrying is never the best plan and stress is unhealthy, you should start planning for college in 10th grade.

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Below are the steps you should be taking in 10th grade to maximize your college options and reach your college goals.

#1: Start Thinking About College — It’s Not Too Early

It's definitely not too early to start planning for college in 10th grade. Much of what you do in 10th grade will impact your college applications and influence admissions decisions. Also, if you make attending college a goal while you are a 10th grader, you’ll be more likely to stay on the right track.

#2: Take the Right Classes

Developing a solid academic track record is the most important part of 10th grade college planning. The classes you take will greatly influence your college options. Talk to your college counselor to ensure that you’re on a college prep track. Also, you can look at various college websites to see the course requirements for admission. Colleges will evaluate you based on the classes you’ve taken.

Selective colleges want to see that you’re challenging yourself and getting good grades in your IB courses will demonstrate that you can meet those challenges.

Also, you should be taking prerequisites for classes you're considering taking later. For example, you may need to focus on chemistry if you want to take IB Chemistry in your junior and senior years. Your choices in Math are particularly important if you want to consider particular majors (engineering, physics, etc.) The IBDP Math choices can be accessed here...

#3: Focus on Your Grades

Your sophomore year grades do matter for college admissions (especially in the U.S). Most colleges will focus on your sophomore and junior year grades when making admissions decisions. To colleges, your grades are a reflection of your work ethic and ability to succeed in college. Also, your grades in your sophomore year will influence your high school GPA and class rank.

Furthermore, if you get good grades in your sophomore year, you’ll be more likely to get good grades in your junior and senior years. You’ll have developed the skills and habits that will allow you to continue to be successful academically.

If you don’t do as well as you’d like in your sophomore year, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your college dreams are shattered, though. Colleges do like to see continued improvement, and if you do better in your junior year, that will strengthen your college applications.

#4: Stay (or Get) Involved in Extracurriculars

Other than your grades and test scores, your extracurricular activities probably have the biggest influence on the quality of your college applications. Colleges, especially top colleges, want their students to have exceptional achievements outside of the classroom, and they’re looking for individuals who use their leisure time to pursue their passions.

Instead of doing too many extracurriculars, it may be more advantageous for you to exhibit excellence in a particular activity or field. If you play a sport, focus your energies on reaching the highest level in your sport and becoming a leader. If you excel in science, you can use your time outside of school to prepare for and compete in science fairs and competitions.

You should be participating in extracurricular activities during your sophomore year of high school. In 10th grade, you should choose activities that you'll try to stay with for the rest of high school, or you should attempt to advance and gain leadership positions in activities you've already started. Colleges prefer to see a sustained commitment to your activities. It's more impressive to show growth and achievement in the same activities than it is to start doing a bunch of activities in your junior year.

#5: Start Preparing for Standardized Tests

Starting to prepare for the SAT/ACT/Qudarat in your sophomore year will give you ample time to master the concepts and strategies that will allow you to reach your target score.

If you need to take the SAT/ACT, take it for the first time in the fall of your junior year. If you familiarize yourself with key concepts and take a few practice tests during your sophomore year, you'll have a good head start on your studying. Then, if you do thorough preparation in the summer before your junior year, you should feel confident and prepared when you take the test.

Giving yourself a full year of studying will enable you to assess your strengths and weaknesses. Once you know where you’re struggling, you can focus on improving your weaknesses and track your progress.

Additionally, studying for the SAT/ACT can help you with your schoolwork. In the Math sections, the SAT and ACT test you on algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. Depending on the level of math you’re taking, studying for the SAT/ACT can help you with your current math class or a math class you’ll be taking in the future. Furthermore, practicing for the other sections will improve your reading comprehension, knowledge of grammar, and essay writing skills.

You can access SAT practice tests from Khan Academy.

#6: Research Colleges

When you’re a sophomore in high school, you don’t need to know which college you want to go to. You don’t even need to have much of an idea of which colleges you want to apply to. However, you should be learning about colleges.

You can get a better idea of what you need to do to get admitted. If your interested in U.S. colleges/universities, Google "PrepScholar (name of school) admissions" to get the acceptance rates, average GPAs, and average standardized test scores for different schools. If you know the grades and test scores you'll need to get into different colleges, that can help motivate you to stay on track.

Additionally, you should start thinking about what you’re looking for in a college. What do you want to study? Would you be more comfortable at a large school or a small liberal arts college? What geographic region do you want to be in? You can play around with college finders to get an idea of different schools that may be good for you.

Furthermore, you can look at college search websites, guidebooks, and ranking lists to get a better idea of your college options. Visit local college campuses to see what they're like and get a small taste of college life. It's fine if you're unsure at this point what you want in a college, especially because it's very possible that you'll change your mind before you graduate from high school.

However, it's a good idea to start thinking about college, educating yourself about your college options, and learning what you have to do to be a competitive applicant.

What Not to Worry About

While you should be thinking about how to plan for college in the 10th grade, know that you still have time to prepare yourself for college. Try to avoid stressing too much about college now. Do your best to enjoy your sophomore year, have fun, and cultivate meaningful friendships.

Here are some specific aspects of planning for college that you don’t have to be too concerned about in the 10th grade.

The Best College for You

While it’s great to have goals and dreams, you don’t need to know where you want to go to college in the 10th grade. You don’t even need to figure out where you’re applying until the start of your senior year.

Furthermore, as you mature and learn more about different colleges, you may very well change your dream school. You could decide to pursue a different career path or change what you’re looking for in a college. There’s nothing wrong with adjusting your goals or priorities.

At this point in your high school career, you should spend the majority of your time developing the skills and qualifications to give yourself as many college options as possible.