6 Things All Juniors Should Do This Year

The 11th grade of high school is often regarded as the most challenging year. This is because students often significantly increase their number of college-level courses and it is the final year of year-long grades that colleges will be able to see when you apply.

It is easy to get overwhelmed by everything, so I recommend that all juniors do these six things to guarantee success.

#1: Take the SAT or ACT at least once before the end of your junior year. Make sure you have a calendar of all the test dates for your junior and senior year so you can see when you will have time before a test date to prepare. You do not want to be scrambling to take the SAT or the TOEFL for the first time when you should be focused on your 12th grade grades and your college applications.

#2: Build meaningful relationships and connect with your teachers, especially those in your core academic subjects. In high school, as in life, it's extremely important to have mentors and role models you can go to seek advice from. In this case, these teachers will be the ones to write your recommendation letters for college (pretty important!). You should also ask them if they are willing to write you a recommendation letter before you leave for summer vacation. That way, they have plenty of warning, you are "at the front of the line," and it's possible that they may be inclined to write the letter with more time and thought over the summer holiday. I'll do a different post on how to choose recommenders in the future.

#3 (For some): Take some or all of the SAT subject tests by the end of junior year *if* you are planning to apply to the most selective universities in the US. Not all universities require subject tests, but for those that do, you will need adequate preparation, and it is often best to take those tests at the end of the school year (June test date) that you are completing that class when the material is fresh in your mind.

#4: Finish your junior year with really strong grades. Every year of your high school grades will count when admissions officers review your transcript, but your junior year should have a rigorous course load with a strong GPA that represents your capabilities across all subjects.

#5: Plan a productive and fulfilling summer that will build on your strengths, skills, and experiences. You should not spend the entire summer studying for the SAT! Consider different options like working on college applications, essays, getting a job, an internship, travel, community service, pursuing a hobby you would like to do in college, visiting college campuses, and yes, some test prep.

#6: Try to balance between stretching and challenging yourself and knowing your own limits. Don't take on more than you can handle. For college admissions, it's not how many different activities you do, but showing clear and focused passion and commitment. Junior year is a time when you should practice prioritizing and focusing on what you need to do to succeed.

Preparing for college applications is a marathon and not a sprint, make sure to do things that are fulfilling and aligns with your long-term goals, your hard work will pay off!

Personalized College Campus Tours with Real College Students

At the IECA conference in DC last week, I had a chance to chat with the founder of Campus Sherpa, David Patou. Campus Sherpa allows students to directly experience a college through a student with similar interests to them. I like this concept a lot, and am curious to see how the company grows. 

Prospective students fill out a form indicating their background and interests, where they want to visit, for how long and in what format, and students will then be matched with an appropriate "Sherpa" i.e. current students at one of the 150+ participating colleges. Students may elect to visit a school with a short trek, longer excursion, or a "summit" of a full-day shadowing a student through their classes. I also like that a Skype conversation is an option for students who can't visit campuses, but really need to get a better handle on those details about what *truly* sets this school apart from its peer institutions. And it may also prove handy for those supplemental Why Us? essay prompts.

Some colleges make a real effort to engage visitors vis-a-vis their tour program. Some Admissions Offices' extremely competitive tour guide programs may ensure eager, chipper tours, but could come off as glossy or generic. I recently visited UVA, where the tour guide program is completely independent of the Admissions Office, thereby supposedly guaranteeing impartiality. We did 'happen' to walk by Social Entrepreneurship club offering free donuts and apple cider. In the unseasonably cold afternoon, it was memorable. Oftentimes, a tour can make a HUGE difference if a student decides to apply or not. While the tour guide is not always the deciding factor, it can be significant (think weather: I didn't like Middlebury College when I visited, and may in retrospect attribute that to the horrendous, icky, wintery icy downpour during my visit).

Campus Sherpa includes a review from one recent parent:

"After going to Harvard and MIT and finding hundreds of people touring with us, all of us following shouting guides around like sheep, we were looking for a better way. With Campus Sherpa, you get an insider's look at what a college or university is all about." 
- Mary H, Mother of Sophomore Cole H

In short, check them out! You can also save 20% on their one-to-one personalized college tours using code: JULIA9687

campussherpa.com/invited/JULIA9687

3 Reasons to Interview and 3 Reasons NOT to Interview

While many colleges and universities no longer recommend or even offer interviews through the admissions process, there are some colleges that still say that it "may help" a student in the admissions process. To what extent? It depends. 

Admissions interviews are often distinguished as either "informative"-- it is an opportunity primarily for the student to have a conversation with a representative to better get to know the college, or "evaluative"-- the interview will be counted as a piece in the overall profile of an applicant.

I recommend that for all of the schools on your list, you check out that institution on www.collegedata.com. The school profile will include reported elements of the application process that are weighted the most heavily. This is also where you can see if "Demonstrated Interest" matters or not. 

Smaller colleges, often liberal arts colleges, consider a variety of factors in making their ultimate determination, including "softer factors" such as the essay, demonstrated interest, and the interview. 

Wesleyan University

factors that determine selection of students

Three Reasons to Interview

1. You have a glowing, charismatic personality-- people flock to you like a magnet!
Admissions officers want to find reasons to like applicants and say to themselves, "gosh, this person is awesome, I want to hang out with them and be their friend." If you might be memorable (for GOOD reasons!) then this alone is a great reason to interview.

2. The college HIGHLY recommends an interview, and they are offered on campus. 
Generally, if an admissions officer is the one conducting the interview, it will have more weight than if an alumnus conducts it. After all, they will be reading your full application, and it may help tip the scales in your favor.

3. You have something you want to explain or offer greater context from your application, and you feel that you can best communicate this in person.
Was there a blip in your junior year where your grades dropped off? Is there something else you feel that you just can't fully get across on paper, or you present better in person than in writing? 

Three Reasons Not to Interview

1. The thought of an interview makes you catatonic.
Your palms sweat, your mind races, and you start feeling dizzy. It may be time to take some public speaking classes and gain confidence in that arena. But a college interview is not the place to try it out.

2. It takes you a really long time to open up or feel comfortable with people AND/OR you aren't strong in English
Friends or acquaintances have told you that you are hard to understand, and you generally don't like talking to people. That's totally fine and does not preclude you from a highly satisfying college experience. But person-to-person interviewing may not be the best way to "sell" yourself to a college. 

This is a 2 in 1 reason-- if you are a non-native English speaker, but your TOEFL and SAT scores are even better than your actual speaking confidence, it could be less than helpful to make admissions officers question your English abilities.

3. The college says that interviewing is only informative and has no sway in the process
In this case, the interview is all for YOU, really. If you are very busy or feel you already made up your mind about the school, an interview may be one more thing that you need to do that won't deliver high value in return during the busiest months of your life. 

What if you still don't know which category you fall into? Ask your family and friends. 

How do you prepare for interviews? Practice! Get to know the commonly asked questions, and make sure you feel comfortable answering them. Interviews also require students to do their research. If you mention you want to join the Orchestra, and they don't have one, that won't generally come off too well. Get in touch with us if you'd like to learn more about our detailed Interview preparation tips and how you can ace your college interview, and make it work in your favor. 

Snapshot of Hampshire College factors in selecting students from collegedata.com 

Duke University Visit

The last stop on my North Carolina college tour was visiting Duke University, home of the fighting Blue Devils, and fierce rival of my morning visit, UNC-Chapel Hill. Duke is home to 6,800 undergrads and situated on an 8,600 acre campus, there is a lot of land to go around. Located a few miles from the downtown of Durham, now a hip and artistic innovation hub that has drawn many world-famous startups and tech heavyweights. I am going to break up my visit to Duke with fun facts about the university and then a second post specifically about Duke admissions, and insights from the helpful information session led by a Duke admissions officer. First, the fun!

Fun Facts about Duke

-Durham boasts the lowest gender wage gap of any city in the US, and is also the “geekiest city” and a big foodie city
-Duke emphasizes collaboration rather than competition between students, there’s an 8:1 student-faculty ratio and 70% classes are under 20 students
-The demographic breakdown of students is: North Carolina residents- 12%; international 14%, northeast 14%, Asian/Asian-American 25%, Caucasian 47%
-Duke has the top 5 research budget in the nation per capita
-The Duke admissions officer highlighted that Duke prides itself on Flexibility and Opportunity- 80% of students are enrolled in the College of Arts and Science, where there are 48 majors, 50 minors, and 20 certificates. The remaining 20% of students are enrolled in engineering
-A 98% retention rate means that 98/100 students who come to Duke decide to stay, that is very high!