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How High School Juniors Should Plan Their College Prep Summer

Posted on Jun 20, 2012 - 06:00 AM | College Prep | Comments (0)

This is it – the last year before high-school juniors head off to college. That means big plans and big steps, and lots of little details in between (For our students, find a complete Junior College Prep Checklist in your handbook).

Four Essential College Prep Steps

1. SAT/ACT test prep. If you’re taking the SAT or ACT in the fall (and there are plenty of reasons you should consider it), start prepping for the October test six to 12 weeks in advance. Use RSC's proven program to boost your scores.
2. Narrow (or expand) your list of colleges. Visit college campuses, consider the criteria you need and the extras you want, and get your list to at least 6 colleges.
Outline your admissions essay. You may not have the exact essay questions yet, but certain themes come up every year. Outline several essays accordingly. Get extra writing and editing help if you need it.
3. Consider running for office. Colleges like activity leaders. Think about what offices you’d like to run for in the fall so you can add them to your college application.

Four More College Prep Steps to Consider

1. Practice a foreign language. Colleges like students who can speak a foreign language. Brush up on your non-native tongue with books, videos, and more. Don’t let this skill slip away over the summer.
2. Interning. It may be too late to intern somewhere this summer, but what about in the fall, spring or next summer? Look for ways to boost your professional profile early.
3. Volunteer activities. If you don’t have a regular volunteer position, find ways and places you can help over the summer, then add that to your college application, too.
4. Brushing up on your college major. If you already know your college major, read up on it this summer. It could help boost your grades in that subject come senior year, and at the very least will make you even more ready for college come next year.

Financial Aid Planning

We’ve saved the biggest step for last – paying for college. You’ll need to map out a plan for increasing your financial aid. Your options are limited, but certain steps are mandatory.

1. Gather all your tax information from last year.
2. Find out if your state has additional financial aid forms for you to fill out.
3. Talk with your parents about how much they expect you to pay for college. Save every penny you can.
4. Figure out which colleges on your list offer the best financial aid and see if there are others you can apply to.
5. Get accurate college-cost estimates for every school on your list.

All these steps make for a busy summer, but if you do them now, it will cut down on all the work you have to do this summer. Much of the work can be made easier using RSC’s college prep tools, including SAT/ACT prep materials, list of top financial aid colleges, admissions essay tips and college-cost estimates. It’s like having a guidance counselor who only specializes in colleges. It makes applying and getting great financial aid a whole lot easier.

You have enough work to do, so make it easy on yourself. Get help from a college prep expert!

To see everything our program offers you, visit our Comparison Chart. Starting now is starting late, but we can get you ready for college!

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