You’ve probably heard the expression that college applications are a marathon, not a sprint. That’s because there is so much work that goes into applying (specifically years in advance) that you can’t just throw everything together the night before if you want to present a truly competitive application. At Marks Education, we believe that a well-structured approach to college prep through high school makes for not only a much more successful process, but also a less stressful one.
While we’ve written blogs before on how to prepare in 9th & 10th grade and 11th & 12th grade— and these blogs offer a more comprehensive breakdown–, this blog is meant to provide a general overview on each year of high school and how you can build impressive applications that reflect your strengths, year by year. Wondering what you or your student should be doing with each year of high school to prepare? Check out this blog!
9th Grade: Freshman Year
Your first year of high school should be a period of transition as much as a time of exploration. Rather than worrying about college applications, instead, we encourage high school freshmen to spend time focusing on building authentic relationships with teachers and counselors, challenging themselves with an appropriate course load, developing strong study skills, and trying different extracurricular activities to see what they enjoy!
Freshman year is also the perfect time to start thinking about completing your required service hours. Many high schools require volunteer hours before graduation, and the last thing you’ll want once your course load, extracurricular demands, and testing load thicken is to have to worry about completing your service hours. Finalizing as many of these logistical requirements as you can early will not only free you from stress but also open doors for you to eventually discuss in your college essays. You also never know, volunteering might spark an interest that grows to be a huge part of your life by application time– so don’t wait!
Sophomore Year
Once sophomore year rolls around, it’s time to start narrowing your focus and deepening your involvement in the activities you were interested in your freshman year. You might volunteer for additional responsibilities, consider self-guided enrichment projects, or continue trying out new clubs and experiences. Doing so can help you define your interests and learn about yourself, and are therefore important parts of the early high school timeline.
You might also consider taking your first AP class– if that’s available or applicable to you. Marks Education never recommends that students, especially sophomores, try to overload themselves with AP courses for the sake of impressing colleges, but as always, you should focus on maintaining a strong GPA while still challenging yourself with a rigorous course load.
The end of Sophomore year is also an important time to be thinking about test prep. While the more math you have under your belt, the better, it can still help to start thinking about which test is right for you and taking your baselines.
You might also think about enrolling in a summer program or finding a summer job. Colleges value students who pursue opportunities within their interests, and collecting experiences that enrich your time are great ways to spend Sophomore year.
Junior Year
It’s no secret that your Junior year is basically the most important academic year when it comes to college admissions. Your workload is bound to intensify alongside increasing responsibilities outside of the classroom, like jobs, extracurriculars, standardized testing goals, and all while still being expected to maintain that same standard of academic excellence. At this point, you’re meant to be taking your most challenging course load yet, while still completing standardized testing requirements, starting to research colleges, and building your list. Needless to say, you’ll be quite busy!
There are ways that you can lessen the Junior-year burden for yourself: like completing service requirements ahead of time, or using your summers for valuable test prep and preparing for rigorous course loads. However, this should be done alongside taking on new leadership roles in your activities, starting to focus on collecting experiences related to your future career interests, and planning for a meaningful Junior year that you can write about in your college applications.
By the end of the year, we also recommend that you’ve decided who to ask to write your teacher recommendations. We’ve written about this subject before, but in short, we recommend that you choose teachers who can speak to your growth, academic achievement, and personality, which is why it’s important to foster these relationships throughout high school.
Senior Year
The year it all falls into place: senior year. Senior year is the culmination of everything you’ve been working so hard to achieve. That’s not to say that senior year won’t be full of its own milestones, but in terms of the college application process, which is done by as early as November or as late as January, your application will be mostly centered around things that happened to you before senior year. That’s why we recommend trying to accomplish as much as you can before it comes. Senior year is where you put everything into perspective and showcase your experiences to colleges, so the bulk of your achievements shouldn’t take place after applications are due.
Ideally, we recommend that students try to complete their personal statements over the summer and give themselves the early fall to write their supplemental essays. However, we also know that seniors have a lot on their plates. Between demanding course schedules, extracurriculars, and the application itself– and potentially interviews, filling out scholarship applications, or trying to squeeze in one last testing session– the earlier you start, the better. In any case, this is not the time to be fighting to finish those volunteer hours or other requirements that you could have been doing years ago, so if you’re reading this with time to spare, try to tackle those achievements today!
Remember, the most compelling college applications come from students who have genuinely engaged with their interests and developed talents over time. This not only shows consistency and devotion but also helps you present your best and authentic self to admissions committees. And again, it’s a marathon, not a sprint; it’s the little efforts over a consistent stretch of time that are the most meaningful.
Conclusion
Curious about what you could be doing to improve your admissions chances each year of high school? Learn what a professional college counselor has to say! We have packages designed around providing college guidance to each grade level. Learn more about our team, what to expect in a session with a college counselor, or contact us for a FREE consultation!