Although high school seniors are just wrapping up their college application process, it is already time to start turning some attention to high school juniors. Here are a few tips for you juniors, as you start the new year and new semester, that you can do now to help yourself next fall when it is your turn to apply to college.
1) Save those graded papers! A number of colleges, as part of their supplemental application, will ask you to submit a graded paper from your junior or senior year. They typically want a paper that has teacher comments included on it as well. So, instead of tossing those papers in the recycling bin once they are returned to you make sure to save some of the ones that you do well on that provide solid examples of your writing skills.
2) Keep a list of books you read! Many colleges this year asked a question on their application that had students list the books that they had read in the past year both in school and out of school. Sometimes, it can be hard to remember all of the ones you read when you completed them months ago. Start a list now and keep it somewhere where it is easy to access.
3) Start brainstorming essay topics now! Many of you will (hopefully) will begin writing your college essays this summer. Start jotting down topic ideas as they come to you now. Keep a sticky note nearby or a list on your computer so you can keep adding ideas.
