{"id":1177,"date":"2022-02-22T10:57:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T10:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solomonadmissions.com\/?p=1177"},"modified":"2026-01-22T07:01:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T12:01:44","slug":"5-things-high-school-juniors-need-to-do-to-prep-for-college-admissions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solomonadmissions.com\/in\/post\/5-things-high-school-juniors-need-to-do-to-prep-for-college-admissions\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Things High School Juniors Need To Do To Prep For College Admissions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Congratulations! You\u2019ve either made it to junior year in high school or will be starting soon. The journey likely hasn\u2019t been straightforward, and you\u2019ve heard (correctly) that junior year will have a BIG impact on your college acceptances.<\/p>\n\n\n

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With that in mind, this article will explore the five things high school juniors need to do to prepare for college admissions<\/u><\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Article Will Cover The Following:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Earn Excellent Grades<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Know Your Teachers<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Create and Execute a Testing Strategy and Score Goal<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Start, Continue or Expand on Community Service<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Begin to Develop Your Story for Your College Applications<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Earn Excellent Grades<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The top entry on our list isn\u2019t new or even that exciting; you already know good grades are an important piece of college admissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are aiming for acceptance to any college in the Top 50 of US News and World Reports<\/u><\/a>, you will need to earn mostly As (some A-s may be okay) during your junior year. Bs of any type, especially during junior year, are red flags for highly selective colleges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Know Your Teachers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This recommendation is included because it can be easily and often forgotten, especially if you attend a large high school. Typically, you will need to submit two letters of recommendation from teachers for your college application. One should be from a STEM teacher and one should be from a humanities teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing your teachers and having them know you both in and outside of class is always important, especially for high school juniors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note that the advice to \u201cknow your teachers\u201d doesn\u2019t require more than remembering to say \u201cGood morning Ms. Smith, how was your weekend?\u201d or sending an e-mail of appreciation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For example, \u201cHi Ms. Smith, thanks for a great class today \u2013 I really enjoyed X, and it got me thinking more about Y.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of whether you realize it, these seemingly small, routine acts on a regular basis can really go a long way to developing your rapport and relationship with your teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes time to ask your teachers for letters of recommendation, you will be glad you took a few extra minutes each week to engage with your teachers \u2013 if you did \u2013 they\u2019ll likely jump at the opportunity to write you a strong letter of recommendation!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this specific advice is presented for your college applications, it is also good, general life advice to engage with others, take time to ask how they are doing, and say \u201cthank you\u201d when appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n

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3. Create and Execute a Testing Strategy and Score Goal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although the pandemic temporarily suspended the testing requirement for high school seniors applying in 2020, for any other student planning to apply to selective or highly selective colleges, strong testing will be required for your college applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this context, strong testing is within the middle 50% of previously accepted students at an individual college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Start, Continue or Expand on Community Service<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Starting your junior year on community service isn\u2019t ideal, though it is far better to start late than never, so if you haven\u2019t already begun, hop to it<\/strong>! Hopefully, you have already been engaged in a long-standing community service project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If so, now is the time to consider how you will create your legacy within the organization and\/or expand your impact. To do this, you\u2019ll want to \u201czoom out\u201d or take a look at your community service engagement from the 10,000-foot level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n