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The Importance of Your 11th Grade Year in the College Admissions Process

Jul 08, 2009

So, you’ve completed two years of high school and you’ve only got two more left. You’re starting to feel comfortable and you think you’ve pretty much got the hang of everything. Unfortunately, 11th grade is not the time to become complacent; it actually is a very critical year in terms of the college admissions process. While your 9th and 10th grade point averages do affect your cumulative GPA (something colleges look at), they’re only a part of the picture. Regardless of your previous performance, you must make sure to make best use of your 11th grade year, as it is one of the two years schools focus on when you’re applying. Because of this, there are things that you need to do to ensure that you are competitive for the college admissions process and your next two years of high school go smoothly.

First and foremost you should focus on your academics. This does not mean just making sure you get good grades, it encompasses more than that. When you are choosing classes, make sure to assess the rigor of your course load. Keep in mind what requirements your classes are filling and the difficulty of your classes. Colleges like students who challenge themselves. However, that doesn’t mean it’s necessary to take a year of nothing but AP and honors courses, it comes down to balance. If you haven’t taken many or any honors/AP courses, your 11th grade year might be your opportunity to increase the rigor of your course load. However, only take as many of these classes as you feel you can handle. Colleges are looking to see a gradual increase or growth from you. If you have been taking honors or AP courses before your 11th grade year, simply keep taking them, especially AP courses since they are recognized by nearly every intuition. If your school doesn’t offer many AP courses, don’t fret, colleges are sent a high school’s profile when students begin applying so they are aware of what classes your school offers. Generally your course load and performance are compared relative to what your school offers and relative to the performance of other students in your school or similar schools.

In addition to academics, extracurricular activities are important as well. The activities you choose to participate in don’t need to be rigorous, but just something that simply shows your sense of commitment and something that makes you a more dynamic individual. By 11th grade, most students should have found extracurriculars that they enjoy and participate in regularly. However, if by 11th grade you have few or no extracurricular activities, you should seek to join some. That doesn’t mean joining as many as you can find, rather choose a core few to participate in, and make sure that you can continue them through 12th grade. Not all extracurriculars are competitive or hard to join like sports or leadership activities. Many high schools allow students to create or participate in clubs. In addition there are a myriad of other opportunities that should be available both within and outside your school, it simply requires research to find them. Talk to your counselor, parent, teachers, or any other approachable individual to begin your search. It also helps to have an interest in mind when looking for new extracurricular activities.

Aside from academics and extracurriculars, 11th grade is also about being proactive. Considering that you have a year before the college admissions process, there is a lot to be done. The admissions process isn’t as simple as having good grades and many extracurriculars and writing them down in applications. Firstly, there are entrance exams that need to be taken. Most, if not all high school students are familiar with both the SAT and the ACT. However, some might be unsure of when to take these exams. The best time to take either exam is late junior year; some time at or around the middle of your last semester (or whatever system your high school uses). However, if you’ve gotten a good score on your PSAT or have taken prep courses for these tests; feel free to take them sooner. If you don’t like your scores, you can of course take them again as a senior. Depending on the schools you are applying to, SAT IIs or subject tests might be an admissions requirement as well. Some schools actually have specific subject test that they require applicants take depending on their major. Simply look on the web to verify if this is true for the schools that interest you. If you have not already taken subject tests, the best time to take these would actually be in June or whatever month your junior year concludes. The subject tests unlike the SAT, focus specifically on one topic area, and are much easier to prepare for. Usually your year long course work should be sufficient in preparing you for these tests, focus taking the tests for courses you’ve just completed or subjects in which you perform well. While you can wait to take theses tests, the earlier the better. December of your senior year is the absolute last date you can take these tests for many schools and it is best that you not cram a lot of testing in your senior year.

Towards the end of your junior year and during the summer before your senior year, you should focus on narrowing your school selections, finding scholarships that you are eligible for, and looking at the applications for schools that interest you. While many schools might not have their applications ready, you can look at previous years’ applications to get a feel for what the school might ask you. There will be some applications that should be available towards the end of summer. For example, the common application (www.commonapp.org) generally becomes available in the July before senior year. By looking at applications you can begin preparing essays for personal statements and other questions you might come across during the admissions process. Keep in mind that some of these essays can be used for scholarships and other opportunities you might find during your application season. Just remember, if you start planning out this process early, you will be rewarded with a less stressful senior year.

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