Junior year (Y12, G11) is the big one: it’s the last opportunity to produce a complete year of grades and achievements before application season kicks in senior year. In the US its importance is underscored by increasing pressures on students to apply to university early, often by November 1, before first semester senior-year grades are even in. While this crushing news may be more or less pertinent depending on the university system and a student’s individual goals, the truth is that investing in junior year is one of the smartest decisions any student can make.
This guidance applies equally to students bound for university and those who aren’t, or are undecided and may be considering a job or a gap year after high-school. Junior year is a time for individual discovery – to test your interest in subject areas and careers, find out what really makes you tick (and what doesn’t), develop your strengths and skills, or even back up and change direction. It’s what an engineer would call prototyping – finding out what works, for you, before the countdown begins.
How to be intentional about junior year? Here is a check-list of five areas to focus on, keeping in mind that the purpose is preparation, not stress.
Academic Excellence
Grades always matter. But because junior year grades are the last full year of grades that universities see on a school transcript before making an admissions decision, they matter more than others as an indication of a student’s academic aptitude and potential. For students applying to schools in the UK, they are often the basis for determining predicted grades. Students applying to selective schools should ensure that strong grades go hand in hand with challenging subjects, and be aware that many university courses, particularly in STEM and the social sciences, may have subject-specific entry requirements in maths, English, and science.
Core Skills
To complement academic aptitude, students are encouraged to use junior year to develop other strengths, including the ability to communicate effectively, cooperate with peers, ask questions, solve problems, guide projects, be resourceful, and persevere. Sometimes these are referred to as soft skills even though they’re the opposite: these are hard-earned skills for life that are instrumental to success at university or in any career.
Extracurricular and Supercurricular Activities
Many universities, particularly in the US, will attach high importance to extracurricular activities, since, in a pool of academically similar applicants, achievements outside the classroom can help a student stand out. These activities can showcase a particular interest or skill, or suggest the contribution a student might make to campus life. Students applying to selective universities should try and pursue “supercurriculars” – activities above and beyond taught lessons that demonstrate independent initiative and engagement in a subject area. These can include internships, job-shadowing, research projects, a selection of targeted readings, or on-line courses.
Testing
Students applying to university often have to pass qualifying exams as part of their application, whether it’s an SAT for the US, the UCAT or IMAT for medicine in Europe, LNATs, ESATs, TUAs and other obscure exams for some UK courses, or a university's own entry exam. Exam results can account in some cases for as much as 60% of a student’s application, even outweighing grades and other information. And many exams can be taken only once, often in the summer before or at the start of senior year. For students for whom exams are required, knowing dates and registration deadlines and creating a study plan to prepare are priorities for junior year.
University Research
University research is exciting, time-consuming, and indispensable. It’s also not linear, since students often change their priorities as they discover more about themselves and what they want to study, and learn what university life is like. International students must often research different country destinations and requirements in addition to comparing courses and schools. Bottom line? Start early. Start defining your needs and preferences, looking at university websites and social media pages, talking to teachers, visiting campuses, taking notes, and putting favourites on an initial university list. Think about the kind of school that seems like a good “fit” for you.
Start in junior year.
>> University Bound can help.
Contact us at joanna@universitybound.
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