Are there any tips for this upcoming junior school year?

As a fellow junior I'd suggest to keep up with your studies, participate in extracurriculars, and start to choose colleges that you want to apply for.

This livestream has some tips on preparing for junior year. Hope this helps!

I am a senior now and here are some of things I am glad I did:

1. Keep your grades up.

2. Look for a good, relevant summer activity to do between your junior and senior year. Some of them are free and some of them have scholarships but apply early so you get those spots.

3. Pick your extracurriculars wisely. Don't overdue so you can show quality not quantity ex. leadership skills and going the extra mile in a club or activity that pertains to your possible major in college is better than just sitting in a meeting every week with little participation.

4. Start going to college fairs, college visits, virtual sessions, etc. Get your name out there to colleges you are interested in. Let the colleges know who you are. I am finding out now that makes a difference. I didn't want to go at first thinking it was too early but now I see the value. I have admissions counselors emailing my grandmother directly if they have questions about my application because we established a relationship.

5. This also goes back to number 4; see the campuses if you can. I thought some colleges on paper were perfect until I went there and changed my mind. The college that ended up being my first choice wasn't even on my radar and I only went there because my grandmother scheduled it and I was going to please her.

6. Take your SAT and ACT in the spring of your junior year and get it over with.

To round up all this advice: I applied to eight colleges the first week of August. The ones with rolling admissions will have an answer for me soon. The ones with merit and need-based scholarships usually are first come/first served so I will be near the top of that list. But mostly, I will get to enjoy my senior year and have most of this done and decided. Yes, I will still have to file my FAFSA in October but I will concentrate only on that without worrying about the rest of this. I am glad I got most of this done my junior year. I hope this helps. I know it helped me.

Hi! Based on my research about getting prepared for college. I would recommend to participate in extracurriculars, start narrowing down your list of colleges you want to to apply to. And maybe try and do dual credit now in your junior year. If not do it in your senior year.