BACK TO SCHOOL TIPS FOR HIGH SCHOOLARS

• Foster relationships with teachers. You’ll want recommendations from the people teaching you this year, so make your class time counts. Participate, seek help from teachers outside of class, and be memorable. Make it clear to the teachers of your favorite subjects that you’re passionate about their class and the material. Get good grades and leave a lasting impression.
• Stay organized. Junior year is packed tight with standardized tests, demanding coursework, leadership responsibilities, college research, and more. Staying on top of all these commitments will become exceedingly stressful without organization and efficiency. Keep a calendar or agenda, either physical or virtual, and schedule in test prep, homework, clubs, sports, and whatever else occupies your time. Even free time should get penned in to concrete time slots, giving you some breathing room, and ensuring it has a specific end, keeping R&R from bleeding over into the rest of your day.
• Research schools based on your interests, not rankings. A balanced college list includes a couple of reaches, but also target and likely schools. Rather than building your list off of US News & World Report, look up programs you’re interested in. Think about setting, campus life, and more. Cross-referencing all of these categories will help refine your search to a list of schools you want to visit. This means you should also start planning and taking those trips.