23 Jan 2018

Spring Semester – To Do’s

Hello, and welcome back from winter break! With your short reprieve from reality now over, we thought now would be the perfect time to remind you of your future realities: college!

Your school year is now about halfway over (yes, the technical midpoint of your school year is a month or so away, but winter break certainly seems like a midpoint), and that means you still have a lot of work to do. In addition to the mandatory schoolwork, you also have the odious tasks of college admissions to think about. So, with that in mind, here are our suggestions for what you should be working on for those frigid and gelid winter evenings!

Seniors
For the most part, your hard work should already be done. You’ve already applied to most of your colleges, right? If you have any applications left, complete them now. Literally. Right. Now. Do not delay anymore, as deadlines are final!

After your applications are in, wait patiently. Plan a reward for yourself for when those acceptance letters start to roll in. And don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get into your first-choice schools. That’s why you didn’t just apply to one school. In general, relax!

That being said, don’t slack in school. Keep up your hard work for a few more months, and make sure colleges don’t reconsider their decisions to admit you.

Juniors
You have the most on your plates this spring. Make sure you registered for winter or spring SAT and ACT administrations. Find out how many SAT Subject Tests you need to take for the schools you’ve been looking at, and register for those.

Next, study, study, study for the tests. Consult this blog for SAT and ACT practice questions, and don’t hesitate to ask for help from one of our talented and charismatic tutors.

Additionally, you should plan on visiting colleges in the spring and summer. Find out what schools are the best fits for you, and ask counselors at the schools what they need from you for your application. Try to narrow your list of schools down to a top 20 or 25. Sentia also provides college-consulting services, and our talented admissions experts would be more than happy to help you in your search.

Finally, keep up those grades! Your junior year is far and away the most important of your academic career, at least in terms of college admissions. Set a goal for yourself to get the best grades you’ve ever had in your life. A new year is a great (albeit arbitrary) time to turn a new leaf and become the best student in the history of the world. If you need help with your grades, don’t hesitate to ask Sentia for help there too. (See a trend, here? Ask for help in any areas of school. Better to be over prepared than underprepared, right?)

Sophomores
You should begin thinking of registering for standardized tests. You’ll need to take them at some point over the next two years, so you may as well get them out of the way earlier than the rest of your peers do. Take a practice ACT and SAT, and see which test is a better fit for you.

Regardless of which test you take, start improving your vocabulary now. Vocabulary is a major part of the SAT, but it can’t hurt you on the ACT to have an extensive vocabulary either. There really is no such thing as knowing too many words. And it is easier (and better) to learn vocabulary words slowly over several years, rather than cramming them into your brain a month before you sit for any tests. Read books and magazines at your difficulty level or even above your difficulty level, and improve your critical reading skills alongside your vocabulary.

You should also start looking at colleges and considering your options. Do you want to go to a big school or a small school? Close to home or far from home? In a city or in the middle of nowhere? Get at least a general idea of what kind of school you want to attend. Trust us. It’ll save you hours of time in the future.

Finally, keep your grades up. Having consistently high grades will make you a more attractive applicant to colleges, and now is also a great time to instill important study skills for your future academic career. If you need help with your grades, don’t hesitate to ask Sentia for help there too.

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