09 Feb Road Map for February: Sophomores

One of my main pieces of advice for 10th graders is to start exploring colleges, and college fairs offer a great way to do this. There are two terrific opportunities coming up in March for students in the DC area: in-person fairs hosted by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), and an information session and college fair held by Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL).  These events will give you opportunities to get an overview of a variety of colleges in one setting, as well as meet admissions staff and ask questions about each school. (For all dates and locations, click here for NACAC events and here for CTCL events.)

It’s also time to start making your summer plans. Will you be doing some of the same things you’ve done in previous summers? Are there opportunities to pursue new activities that you’ve enjoyed during the school year? Would you benefit from having a summer job or doing community service?  The specific things you do are less important than spending your summer on things that are constructive and that you enjoy and find meaningful. One additional note for students who have to complete service-learning in order to graduate: I recommend (1) doing the bulk of your service at one place, which allows you to have more substantive experience and (2) getting it done during the summer when you have more time to devote.

Some students might also want to do test prep in the summer to keep the junior year workload more manageable, and possibly complete testing earlier and have it off your plate. If this sounds like it might be a good choice for you, think about what time you’ll have available during the summer and how you could fit in test prep most easily.