Advice for Sophomores

In This Section

Greetings
College Visits to Community High
Month by Month Sophomore Planning Calendar

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Greetings from John, Diane and Karen:

Update your 4-year plan, check out the resources in the Counseling Office, do CAREER CRUISING and/or interest inventories with your counselor, and begin to think about life AFTER high school. Get involved in extracurricular and community service activities.

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College Visits to Community High

All students & Parents are welcome! If you are a freshman or sophomore, junior or senior, now is your time to get to know these wonderful schools while you’ve got time to shop, think, and learn. Don’t wait!

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Month-by-Month Sophomore Planning Calendar

Concentrate on academic preparation and continue to develop basic skills and co-curricular interests.

September

-Consult your Counselor about taking the PSAT in October. The PSAT is a preliminary test that will begin to prepare you for the SAT Reasoning Test. It is most often taken by juniors, but some soph’s may want to get an early start.
-If you plan on taking the ACT, talk to your guidance counselor about taking the PLAN this fall. The PLAN is a preliminary standardized test that will give you some preparation for the ACT. PLAN does not have national testing dates, so ask your guidance counselor about test dates offered by your school system.
-Take NCAA-approved courses if you want to play sports in college.

October

-Consider taking the PSAT for practice. The results will not be used for college admission.
-Sign up, if you have not done so already, for co-curricular activities that interest you. The level of involvement and accomplishment is most important, not the number of activities.
-Keep a record of your co-curricular involvement, volunteer work, and employment (all year).

November

-Make sure you are on top of your academic work. If necessary, meet with your teacher for additional help.
-Save your best work in academic courses and the arts for your academic portfolio (all year).

December

-Receive results of PLAN and/or the PSAT. Read materials sent with your score report. Consult your guidance counselor to explore ways to improve on future standardized tests and courses to discuss which may be required or beneficial for your post-high school plans.

January

-Keep studying
-Volunteer – it’s a great way to identify your interests and to develop skills.

February, March

-It is never too early to start researching colleges and universities. Visit your guidance office to browse through literature and guidebooks or surf the Web and check out college and university home pages.

April

Register for *June SAT Subject Test if appropriate. These are one-hour exams testing you on academic subjects that you have already completed. Among the many to choose from are biology, chemistry, foreign languages and physics. Many selective colleges require three SAT Subject Tests. Some colleges recommend/require Math Level 1 or Math Level 2. Not all SAT Subject Tests are given on every test date. Check the calendar carefully to determine when the Subject Tests you want are offered.
-See your guidance/college counselor for advice.
-Continue to research career options and consider possible college majors that will help you achieve your career goals.

May

-Plan now for wise use of your summer. Consider taking a summer course or participating in a special program (e.g., for prospective engineers or journalists or for those interested in theatre or music) at a local college or community college. Consider working or volunteering.

June

-Consider taking the SAT Subject Tests that you registered for in April.
-If you work, save some of your earnings for college.

July

-During the summer, you may want to sign up for a PSAT/SAT prep course, use computer software, or do the practice tests in books designed to familiarize you with standardized tests.

August

-Make your summer productive. Continue reading to increase your vocabulary.

(C) The National Association for College Admission Counseling.