Junior year is stressful enough, so to add a global pandemic to your junior spring seems like a real rotten cherry to throw on top of a truly melted ice cream sundae covered in rancid nuts. Weird imagery, but we’re kind of right? We really feel for all of the juniors who had epic spring break college tours planned and who now are stuck at home wondering how to fill their time when they aren’t teaching themselves AP Calculus. We want to convey something to you and we really hope you hear us when we say: IT IS GOING TO BE OKAY. It really is. Take a breath. Repeat it with us: it’s going to be okay. And here’s why:
This is unprecedented
While the unknown is scary and feels like the darkness could get you, we think it’s going to end up working to your advantage. Colleges also don’t know how to fully assess students’ fit and performance in a global pandemic. It is unprecedented! The standards will shift accordingly and the pressure is still on, but it’s shifted to a different area. Instead of looking at what clubs you became president of and if you got a job or internship over the summer, colleges are going to be looking for evidence of resilience, motivation, and creative thinking during a time when lots of people are grasping at straws.
Which means…
You can use this time to your advantage
Yep, while the rapid spread of this virus is not in your control, this time (and how you spend it) is completely (well… sort of) in your control. By that, we mean that colleges are going to be impressed by students who used this time to continue building on the base that they spent freshman, sophomore, and the first part of junior year solidifying. Just because you can’t leave the house, doesn’t mean you are a different person. You still have the same interests and you are still in possession of the thing that matters most in the context of your college applications: your brain. So we’ve got to put it to work in a new way during the next few weeks and months and we finish up junior year strong and head into a crucial summer. You’re still you. Let’s highlight that.
Here’s how to think of the coming months as a junior, and three things to think about to make sure that you don’t come out of this behind. We’re going to highlight the four key things that you’re going to have to both reframe and focus on:
INTERESTS
Choose 1-2 of your hobbies and interests and continue to go deep by making a plan.
Spend some real time thinking about what aspect of your academic and personal interests you had wanted to highlight to colleges, and which you were planning to do through exciting extracurricular and independent projects. Think about how those principles can be transformed with a bit of intentionality and self-starting energy. This means reading books about your areas of interest (1 per week, at least!), taking those online courses that are offered by Yale, MIT, Princeton, edX, Coursera, and Khan Academy, and continuing to pursue some meaningful independent projects. See some examples of ideas under point 3 below. Think narrow and deep--choose 1-2 areas of interest that you’ve been cultivating over the last three years. Don’t start a totally new interest right now. It’s the time to double down, not to randomly branch out.
SCHOOL TOURS
Tons of colleges are offering online info sessions, virtual tours, and other ways to connect with their admissions teams online. Register for those and attend as many as possible during this time. You’re going to have to work harder to stay engaged and to get something tangible out of these events, so perhaps have a friend or family member attend alongside you (even if from a different house or part of town), and plan to debrief afterwards. This time should still be used to get to know schools in a different way (i.e. more personally through tours and info sessions, albeit virtually).
SUMMER JOBS/INTERNSHIPS/PROJECTS
This summer was supposed to be all about that internship and completing your college applications (Common App, essay, supplements). That doesn’t change, but your internship might look a little bit different. Assuming you won’t be able to work remotely, you’re now your own boss and you’re going to complete an independent project that highlights your interests that you can show to colleges. Some ideas:
Write a short novel
Write and test recipes for a cookbook
Put together a photography or art portfolio (you have the time!)
Teach yourself Ruby on Rails or take a part-time online coding/computer science workshop to learn a new skill
Love to bike? Build one from scratch.
Get on Zoom with your friends and head up a book club or weekly discussion group where you discuss a documentary, academic article, or research study that’s of interest to you. JSTOR is completely free right now. Take advantage. Record the sessions and create an impressive film that highlights you and your friends’ ability to analyze articles! It’s a weird flex, but could be fun and you can finally learn to use iMovie.
Call your family members and record Zoom calls with them where you learn and ask questions about your family’s ancestry and history. Put it together for your entire family to watch. It’s a dynamic way to engage your family, help tell their stories, and learn about different parts of history. This would be a great jumping off point for your college essay...just saying.
Another option is advocating for remote work. For example, let’s say your internship this summer was supposed to be you conducting research at a local university or doing some coding work for a local start-up. We suggest contacting them/whoever your supervisor was supposed to be and offer to do any remote work for free, in exchange for you being able to put it on your resume. Chances are, companies and organizations are downsizing to save on salaries but work still needs to get done. This is where you come in. Learning to work effectively and remotely is going to be a skill that is even more highly valued as time goes on. Don’t assume that just because formal internships are cancelled that the organization might not still want your help in some way. But they’re not going to come right out and say so. You have to ask. There are going to be creative opportunities that come out of this chaos, but you have to advocate for yourself to be able to help others see you as the person best suited to seize the moment.
TESTING
If you haven’t completed any testing at all by now, it’s crucial that you continue to study for the SAT or ACT. Same goes for if you’re planning to retake your tests. Testing does not go out the window completely. It still is a component of the application process and you should continue to study for and register for exams in the late summer and fall. While many schools are switching to test-optional, it’s important that you’re in the best possible position to take your exams as soon as you possibly can. Our theory is that schools are switching to test-optional more to minimize the inevitable reduction in their application numbers than to maximize accessibility.
Also, study for your AP tests and take them remotely. Learning to succeed in remote testing environments will only bode well for you.
ESSAYS
It is crucial to begin writing your main essay, supplemental essays, and to complete your applications according to schedule this summer. Because your time is more unstructured, you’re going to have to be even more diligent in creating and sticking to a schedule. Make one with a friend and set goals for yourselves. Hold each other accountable. Edit each other’s essays. Here’s a sample college application schedule that we’d advise using as a framework:
May
AP testing is a priority. Study and complete!
June
Finish up final exams, final papers, and complete junior year strong. You did it.
Take a look at your college list and narrow it to 15 schools, equally weighted in Reach, Target, and Safety categories.
Once school is over, create a Common App Account.
Fill out as much information in the Common App as possible.
Create your activity list. Use our guide here to format it.
Begin brainstorming Common App essay ideas. Use our guides to help with that.
Decide on an essay topic by the end of the month
July
By July 8: have a first draft complete of your Common App essay. Send to a friend or parent for feedback and editing suggestions.
By July 15: have a complete Common App, activities section, and a revised draft of your Common App essay.
Continue studying for outstanding testing! Register for future exams!
By July 30: run through 2-3 additional rounds of your essay and by the end of the month, it should be complete.
By July 30: finalize your school list. School lists might be a bit bigger this year (~12 schools instead of the 8-10 that we typically recommend), which is okay. We won’t have as much data this year because you couldn’t visit, but don’t go too crazy. Cap it at 12-13. No one needs to apply to 15 schools, even in a global pandemic.
August
Begin assembling your supplemental essays and get going on them! August is supplement month. We publish guides to completing them all that you should definitely use!
Continue studying for outstanding testing! Register for future exams!
While we know this isn’t exhaustive, nor might include your specific areas of interest, we want to be able to help you in whatever way we can during this truly uncertain and uncomfortable time.
Don’t hesitate to call or email us with questions or if you need some additional guidance.