In short, yes. But keep reading, especially if you’re currently a sophomore or you’re the parent of a sophomore.
The time to debunk the line of thinking that “junior year is THE college year” is now. For far too long, we’ve seen students put off college prep until the beginning of junior year. We’ve worked with plenty of clients who come to us during their junior year, only to find out that they’re fairly behind in the process. We make it work, but this can be avoided!
Our advice is to start preparing for your standardized tests during your sophomore year, ideally during the second half. Standardized testing was a complete mess last year, and we’re still seeing the fallout. We can’t predict the future, but we can look at the past and figure out the best path forward. Even before the pandemic, we worked with our TKG sophomores to put together a test prep plan for sophomore year. And now, as test dates are being cancelled the day of, we cannot stress this enough: you need to start preparing in tenth grade.
Why? Covid-19 aside, we have a few reasons. Taking the ACT and preparing for the ACT are two entirely different things. All the time, we hear “I’m just going to take it at the beginning of my Junior year.” Our response is: but when are you going to study?
Pandemic aside, very few high school students sit for a standard test just once. Most people take it, identify their weaknesses, study again, and then retake the test. Sitting for tests multiple times is not something that anyone should bank on as we continue to grapple with Covid-19, so it’s best to start preparing now and feel well prepared walking into your first SAT or ACT. If you wait until Junior year to study, there’s a chance that you’ll underperform and never get a chance to retake the test.
It’s also worth mentioning that even if you don’t subscribe to the theory that Junior year is only year that matters, and you’re doing all of the things, Junior year is still going to be insanely busy. Your classes should be harder, you should be deeply committed to your extracurricular activities, you should be applying to jobs and internships, and you should also be maintaining some semblance of a social life so that you don’t pull your hair out. Getting a head start on test prep will save you copious amounts of time, and lessen the strenuous load of Junior year.
If you’re wondering how to start, just start. Take a practice SAT and a practice ACT and see which one you like better. Set aside a few hours a week and put together a realistic and manageable prep plan that you can stick to. This way, you can chip away at things over time instead of stressing out over a last-minute overnight cram session.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the college process, drop us a line. The college process doesn’t have to be so stressful.