GRADE 8

Career Fair & Presentations
Students will work with the Counseling Team and Academic Coordinator to explore a variety of career and post-secondary options and compare them with the student's interests and skill sets.

Standardized Testing
The PSAT 8/9 will be administered to all CMIS students. This is a good experience to begin the practice of standardized testing and to review data to help future test preparation. MAP test results can also be used to determine strengths.

G9 Course Selections
Review the requirements for obtaining a CMIS diploma, including the number of courses in each subject area and minimum credit requirements in each.  Understand the required courses in G9 and explore flexible options in Arts, Languages, Science and Mathematics. 

GRADE 9

Personalized 4 Year Plan
Each student will meet with the Counseling Team to map out a draft 4-year plan for the courses they likely want to study. Keep in mind this is just a draft and it is ok if this path changes based on new information.

Focus on Study Skills
High school usually brings more homework, including multi-step projects that will require some planning. Many students will be ready to take on AP courses and/or exams but it is ok to wait until G10 for this.

Balance your Experiences
High school is also a great time to try something new. Be sure to find a balance where you can show a variety. Colleges would much rather see you excited about a few meaningful activities than marginally involved with a long list of clubs. 

Service Learning
In order to graduate, CMIS requires you complete a minimum of 60 hours of volunteering. Your service learning does not need to be with an organization associated with the school. Contact the Service Learning Coordinator for more information.

University Exploration
Begin to research areas of the world and specific countries that students are interested in considering for their post-secondary education. Become familiar with how the university application process works and begin to research specific programs and schools they are interested in.

Standardized Testing
The PSAT 8/9 will be administered to all CMIS students again in G9. Students can compare data from G8 and G9 to make sure they are on track for future College Board exams. MAP test results can be used to determine strengths.

GRADE 10

Review / Revize 4 Year Plan
Each year of High School, students will review their 4 year plan during the scheduling process and revise their courses of study as needed. This will be in coordination with the High School Principal, Academic Coordinator and High School Counsellor.

Standardized Testing

Students will take the PSAT/NMSQT exam for the first time, which is a more advanced form of this test. This will allow them to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship as well as the National Honors Society.  The final MAP test can be examined to determine strengths. This year you should be developing strategies to prepare for the SAT or ACT.

Look for Leadership Opportunities

Start looking for leadership opportunities. You might look into being an officer in a club, come up with a new club, or dedicate yourself to an independent activity. Consider joining NHS / STUCO / Interact. This is also a good time to consider internships and other opportunities to enhance your application.

Keep Your Grades Up

If your freshman-year grades weren’t as high as you would have hoped, don’t worry too much; you can catch up. In fact, an upward grade trend—a steady rise in your GPA from one year to the next—can be beneficial to your application.

However, now you really need to buckle down. Don’t get complacent; your graders matter more this year. Check out How to Beat the Sophomore Slump in High School for more tips on keeping your grades up.

Challenge Yourself

You will have more choices in courses this year. Make sure to challenge yourself with APs. You don’t need to take every AP available, but if you think you can handle the course load, take the course. You should definitely pursue challenging courses in your speciality—the area in which you want to focus in college. For instance, if you’re a Maths whiz and future engineer, that means the honors track for math and AP Calculus at some point. You should also explore your specialty through electives and additional courses.

Start Creating Your College List

Now is the time when you should start thinking about where you want to go to college. While you may have your eye on the most selective schools, you should also be considering other factors like location, size, type, and student body. Begin to research programs that you are interested in and record the specifics of the application process.

GRADE 11

G11 Grades and Course Rigor

Colleges want to see what you’re capable of. As the last full school year before college applications are due, a successful junior year will show colleges your current academic skills. No pressure of anything, but getting really good grades in challenging classes is even more important now than it was during your sophomore or freshman years.

Keep a close eye on your grades. Search out your teachers for extra help, find a tutor if you need support and be sure to keep up with your deadlines.

If you haven’t already considered which classes you want to take as a senior, now’s the time. You’ll need to make sure that you’re on track to meet all graduation requirements.

Learn more about how college admissions officers look at grades.

Find out what college admissions officers learn from your class choices.

College Research

You probably already have a dream school in mind—and that’s great!—but you need to look into a variety of other schools and generate a solid list of safety schools, target schools, and reach schools. The sooner you finalize the list of colleges you want to apply to, the sooner you’ll know exactly what you need to do to get in. How much do you need to boost your SAT or ACT scores by? Which, if any, Subject Tests do you need to take? How many essays will you have to write? How many recommendation letters will you need to ask for? You can also begin to research financial aid and scholarships for your desired schools and countries.

AP Exams

If you’re taking any AP classes junior year, you’ll need to pencil in time to prep for the end of course AP exams. Good scores on AP exams give you the opportunity to earn college credit for your high school coursework, so it’s definitely worth the time and effort to prepare for these rigorous exams.

Get AP exam prep tips.

SAT Prep

If you haven’t already, it’s time to start prepping for the SAT. Depending on your college application deadlines, you’ll have a limited number of chances to reach your score goals. The sooner you start SAT prep, the more opportunities you have to meet your goal and the higher your ultimate score will be.

Find out the key to good test scores.

Check out our top 10 SAT and ACT prep tips.

Leadership Opportunities

If freshman year was about exploring your extracurricular options and sophomore year was about narrowing down your focus, a successful junior year is about diving headlong into the extracurricular activities you’re most passionate about. Colleges look for students who follow through on the things that interest them, and one of the best ways to demonstrate that is to strive for leadership roles in your extracurricular activities. If these roles aren’t available to you as a junior, work toward leadership positions for next year by staying active in the clubs, teams, or groups you’re involved in.

Internships

Attend the ‘Higher Education Talks’. Multiple Wednesday afternoons a month, Ms. Aon hosts higher education talks that cover multiple topics and guest speakers. 

Look out for College Reps on campus. You will be notified when there is a college representative visiting CMIS or if there are any other university fairs available.

GRADE 12

Senior Seminar

Your first semester in G12 you will be in Senior Seminar. This is a pass/fail class. You will focus on all things college as well as various life skills. Additionally, you will work on your resume and college essay.

Create a Unifrog and Common App account. UCAS account for the UK. (All other countries are applied to directly with the assistance of Ms. Aon.

If you intend on applying to colleges in the US, you will need to create accounts on above platforms. You will receive assistance with this during Senior Seminar. If you plan on applying to non US colleges, schedule a meeting with Ms. Aon. Each country has its own unique requirements. If applying to Thai colleges you will need to create a portfolio. Ms. Aon can help you with this.

Narrow your list of colleges to between five and 10

Meet with a counselor about your college choices and, if you haven’t done so yet, download college applications. Create a master list or calendar that includes tests you’ll take and their fees, dates, and registration deadlines.  College application due dates 

Take the SAT® one more time: 

Many seniors retake the SAT in the fall. Additional course work since your last test could help you boost your performance. Plus you already know what to expect on test day.

Prepare early decision/early action or rolling admission applications as soon as possible. Colleges may require test scores and applications between Nov. 1 and Nov. 15 for early decision admission.

Ask Mr. Doug and 2 teachers for recommendations if you need them. Give each teacher or counselor an outline of your academic record and your extracurricular activities

Write first drafts of college essays and ask Mr. Doug and/or Mr. Sawyer and others to read them.

Take any AP® Exams. Show what you’ve learned in your AP classes. A successful score could even earn you credit, advanced placement, or both in college.

Waitlisted by a college? If you intend to enroll if you are accepted, tell the admission director your intent and ask how to strengthen your application. Need financial aid? Ask whether funds will be available if you’re accepted.

Ask your high school to send a final transcript to your college.

If you are accepted to a college that is not in a country of which you hold the appropriate VISA, start the application process asap.

Complete Check-Out List provided to you