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, the Academic Coordinator 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.