In the scale of important years in high school I would put Junior year 3rd after my sophomore and seniors year. Sophomore year was a big growing time for me, while senior year was a very exciting time. By Junior year i'd say I had already established my presence in high school. Who I was, my friends ect.. had all been pretty solidified by junior year. I would also say that junior year was a good academic year for myself. Seeing how college was starting to become real and in the not too distant future I had decidedto buckle down a bit. Things like SAT classes and extra curricular activities were a big part of my life. I new this was going to be an important year in my life and I wanted to do well.
I think junior year can be a lost year for many. Those who know they may need financial aid for college and those looking to go to the top schools are usually the ones that are doing the most to make sure things are in order. For others it may be a more of a stepping stone year. The importance of junior year in the eyes of colleges may be the most important. Usually when applying for schools your grades for senior year still haven't been given yet. A lot of what the colleges are looking at are your junior year grades and achievements. Practice SATs are given usually to allow the students to get a gauge of where they stand. This enables the students and their parents to have a good idea of what things need to be worked on over the summer. Students in the market for scholarships, grants or financial aid really have to see the importance of junior year. You'd absolutely want to make your best impression on the schools at this time. This is definitely not the year to take it easy and relax. Many of my friends at the time did not realize this and spent a lot of senior year trying to make up for their junior mistakes. Even then, some of them had to settle for school they weren't thrilled about due to the lack of effort put in during junior year.
Putting in that little extra effort during junior year of high school can really be the difference in how colleges percieve you. Not only that but the boards that are deciding scholarship, grant or financial aid recipents will without a doubt be using your junior year transcripts as a big part of their decision making. If you are in your junior year as you read this, don't make the same mistakes some of my friends did. Take the time to put a little extra effort in and I promise you it'll pay off in the long run. This is the year to really do as much as you possibly can to put yourself in the best position possible. You can always have fun. Thats part of what high schools about, but be mindful of how important junior year can be for you.
Author Resource:
Ive wrote many articles on graduation and high school. You can learn about scholarships for high school juniors or other more specific scholarships and grants at my websites.