Sophomore: School Year

Take high school seriously. College admissions officers will look at your transcript and GPA.
Plan your junior year classes.
Talk with your parents about how your college education will be paid for and how much you can afford to spend.

Take the PSAT if your school offers it and allows sophomore to take it.
Take the PLAN test if your school offers it.
Research careers or college majors that interest you.
Do something productive during the summer, such as volunteer work, internships, or summer classes.
Think about what you need and want in a college.

Introduce yourself to your child's counselor.
Think about how your child's college education will be paid for.
Determine your family's affordability threshold.
Talk with your child about how his or her college education will be paid for and your family's affordability threshold.

- Review and update your academic plan; include challenging courses.

- Work hard to get good grades.

- Save a few examples of your best work (essays, projects, etc.)

- Keep an updated resume.

- Stay involved in extracurricular activities.

- Explore potential career options: talk to people, check the Internet, job shadow, etc.

- Start thinking about colleges you'd like to visit.

- Establish relationships with your teachers and your counselor.

- Talk with college students about their experiences.

- Keep and organize any college or career information that you think is important.