5 Things To Do As A Rising Sophomore This Summer

Level 1 - Baby Steps

Welcome! With the summertime upon us, many parents and students are trying to find ways to make the most of their summer.

The first thing to remember is that you should take some time in the summer to rest and recharge from the academic year. The science shows that students who take rest in their summers tend to perform better. It is similar to exercising a specific muscle - you can keep working it out, but you will receive diminishing returns without changing things up.

That is not permission to just take the summer off though.

To help with the summer, we have put together 5 things that rising sophomores can do to maximize their chances of success in the coming academic year and best prepare for college.

Have Conversations About College With Your Family

There is no such thing as “too early” to discuss college, but you should definitely have conversations about college as a family now if you have not already. Whether you are a guidance counselor, educator, parent, or student reading this, you need to have the right conversations about college.

This is not about where you are going to college (although the outcome of that conversation may be a pretty clear indication of what kind of college you are going to). It’s about understanding the college possibilities in front of you.

The most important thing to do is to be honest.

Are you able to afford college? If so, to what extent?

What type of parental support will you have?

Do you need to stay in-state?

Are you attempting to seek scholarships? Is the military your pathway to a college education?

All of these types of questions need to be answered so you know what is and is not possible for you.

Assess Your High School Curriculum For Your Future

Freshman year usually has a pretty strict set of requirements, either because you have to take certain classes for graduation requirements, or because you need to take certain prerequisites for other courses later on.

Sophomore year is the first year where you start to have a lot more flexibility in deciding what you take when.

This is an opportunity to assess your course plan for the remaining 3 years of high school.

While the all-important junior year tends to take the focus, many neglect that sophomore sets you up for it. You cannot take Calculus in junior year if you have not taken pre-calc as a sophomore.

That’s why you need to be sure that your sophomore year, and all of the other years, are setting you up for success.

Stick With A Sport

This usually gets heat from some parents, but we are staunch believers in students doing a sport. It does not matter what that sport is, and it does not really matter what level of competitiveness you do them (although you should try to push yourself). In our experience, any student with commitment and decent athleticism will probably find themselves on a varsity squad in some sport if they choose to be.

But the importance of a sport is to bring a well-roundedness to your application, as well as to provide a healthy way to deal with the inevitable stress you will face applying to college. The health benefits are immense, and it sets you up for healthy habits in college, where many fall by the wayside.

But beyond that, playing a sport provides you with a different dimension that purely academic focused students do not get. Remember, admissions is a game where you WANT to stand out. Adding in things that others do not have is a good way to actually stand out for positive reasons.

Assess Your Extracurriculars

After freshman year, now is a good time to assess the extracurriculars you have joined and whether they are good fits for you.

You assess extracurriculars based on how they align with your interests and the level of impact you will have with them.

If freshman year was your chance to sample a lot of food, now is the time to start making the final menu by trimming down the fat.

Align On Your Standardized Testing Plans

Sophomore year is a good time to take the SAT and potentially the PSAT. These are not final exams and in the case of the PSAT, it is not counting toward National Merit Scholarships.

But they do provide an indication of how you would do in the exams and gives you a year to start thinking about how to develop an effective testing plan.

For example, if you see that you are doing poorly on the math sections, determine what needs to happen to address it.

Is it because you have not had enough math in high school? Is it a test strategy challenge? Do you need prep work?

All of these things can be resolved, and be handled in such a way that by the time the exams really count, you’re prepared.

But do not take this time and think these exams are “no big deal.” They are diagnostics tests that can help separate you from the pack if you are actually careful with taking the time necessary use the feedback from them carefully.

Figure out what, if anything, you will do to prepare and what timeline you will use to prep for taking the SAT/ACT based on the feedback you will receive.