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Winter Break Can Help Juniors Get Into College

Posted on: December 15, 2016 by: dee

If you are a high school junior, winter break is an ideal time to catch up on your college preparations or get an extra edge ahead of the competition.

As a junior in high school, there are only a few months remaining before you apply to college. Therefore, how you spend your remaining time can make a difference between an acceptance or denial to your dream college, especially if you are applying to the Ivy League or another top college.

Recently, I reported to the Huffington Post six ideas for your winter break to increase your chances of getting accepted to a top college.

Here is the list of recommendations for high school juniors:

Volunteer — Winter break is a perfect time for high school juniors to volunteer and contribute to the local community.
Shadow experience — During the time off, you can observe a business or organization to learn about a career or gain a new skill.
Read — Many college applications ask what you read in your free time to see how you continue to learn outside the classroom. Juniors can use the time off of school to catch up on their personal reading list.
Research — With a few free weeks, high school juniors can research an important question related to their academic interests, which looks great both for college applications and letters of recommendation.
Innovate — With the extra time, juniors in high school can brainstorm creative ideas to solve problems or invent new products that will benefit society.
Plan — As your college applications are near, you can use your free time to create a college strategy and list the steps that remain to meet all the requirements for your applications.

Each year, top colleges, such as Harvard and Stanford, become more selective and difficult to get into. Therefore, by taking advantage of your time off from school to explore your interests and continue learning, you will further distinguish yourself from other students.

The Ivy Dean helps high school juniors create a strategic college plan with recommendations for how to stand out from the competition. You may learn more about junior-year services here.

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