• Sophomore Year 

    Congratulations! You made your way through 9th grade, and now you're probably wondering what to expect your sophomore year in high school. It's not as nerve-wracking as your Freshman year, where everything is new. Instead, being a Sophomore means knowing enough to start your focus on college and/or your career path after high school. Being a 10th grader means taking things a little more seriously while being more comfortable in your surroundings.

    Classes Get a Bit Harder

    Now that you're in your sophomore year, teachers no longer hold your hand. You'll be expected to do more work and take more responsibility. It's expected that you built up your study skills during your freshman year that you can now take and build on during your sophomore year. The amount of homework goes up, and the classes get even more challenging. It's also your chance to make up for any mistakes you made during your freshman year. Maybe you struggled during 9th grade as you settled in. Now that you feel more comfortable, you can start thinking about building back up your GPA.

    The PSAT/Pre-ACT

    One of the biggest obstacles of your high school career will be taking the SAT and/or ACT. Some students take only one, but others will take both. If you're planning to go to college, these tests are pretty much mandatory, and they are weighted pretty heavily in admission decisions.  It's important to learn this year the exam study skills that will help you focus. Be sure to take the PSAT and enroll in an ACT Prep class.  In the ACT Prep class you learn the components of the exams and how you can improve your testing skills. Taking the tests and the classes may not guarantee you a better score, but they certainly help many students stay focused.

    Choosing Electives Begins to Matter

    When you're a sophomore, electives begin to matter more to you both in honing your interests while also doing what will look good on college applications. Suddenly it seems like you're not choosing electives just to have fun, but instead to get into the places you want to go. Be careful here, though. You still want to enjoy high school, so even if you're doing after-school activities that you think matter, you should actually like doing them.

    College Becomes a Real Thought

    Suddenly your sophomore year becomes about thinking forward to college. You start to think first if you want to go to college. If you don't, what will you do? Then it becomes what college you want to go to. You know you have some time to decide where you're going, sure, but the thoughts start to seep in during this year.

     
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