{"id":2058,"date":"2014-06-11t09:00:12","date_gmt":"2014-06-11t16:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/sat\/?p=2058"},"modified":"2021-01-06t14:30:10","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06t22:30:10","slug":"junior-year-making-that-college-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/junior-year-making-that-college-list\/","title":{"rendered":"junior year: making that college list"},"content":{"rendered":"

enjoy this new post from one of magoosh’s high school bloggers<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

 
\ni want a shirt that says \u201c2nd semester junior year.\u201d i then want to burn that shirt.<\/p>\n

if you are in my situation, then you are either: 1) shredding all your used ap books, 2) sobbing uncontrollably as finals creep around the corner, or 3) contemplating permanent hibernation.<\/p>\n

\"junior<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

as hectic as junior year is, though, the paranoia has a purpose. college application season is really just a few months away. <\/p>\n

junior year is an integral time to start narrowing down your college choices. you\u2019ve probably heard this same thing from a dozen people, but it\u2019s true! make that college list. <\/strong><\/p>\n

there are literally thousands of colleges in the u.s, and thousands more across the globe. from all of these choices, how can you possibly narrow your choices down to just a handful? <\/p>\n

here are a few different factors to look into when looking for potential colleges.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1) greek life<\/h2>\n

ah, the greek life. some people really couldn\u2019t care for it, but to others it\u2019s an essential part of the college experience. if you\u2019re set on joining a school with a vibrant sorority\/fraternity culture, check out schools with high percentages of their student body involved with greek life. the huffington post has a nice compilation of colleges with the most greek life<\/a>. <\/p>\n

 
\n

\"junior<\/a><\/center>
\n <\/p>\n

2) setting<\/h2>\n

are you adamant about staying close to home? or are you dying to get out of your state? when you\u2019re looking for colleges, don\u2019t just look at its state or general region — you might also want to look at the city it\u2019s situated in. some college towns are notorious for being pricey, socially dead, or even dangerous. <\/p>\n

 
\n

\"junior<\/a><\/center>
\n <\/p>\n

3) demographics<\/h2>\n

i know a lot of people who refuse to go to certain schools for their population\u2019s general political stance or ethnic demographic. if you\u2019re a die-hard conservative republican, for example, you might feel a bit uncomfortable at uc berkeley. if you\u2019re looking for a school with lots of religious diversity, you might not want to apply to brigham young university. this nice list of colleges<\/a> from the u.s. news & world report details colleges with high rates of ethnic diversity. check it out if that\u2019s something you\u2019re looking for!<\/p>\n

 
\n

\"junior<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4) academics<\/h2>\n

what? you have to learn in college, too?! factors like class size and quality professors often make the difference between mediocre and top-notch academics. if this is important to you, check out the student-to-teacher ratio<\/a> of the schools you\u2019re applying to. if you know what you\u2019re majoring in, check out the top schools in that area of expertise. oftentimes, top-notch schools will not necessarily offer the best programs for your specific career path. <\/p>\n

 
\n

\"junior<\/a><\/center>
\n <\/p>\n

5) retention rate<\/h2>\n

retention rate is basically the amount of enrolled students who actually graduate without dropping out or switching out. generally, a school\u2019s retention rate<\/a> is a great marker of student satisfaction. if you\u2019re looking into a school with a 99% retention rate, chances are the student population is a happy one.<\/p>\n

 
\n

\"junior<\/a><\/center>
\n <\/p>\n

6) name brand<\/h2>\n

here come the big boys. if raising eyebrows at dinner parties and on your resum\u00e9 is essential for you, you probably want to look into ivy league schools (or almost-ivies). if you decide to apply to these top schools, however, it\u2019s important to remember that they are almost always \u201creach\u201d schools. this means that almost no one is a guaranteed shoo-in. <\/p>\n

 
\n

\"junior<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

takeaway<\/h2>\n

hopefully, these will help narrow down your college choices! college visits, virtual campus tours, college reviews, and youtube videos made by current students can all help, too. when you finally do make your college list, make sure to include a mix of safety schools (schools which are pretty much guaranteed shoo-in\u2019s), match schools (schools where you have a decent chance of getting in), and reach schools (schools which are long shots). <\/p>\n

don\u2019t apply only to ivies — and don\u2019t cheat yourself out of applying to a good school because you don\u2019t think you\u2019re good enough! <\/p>\n

looking for colleges doesn\u2019t have to be a total chore. it\u2019s one of the most important steps of the college application process, but it\u2019s also one of the most rewarding. <\/p>\n

 
\n

\"junior<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

 
\nwhere do you want to spend the next four years of your life? it\u2019s all up to you. well, that is, unless your name is \u201c2nd semester junior year.\u201d<\/p>\n

2nd semester junior year can go take a long walk off a short pier. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

enjoy this new post from one of magoosh’s high school bloggers!   i want a shirt that says \u201c2nd semester junior year.\u201d i then want to burn that shirt. if you are in my situation, then you are either: 1) shredding all your used ap books, 2) sobbing uncontrollably as finals creep around the corner, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[24894],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\njunior year: making that college list<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"junior year has a bad reputation for a reason - you have ap tests, the sat, and you have to start planning for college. as hectic as junior year is, narrowing down your college choices is a really important task. check out 6 important things to consider as you make that college list.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/junior-year-making-that-college-list\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"junior year: making that college list\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"junior year has a bad reputation for a reason - 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