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DRSS Students Open Up: 10 Tips for Completing Junior Year


As a rising senior, there are many things that this past year has taught me. So, for all of you reading this, I hope the advice bellow will help you be successful in your future high school career (all tips and tricks listed below are based on one student’s experience; your results may vary).

  1. Redoing your portfolio may be a good idea because your current one may look so unprofessional. If you are thinking about re-doing your portfolio, start from a new template and NOT the night before your portfolios are due.

  2. Always make time for yourself to relax because you WILL get stressed, and you WILL need to relax, whether it’s exercising, reading a book, or binge-watching an entire show on Netflix in one night. Whatever relaxes you, make sure to make time for yourself.

  3. Time management is KEY in your junior year, so be prepared to be organized.

  4. You might think that your sophomore year was the hardest experience you will ever have at STEM: you are wrong. Junior year is by far the most difficult because you will be taking the PSAT, ACT, SAT, and preparing for college.

  5. Junior year is not the year to try and bring up your 1.0 GPA. For all you 8th grade students out there, try your best 9th grade year because colleges will see your grades from all years. This is not saying don’t try junior year, just that bringing up your GPA can be difficult in the last year colleges will see.

  6. If you are planning to do ACT prep, then start it ASAP.

  7. Projects are much more integrated, and there are a lot more of them. If you aren’t quite sure what Project Based Learning is, you definitely will after your junior year.

  8. Sleep is very important when it comes to junior year. Getting by on only 3 hours of sleep a night is not healthy and can cause even more stress than necessary.

  9. Choose your elective wisely. Pick something that interests you, not your friend.

  10. Lastly, junior year goes by incredibly fast, so cherish the little things; don’t blink because before you know you’ll be a senior.

Junior year was a rollercoaster of emotions that went by in the blink of an eye. I look to the future and hope my senior year is the best one yet


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