Talk with your school counselor to make sure you are meeting high school graduation (and minimum college admissions) REQUIREMENTS.  Maintain your grades during your junior year. Keep track of your attendance. Both will be on your high school transcript.  Make sure you are taking any required prerequisites for classes you hope to take as a senior.  Make sure you are challenging yourself academically. Advanced Placement Courses: (+2 points) May earn college credit based on your score on the Advanced Placement exam. Honors/ Advanced Courses: (+1 point): Shows colleges that you are willing to work beyond the minimum requirements. Career and College Promise: Keep informed about upcoming opportunities for students from the community college system. Now is the time to focus on CAREER research.  Online career assessments are available at (You need a user name and password to access them: If you need help, please see your counselor!)  Talk with family, friends, and other adults about their careers and the preparation required for them.  Take courses in high school that expose you to different careers. Career Technical Education (CTE) courses not only allow you insight into a variety of careers but MANY of them can translate into community college credit if you have a B or higher in the course and a raw score of 80 or higher on the VoCat assessment! Some of our classes are actually taught by community college instructors and offer students both high school and college credit. (Minimum GPA will be required for admission to those courses!) Finally, CTE offers some seniors opportunities for Advanced Studies courses or specialized internships.  Colleges do consider extracurricular involvement: Take a look at your work experience, clubs/activities (school or community), and volunteer service. Are you an active participant in something that indicates leadership and/or teamwork, time management skills, responsibility, and exploration of your career interests?  How do you spend your summer? Are you taking advantage of programs, workshops, or camps that highlight your specific interests and goals? Check out the Junior Newsletter, our website, and announcements for current information! Now is the time to focus on COLLEGE exploration. We expect that you know to which colleges you plan to apply when you return as a senior in August!  “Tour” colleges at or make plans to visit campuses during school breaks, summer vacation, or at college “Open House” weekends.  Talk with family and friends about their educational choices.  Find out which admissions tests are required at the schools you are researching. If you are going to a community college, you need to take the Accuplacer (free) second semester of your senior year; you can make an appointment to do so at HCC. If you are going to a 4-year institution, you will need to take the SAT and/or ACT. Most schools suggest you take one of these tests at least twice—your junior year (after your math course) or no later than October your senior year. There will be a fee.  If you are hoping to play sports at the college level, you should register online with the NCAA (over 1300 organizations) at or the NAIA (nearly 300 members) at in the spring of your junior year. You must certify your eligibility status (including grades and SAT). There will be a fee.  Look at college websites or come by our office to compare admissions requirements, majors offered, and costs! A great resource is the College Handbook, published annually by the College Board and available in the counseling center. Pisgah High School Counseling Center 2011