Getting ready for College

Answered

Hi, I'm also a sophomore. To answer your question, there isn't really a specific set of rules you should follow to "do good your junior year." I took extra classes that are specific to what I intend on majoring in when I go to college. For me, that is all of the AP/honors science, math, and English classes. For you, it might be something like AP/Honors history, communication/reasoning, English, statistics, psychology classes. Try to "spike" in your interest (law). If you really need to sacrifice your science class to do well in AP World history or something like that, go for it. But try to do well in all of your classes so your GPA can increase.

Another thing you could do is take classes at a local community college and gain credits in that. Colleges like applicants who have struggled in college courses.

At this point, your GPA won't dramatically increase. It isn't realistic for it to be a 4.0, but you could get it to a 3.5-3.6 if you work really hard! You really only have junior year to work on your academic profile, because in senior year you will have to submit college apps. If you can't get your GPA where you want it, try to get higher ACT/SAT scores to compensate for your GPA.

If you haven't been doing extracurricular activities, now would be the best time to start. Try out new clubs and activities at your school, If you don't have anything that you would want to do, try to start up a club. The activities you don't have to be related to your interest though, as long as you do something outside of school, it counts. I am planning on going into medicine, but I'm not doing activities like sewing a person back together, although it would be a good club to be in. The main thing here is to find something you are passionate about, don't just do it to put it on your college application. Some clubs related to your interest are BPA/DECA, debate, speech, mock trial, model UN, student government, peer tutoring, etc. You could also try interning or volunteering at a law firm, or try to make a change in your community.

While you do all these activities and classes, make sure you feel healthy and happy. As soon as you start feeling stressed all the time or scared, take a break. It will definitely affect your performance. Also, prioritize your academic life over your social life (for now). Most people don't want to admit it but, your friends will not be there your whole life. So, it doesn't matter if you don't go to your friend's party or not. What you do now, will affect your future in some shape or form. Use that energy to improve yourself and your well-being!

I didn't want to leave the response on a negative note so the links below have some info that could be useful. I really hope this helped! Good luck with law school, I'm sure you'll do great! :)

https://blog.collegevine.com/extracurriculars-for-high-schoolers-interested-in-studying-political-science/

https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-become-a-lawyer-steps-to-take-from-high-school/

https://blog.collegevine.com/pre-law-requirements/

https://blog.collegevine.com/summer-activity-ideas-for-the-hopeful-future-lawyer/

https://blog.collegevine.com/law-internships-for-high-school-students/

https://www.collegevine.com/livestreams/3796/how-to-become-a-lawyer