How do I build my college application?

Hey there @lori!

You're only a sophomore, which may feel stressful, but you have about a year before you have to start worrying about your college applications. It's okay if you don't know what you want to major in yet-- a lot of people don't even know when they start college, so it's great that you've narrowed it down to three or so choices already! Take a deep breath; you'll be fine.

The first step is focusing on your extracurriculars. Do you play any sports or musical instruments? Do you sing or dance or act? Do you like to write, paint, or cook? Are you part of any clubs at your school? One of the biggest parts of college applications are your activities, and sophomore year is a great time to start focusing on them even more. If you want ECs specific to your major, you can look up summer programs and internships that focus on these areas of study.

The second step is preparing for the SAT and ACT. You've probably already taken a PSAT or Pre-ACT, so you should have a general understanding of what the tests are like. If not, I recommend going on the SAT and ACT websites, where you can find a free practice test that is the same length and has similar questions to the actual test. It will also provide you with a scoring guide so you can get and idea of what you're good at and what you need to improve upon before you take the actual tests. Khan Academy has some SAT resources, and there are also communities on sites like Reddit dedicated to people discussing the SAT, so there might be some more sources for studying on there.

You don't need to start worrying about recommendation letters quite yet, but if you have teachers who you like/know well, you can start thinking about asking them to write you recommendations in a few years.

Last but not least, if you haven't connected with your school's counselor about college, now would be a good time to do that, just so you become acquainted before next year. If you go to a public school, the counselor's attention will be spread between a lot of students who all need recommendations and advice. If you go to a private/college prep school, you might not have to worry about getting to know your counselor quite yet, as they may have more time and less students to worry about.

For now, the best thing you can do is keep your grades up, focus on your ECs, and be conscious of (but not worry about) college. Good luck!