What Do You Do to Prepare for College Applications if You are a Sophomore?

Firstly, the great news is that you’ve got time! Sophomore year is a fab time to begin building a stellar profile that’s going to make those universities wanna ‘come get this pollen’ (in the legendary words of Sabrina Carpenter). 

It is also a time to get seriously strategic and choose carefully which courses and extracurriculars you want to invest your time in. In the panic that the admittedly terrifying world of college admissions can induce, it can be tempting to take on all sorts of different courses and extracurriculars but the key is to remain focused on building a cohesive profile. 

Basically, think like an Olympic diver. Breathe. Believe in yourself. 

To earn the ultimate gold medal of college admission, choose activities and courses that show off your unique skill set, work well together, and then perform at your best in them. 

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1. Determine your academic niche

I know you are many things. But for that speed-reading admissions officer, you’ve gotta narrow down the field. You get to put down 10 extra-curricular activities on the common application, but really you want those to revolve around 2-3 aspects of yourself that you want to show off, and one or two of these can bolster the strength of the primary academic interest that you are declaring. 

For example, you are keen to major in English literature–so maybe you can run a literary society or book club at school, volunteer for a program where you help teach younger kids in your area to read, submit essays for essay competitions, embark on a literary analysis research project, or potentially take a journalism/publishing/insert other literature linked summer course. 

You may also connect a passion for debating or for theater to a love of language.  

A sneaky reminder here too: you are not committed to majoring in the subject you say you want to major in. Therefore, if you have a couple of subjects that you are equally passionate about, you may want to think about emphasizing and building your application profile around the one that is more niche, and that the college may see fewer applicants declaring as an interest. However, you will need to prove your interest in that field, hence building a cluster of activities and course choices around that subject. 

Sophomore year is the perfect time to start making intentional choices about what you want to invest your time in. To start this process you might want to talk to someone about the things you enjoy doing and that you are genuinely interested in; often a connecting thread will begin to emerge and you can use that as a starting point for deciding which new things you want to start, which you may want to drop, and which you want to continue doing. 

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2. Plan your summer strategically

It may feel tempting to spend most of your summer in bed, and, fear not, lie-ins can still be a significant component of your summer, but if you’re looking to go to an elite college, you gotta get out there! But stay calm, there are SO many options. You could do a summer course, use one of the research opportunities, be a counselor at a summer camp, take on a job or a volunteering role near you, the list really goes on and on. It can be fun, and it does not have to take up the whole summer. 

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3. Keep those grades up. 

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the pressure of maintaining high grades, but remember to break it down. Good grades start with a good routine–with good sleep, with an effective daily study routine, and with focusing on your classes at school. 

Remember that efficiency is your friend–you don’t need to be spending hours on flashcards if 30 minutes of active studying is going to make the information stick in your brain longer. Different things work for different people, but be realistic with yourself and adapt if your study process isn’t working for you. 

Personally, I liked pretending to be a teacher and explaining concepts out loud to my imaginary students in 45-minute chunks of time! 

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Conclusions

As a sophomore, laying the groundwork for your college applications is all about exploring your passions and building a story that sets you apart. Engaging in meaningful activities, like research projects, not only enhances your skills but also provides tangible evidence of your intellectual curiosity and commitment to learning.