Freshman year of high school flies by and before you know it, you are already preparing to step into 10th grade and become a sophomore. After a whole year of trial experience, you should be able to navigate high school rather smoothly. Before you create a conundrum in your head, here’s some advice for sophomores.

Pursue activities that truly interest you

The best advice for 10th graders we can give is to join as many clubs as you can. As obvious as this advice sounds, it may become blinding for students to decide if they seek involvement in a club or afterschool activity because they will feel enriched by it or they just want to write it down as one of their accomplishments in high school. You can join as many clubs as you want but if you are not truly interested in their cause and purpose, they are of no substance to you. It is better to invest time cultivating interests that you already have and explore interests you might want to pursue. Don’t ever make decisions about extracurricular activities based on what you think might look good on an application, be true to yourself. 

Take a language class all throughout high school

Being bilingual is a common occurrence nowadays. Language classes are usually a requirement because the skills you develop are extremely beneficial. Take the classes seriously, don’t just coast through the class and only aim to pass it. It will also help you when you go off to college, as a lot of institutions have opportunities to study abroad that will lead you to expand your academic and cultural boundaries.

Take practice standardized tests seriously

Since the PSAT has no stakes, a lot of students take it for granted. However, it is an incredibly good tool to gauge where you are and where you need to be. It will help you start studying for your standardized tests and give you a basis of experience so you know what the real tests will be like. Next year you will also be taking the PSAT in October, however, this time merit scholarships are at stake. The October test is called the PSAT/NMSQT, short for PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. If you score high enough, you can become eligible for scholarships that will help you finance college. If you have a good PSAT score in 10th grade, aim to get it higher for the PSAT/NMSQT.

Become involved in leadership opportunities

Sophomore year you are usually assisting club meetings and volunteer within some clubs at your school. After all the involvement, you know what can be beneficial to the club and what might need to be changed. It is your chance to better the club by becoming a club leader. This doesn’t only apply to clubs, but to every other aspect of your life. Start cooking for yourself, find a job, start tutoring, etc. Take leadership in and out of the classroom and try to seek out experiences that will prepare you to step out of your boundaries and will strengthen your leadership skills.

Challenge yourself

Another very obvious piece of advice, but one you really need to consider. You are not in high school just to go to a good college afterward. The knowledge, not only academically but personally, is going to start shaping who you are and who you will become. Choose classes strategically to align with your goals and interests. Always try to take the classes that will challenge your position and help you build your knowledge reservoir.

Know your boundaries

With that being said, don’t go crazy with your classes. Taking 16 APs in high school doesn’t mean anything if you got mostly C’s. Take classes that you know are within your potential and that will simultaneously allow you to have free time and enjoy high school. Instead of taking the most rigorous coursework, I would suggest crafting a schedule that you are intrigued by beyond the fact that it is an advanced class. Understand your boundaries now so that you know what type of classes and schedule you are able to manage in college.

Start creating your college list and visiting if you can

Start filing down on your interests and what you expect from your college experience. Write a list of what you want and what you don’t and make a list of colleges that you might be interested in looking into. Check out your local state school and universities to get a sense of what college life might look like. Even better, if you are able to travel and visit universities, start early. It is best when you are already informed in junior year and you only have a few other colleges to visit and you’re ready to make your final college list. Check out 5 Tips for Building Your First College List.

Learn to manage your time

Everyone works differently, therefore you will need to find the best way for you to be productive and manage the time you have to not only get work done but get to have fun as well. Sophomore year is great to start taking deadlines seriously. Try to follow a schedule and be realistic with the time you give yourself to study. Don’t cram!

Do your readings

Seriously. It is surprising the number of students who get by reading Cliff notes and summaries instead of actually reading what they are supposed to read. Even though that might be the case and you’re doing just fine, what are you learning from that? You are wasting your time and not really grasping the benefits that you gain from reading the actual novel, like problem-solving skills and being able to deduce things from the context given.

getting to know your guidance counselor

Build a relationship with your guidance counselor

Senior year you will most likely live in your counselor’s office. It is not a bad idea to become acquaintances with them now. They are there to help you, therefore if you even have a college question or personally need help, they are great to have by your side. If you feel like you need additional help, consider contacting an independent advisor to help you through the college admissions process.

Whether it’s getting involved in new extracurricular activities, preparing for junior year, or challenging yourself by taking on more rigorous classes, our college counseling program‘s student-centric approach focuses on making the student as well-rounded, but competitive as possible. 

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High school is the ideal time to start balancing leisure time, extracurriculars, and studying. Having a good amount of extracurriculars helps college admissions teams get a glimpse into who you are and what you are like to do. 

Clubs are an important extracurricular as it helps you expand your knowledge in certain topics and you get to meet people who have the same interests as you. 

It’s crucial to choose clubs methodically. Don’t try to get yourself involved in every club the school offers. Instead, try to curate your interests so that they match your passions. Try instead selecting 3-6 clubs that really spark your interest and make sure to stay active within them through your high school career.

However, what happens when there is no club that aligns with one of your interests? Prepare to combine your leadership and organizational skills because this is your chance to create your own club. But how?

1. Understand how high school student clubs work

You will need approval from your school to create your club, therefore you’ll need to have a specific plan to bring forth to the administration. Clubs also require you to have a staff member, like a teacher, who can sponsor and supervise the club and help with organizing events and budgeting. 

There are other leadership opportunities within a club, so you should consider how many people you are going to recruit to help you run the club. Know that creating a club is a huge time commitment. You will most likely have to plan monthly meetings for its members and meetings in between with the leadership group to prepare events and structure timelines and goals. 

Clubs are a place to have fun and they shouldn’t feel like after-school classes. Make sure that you have engaging activities and that you are able to provide knowledge in an exciting way.

2. Generate interest in your school

To start a club, you are going to need a good amount of people to want to join it too, otherwise, it’s just going to be you attending the meetings. To gauge interest, ask classmates and friends if they might want to join your club. If there is a good amount of interest, it’s a good sign your club can prosper. 

From the people who have shown interest, determine if anyone is fit to be part of the leadership team with you. This way, once the club starts, you will already have an organized committee of people you trust. 

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3. Brainstorm and draft the club’s goals and mission

Your school’s rules and regulations regarding clubs may be very particular, so make sure to read them carefully before deciding to start this venture. 

Included in this brainstorming, create a marketing campaign for the club to raise awareness of its presence on campus and estimate how many people will become active members to deliberate the budgeting.

Regarding the topic of your club, you need to decide how you are going to present it. In general, clubs fall in three categories: service clubs, academic clubs, and artistic & creative clubs. If you are interested in opening a knitting club, you need to decide the logistics of what you are going to do during your meetings. If you are going to teach people how to knit, you are going to need to finance yarn and needles. 

You are going to need to determine what you are going to do at your weekly meetings and at events. If you already have decided who the leadership team will be, ask them to give you input and advice. 

Make sure you keep true to yourself and to the reason you are opening the club: To bring people together through a cause or subject. 

4. Register your club

Ask a teacher who you know is interested in your club’s subject to sponsor it. If you don’t know a teacher who might be interested, ask around. Maybe your favorite teacher is willing to supervise your club while you direct it. 

After you know in detail how you will be running your club and have a teacher willing to sponsor it, take it up to the administration and fill up a registration form! 

5. Establish a budget

Clubs are easy to finance after you have brainstormed and planned what the goals and events will look like. It allows you to determine what items you are going to need and how many of them. This is mostly the job of a treasurer, so make sure you have someone in your leadership team who can help with that. 

Some schools will give you a stipend to make sure you can run your club, but sometimes it is not enough. For example for a knitting club, you need to get a good amount of yarn and needles to make sure you have enough for everyone. It is not a bad idea to collect fees and perhaps make some fundraisers. 

Always consider your options. A lot of places might donate to your club or you can reach out to some services for a student discount. 

6. Keep it going!

Once your club is up and running, make sure you put in the time and effort it deserves. Keep engagement by making meetings at least monthly and tracking assistance. If you see less people are showing up, assess how you can re-engage them and what changes need to be done to make sure your club is fun! 

Before you reach your last year of high school, appoint someone who will be a good successor by keeping your principles and views a priority. Give them and your teacher supervisor all the knowledge they need before you go.

 

Creating a club is not that hard as long as you are committed and excited about the club you are creating. Take advantage of this opportunity, as not a lot of students get to experience this sense of leadership and commitment before they enter college! It is your responsibility to keep this club running, so make sure you nurture it and help it blossom.