Episode 97: College Planning Timeline: 10th Grade

[0:00:07] BT: After nearly 100 episodes, we've learned that it's never too early to start planning for college.

[0:00:13] BHA: Planning early doesn't only help set you up for success, but it can help manage stress along the way, too.

[0:00:18] BT: I'm Brooke Thames from Bucknell University. And in our College Planning Timeline series, Becca and I are offering a step-by-step action plan to take you from 9th through 12th grade and beyond.

[0:00:28] BHA: And I'm Becca Haupt Aldredge, also from Bucknell. Today, we'll cover tips and best practices for students who are sophomores in high school. If you missed our episode for 9th graders, go back and check out our previous episode.

[0:00:41] BT: And in that last episode, we laid a pretty good foundation for how freshmen can hit the ground running. So now it's time to focus on sophomores. When it comes to planning for college, Becca, what should we start thinking about in this year?

[0:00:54] BHA: Sophomores have taken a year to transition to the high school environment and have started to get more comfortable in that landscape. That makes it a great time to understand what colleges and universities are out there. From large research universities to small liberal arts colleges, trade schools or technical programs, or even local community colleges, there are lots and lots of options. When it comes to getting a lay of the land, Brooke, where do you recommend students begin?

[0:01:23] BT: Well, colleges and university websites are often a great way to start exploring a school, especially to see what kinds of programs and majors a school has, their admissions policies. But if you're looking for a more transparent view of what it's like to be at a particular school, social media is a great place to go. Looking up schools on Instagram and TikTok can give you a great view of the student life day-to-day. Bucknell even has its own page called @iamraybucknelll, where students do takeovers every single week to give you a glimpse of what it's like to actually be a Bucknell student.

Alternatively, college search platforms like Niche, Scoir, and Naviance can help a student explore colleges depending on what features they're looking for. You can filter by state, city, and even school size. Once a student has a general sense of the colleges that might go on their list, Becca, when's a good time to take the next step to visit a college in person?

[0:02:24] BHA: Those are lots of great resources that you can access, oftentimes from the palm of your hand or from the comfort of home. But as I said in our episode for 9th-grade students, I'll say it again for 10th-grade students, there is no such thing as too early. 10th grade might be a good time for an informal visit. Maybe you make plans to attend an athletic event or see a performance at a school that's local to you. Maybe you're heading on a family road trip and decide to take a detour to drive through a college town just to get an informal feel for the school. Close to home, you might also have the opportunity to attend your very first college fair. College fairs provide great opportunities for students to meet representatives from lots of colleges and universities in your region or even across the country and get a sense of what those schools offer.

And while an informal tour or drive-by is an easy and accessible way to visit a campus near you, making sure that school knows that you were there is an important way to demonstrate interest to that college or university. Even if you're visiting informally, go ahead and send an email to your admissions counselor at that university letting them know you were on campus, or stop by the admissions office while you're there to pick up some information and to let them know that you were there.

Similarly, when a college or university is at a college fair near you, you'll be invited to fill out an inquiry form, which is another great way to demonstrate interest to a college or university. So we have a paper trail of all of the times we've connected, and interacted, and engaged throughout your high school journey leading up to your application process.

While a student is exploring schools in their community or beyond, what can they do to prepare academically in the classroom right in their high school?

[0:04:25] BT: In the classroom, the focus should really remain on challenging yourself. Start thinking about AP, IB or whatever advanced courses that your school offers, and start talking with your high school counselor about how you can work those courses into your schedule if you're interested in taking that next step.

With that first year under your belt, you're now in the rhythm and the swing, and you have a sense of what high school rigor is like. So if you're struggling in a particular subject, now is a good time to ask for extra help. Not only will covering all of those academic bases early on set you up for college success, but it's also a good opportunity to build the self-advocacy skills that will help you build the high school career that you want — and that can even come in handy once you're on a college campus, taking even higher-level courses.

And that's just inside of the classroom. Becca, how can a student support their college readiness in other ways?

[0:05:21] BHA: Academically, beyond the classes that appear on your schedule and the courses and the rigor that you're pursuing, it's a really great time for students to read and write as much as you can. You'll certainly have to do writing not only for your college application, but also in many of your college courses. And improving your efficiency and comprehension when it comes to reading could be really great strategies to set you up for college success in the classroom.

While you're boosting those skills and confidence as a reader and a writer, it's also a great time to hone in on what those interests are extracurricularly. Maybe you got involved with a club or organization in 9th-grade, and by sophomore year, you're thinking about pursuing a leadership role in that organization. Or maybe you've decided that you don't love that one activity that you've been doing and want to pivot to something else that's a better use of your time and more aligned with your skills and your passions. 10th grade is a great time to refine those interests, deepen your involvement, and maybe even think about how your leadership as a part of those extracurriculars could continue to grow over the next few years.

[0:06:35] BT: I think that's a really good overview for what sophomores can take advantage of in this year. Before we go, I want to remind listeners that they can find a full college planning timeline at the link in our show notes on our admissions blog. Head there for an even deeper semester-by-semester breakdown of how you can start preparing for college.

[0:06:54] BHA: No matter what grade you're in, if you want to continue to receive tips like these to help you navigate your college search process, please take a moment to rate, subscribe and share this episode with students and families in your life.

[0:07:07] BT: We'll be back with another episode in a few weeks, that one covering junior year. In the meantime, send your questions, comments, and episode ideas to @podcast.bucknell.edu. We read every note you send.

[0:07:20] BHA: And finally, you're invited to follow Bucknell on all of your favorite social media apps. Just look for @bucknellu on Instagram, Facebook X, YouTube and TikTok. You can also follow our student-run Instagram account, which is @iamraybucknell.

[0:07:36] BT: Until next time, keep on reaching for your dreams and your dream school.

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