---
title: Tips for Second Semester of Junior Year
description: Second semester of junior year is a stressful time for most students. In fact, it might be the most stressful semester of high school. I don’t want to add too many things to your likely-unending to-do list, but here are a few important things to consider including in the whirlwind
---

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 Feb 5, 2016 8:17:44 AM

# Tips for Second Semester of Junior Year

[Get Smarter Prep](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/author/get-smarter-prep)

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Second semester of junior year is a stressful time for most students. In fact, it might be *the* most stressful semester of high school. I don’t want to add too many things to your likely-unending to-do list, but here are a few important things to consider including in the whirlwind that is this semester, and (bonus!) a couple of things that can wait until after finals.

### **This semester, you may want to:**

**Consider an internship.** Not while school is in session. On top of everything else you’re attempting to juggle – test prep, school work, extra-curricular activities, actually sleeping at some point – one more commitment in your schedule is probably not advisable. Now is the time, however, to spend some time researching summer opportunities. Consider your interests, investigate your connections, and make a plan for summer now.

**Keep working on that college list.** All of the planning and scheming that lurks between now and your admissions deadlines next year will hinge upon your college list. If I had a catchphrase, it would probably be “it depends on the school.” Is your ACT score high enough? Do you have to schedule interviews? Can you take a gap year? The answers to all of these questions depend, at least in part, on specific schools you’re considering. If your list has 30 colleges on it, *narrow*. If you’ve only got one, more research is in order. Research, go to events, and plan more visits!

**Connect with teachers and advisors.** Second semester is the time to begin asking for recommendation letters. The best teacher to ask is one who knows you well and who can write about your specific strengths, and the best time to ask them is this semester. The sooner you ask, the more likely it is that you’ll get good letters.  You can generally expect that you’ll need two letters, but depending on your college list, you may need more, or there may be additional requirements placed on which teachers can write them.

### **Overwhelmed yet? Here’s the good news. You can wait until this summer to:**

**Write your college essays.** [College essays](https://getsmarterprep.com/college-counseling/) can be overwhelming. Working on them too soon, before you even have access to the applications, can be downright maddening. The Common App goes live on August 1st each year. There is not much to be gained by obsessing over drafts before you have a solid college list *and* the essay prompts for those colleges. Focus on your grades, your test prep, and your college list, and save the essays for this summer.

**Plan the entire rest of your life.** Actually, this one can probably wait even longer. However, if you’ve got seemingly pressing, urgent questions about your future (my junior year, it was *do I want to be an architect?*), you don’t have to answer them right now. The key is to avoid limiting yourself too much if you’re unsure. If you think you *might* want to go into an engineering program, the answer to *do I want to take that extra science class?* is probably “yes.” Prepare for multiple possibilities. Embrace the creative uncertainty. Explore your options, but don’t feel like you have to be certain right this moment.

For what it’s worth, I had *registered for* classes in [ASU](https://www.asu.edu/)’s architecture program before I changed my mind and enrolled in a tiny liberal arts school on the other side of the country. I don’t really recommend that course of action, but you have time. It’s OK if your college list still looks like a 16- or 17-year-old student who isn’t exactly sure what they want to do for the next fifty years wrote it. I promise.

[College](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/college), [Junior Year](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/junior-year), [Admission](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/admission), [ACT](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/act), [College Visits](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/college-visits), [College Admission](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/college-admission), [application](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/application), [College List](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/college-list)

## Related posts

[ACT](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/act), [ACT Prep](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/act-prep), [ACT Practice Test](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/act-practice-test), [Course Prep for ACT](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/course-prep-for-act)

## [Planning for the Week Leading Up to the Test](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/planning-for-the-week-leading-up-to-the-test)

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 Oct 19, 2022 4:00:20 AM

The week leading up to the ACT can be very stressful. Here are some tips for focusing on the most...

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[College](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/college), [Masters](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/masters), [General Information](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/general-information), [Get Smarter](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/get-smarter)

## [Is Grad School now “expected”?](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/is-grad-school-now-expected)

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 Feb 6, 2014 7:11:59 AM

Is Grad School now “expected”? While almost all of our seniors have long since turned in their...

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[AP Tests](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/ap-tests), [College](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/college), [College Board](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/college-board), [AP Exams](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/tag/ap-exams)

## [Last Minute Tips for AP Exams](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/last-minute-tips-for-ap-exams)

[Get Smarter Prep](https://blog.getsmarterprep.com/get-smarter-prep-blog/author/get-smarter-prep) 

 May 4, 2017 5:43:20 AM

Spring semester is rushing by, and AP exams are just around the corner. How prepared do you feel?...

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