It’s important for students to take time during winter break to unwind and recharge from a tough semester of fall courses. But winter break is also the perfect time to start thinking about what comes next. What are your goals for the spring 2022 semester? Will you send the rest of your college applications? Will you get ready to take the ACT or SAT for the first time? Now is the perfect time to come up with a plan to help you reach your next set of academic goals.

We really mean it when we say that students should take a break during their winter break. Especially with many students transitioning back to in-person learning this fall, everyone could definitely use a break from the stress of high school. But it shouldn’t be too hard to mix a little bit of planning into that relaxing, too.

Take some time to consider where you’re headed next. Are you a sophomore? Junior? Senior? This will likely mean some very different tasks that are about to be thrown your way. In an effort to help you be the most prepared student you can be and put yourself on a great back for higher education and your future, we’ve put together some recommendations for things that could be beneficial to be spending some time on during this break.

Sophomores

• Catch up or get ahead on any schoolwork and assignments. Do you know that you have a big project coming up? Is it something you can start early?

• Start to think about your first ACT or SAT. When will be a good time to take the test for the first time? Spring? Summer? Come up with a plan that will work well with your schedule and any sports or extracurriculars that you are involved in.

Juniors

• Catch up or get ahead on any schoolwork and assignments. Is there anything that you should have finished before break but didn’t? Is there anything that you can start working on now to get ahead?

• Register for your next ACT/SAT. Whether you’ve taken the test or not, this is a great time to register for a spring or summer exam.

• Come up with a test prep schedule that you will follow leading up to test day. We recommend at least 6 weeks of devoted studying leading up to the SAT or ACT. Whether you prepare on your own, via online courses, or with a professional tutor, committing time to test prep will make a big difference.

• Start to research colleges. It may feel like it’s a bit early to start thinking about this as a junior, but we promise those applications are just around the corner and will be here before you know it. We recommend doing some virtual college tours and starting to look into colleges that you think you’ll like. Consider things like what you enjoy learning and might want to study, where you think you’ll want the college to be located, and how intense you want the academics to be.

Seniors

• Catch up or get ahead on any schoolwork and assignments. Is there anything that you know is coming up and that you could start working on early? Are there assignments lingering from before break that you need to wrap up?

• Finalize any college applications that you haven’t sent yet. Juggling school and college applications in the fall is by no means easy. Winter break offers a good amount of time away from school where you can wrap up any application pieces that may have been straggling. Many colleges have deadlines in January (and some as late as May!), so working on your applications at the end of December will still give you plenty of time to send off your applications.

• Conduct mock college admissions interviews. It’s very possible that colleges will want to talk to you and ask you some questions in addition to reviewing your paper application.

College Students

• Catch up on anything that was not completed before the end of the fall semester. Tie up any loose ends now.

• Prepare for your next semester. You should already have registered for your next courses, but now is the time to make sure you’re ready for them. Are there textbooks that you need to purchase? Is there any work that your professor expects you to have completed prior to the class starting? Now is the time to find out!

• Find something productive to do. For most colleges, the winter break is much longer than the couple weeks that high schoolers have off. Many colleges follow a J-term structure, and students have approximately 6-8 weeks off during the winter. This is a great time to find a part-time job, complete a mini internship, or volunteer in your community. College students need to relax and recharge, too, but a month of relaxation should not be necessary! Instead, be productive with this time and build up your resume.

Whatever step of the process you’re on, it can be helpful to get some expert support to help you navigate it. If you’re interested in some tutoring or counseling assistance throughout the college admissions and test prep process, our team at The Prepared Student would be happy to help! Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or inquiries. We look forward to hearing from you!

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