Junior Year Is Critical for College Success

Houses for the junior school students at Isha Home School (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

by Lee Binz

If your home-school student is interested in attending college, junior year is probably one of the most critical times for them to be on task.

It's the time when they should be looking for colleges, taking college prep tests, and honing their essay writing skills.

Paying close attention during junior year can even make up for some errors made earlier in high school.

One of the most important tasks during junior year is to make sure that your child takes the PSAT. It's only offered one time, in October, and some schools require you to sign up for it in September or the previous June. Simply call the public high school nearest you to register your child.

The PSAT will put your child in the running for the National Merit Scholarship. The PSAT will also ask your student certain questions about himself, such as what grades he's getting, what classes he's taking, what his interests in the future are, etc.

Another important job for junior year is to decide whether to take the SAT or ACT. Most colleges will usually accept both. If either test is fine, then you can use a different measurement to decide which one is best.

I recommend that you take a sample of each test, and have your child take it at home. Weigh those two tests and compare them, and then choose the one that makes your child look like a genius. One-third of kids will do better on the SAT, one-third will do better on the ACT, and for the remaining third, it doesn't really matter which one you choose.

During junior year, you should make sure to locate and attend a college fair. Going to a college fair is a lot like going to a home-school convention: each booth has a different college, so you can go door to door and get to know a lot of different colleges at one time.

After attending a college fair, think about the colleges that you met there, and make sure to plan some college visits. Your goal is to find a few colleges your student would like to attend, but there are too many colleges out there, so you have to make a first cut and go visit some, in order to whittle it down to a reasonable number of colleges to apply to.

Try to get to a place where you have just enough colleges to apply to, but not so many that it's impractical to do so. The national average for the number of colleges to apply to is six; my children applied to four. Make sure that you have a wide variety of colleges to consider, both public and private, and not just one.

We were able to find a "perfect" college and my kids were selected for full tuition scholarships. We were told this was partly because of "a well developed sense of who they were."

Failing to take time to develop your student's specialization is one of the "5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School." Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my free e-mail mini-course. You can claim it at http://www.thehomescholar.com/5mistakessignup.php.

To learn more about homeschool high school check out my website and blog.
From Lee Binz, The HomeScholar - Helping Parents Homeschool High School

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How Students Can Balance School and Life

The rat race and work/life balance (Wikipedia)

by Dr Bruce Johnson

As a student you know that class work is going to require a lot of your time and you have to create an effective plan to make certain everything is completed when it needs to be done.

During the start of class you likely feel excited and proud of the step you've taken, and perhaps uncertain at the same time as to how you'll make adjustments in your life to accommodate classes.

You quickly discover that your school schedule can become quite demanding, especially when you already have many responsibilities to meet each week, and as the number of assignments increase so does the pressure.

You have to find a work-life balance so that you don't become overwhelmed or burned out. Creating a balance between school work and your existing life requires maintaining a harmonious balance between them.

The most effective starting point for the development of a work-life plan is to decide what your priorities are each week. Take into consideration all of your responsibilities and goals but don't stop there. You may find it necessary to also schedule a break for yourself during the week as a means of dealing with the pressure, especially if you have a tendency to put work first.

While the tasks you have to complete each week may vary, your general well-being will determine your ability to deal with challenges and changes that occur. It is possible to have an effective time management plan and still perform poorly simply because you forgot to take care of yourself.

Many students stay focused on their courses, their job, and future career plans, which provides a sense of drive and source of self-motivation, but often leaves little time for relationships or their own self-development.

When your well-being is left last on the list of priorities you may experience health-related issues such as stress and anxiety. No matter what you value the most or have established as your most important priorities, your well-being (physical, mental, emotional) also needs attention.

It is not possible to perform your best if you are always on the go and never take a break. This can be a matter of taking a few minutes each day or a couple of hours each week to stop and feel recharged. You'll likely discover a renewed sense of purpose, clarity, and determination when you return to your tasks

Taking a mental break is especially helpful when you are struggling to come up with new ideas or you are in the initial development stage of a paper. Your work as a student often involves developing new ideas and moments that allow you to think clearly may provide the insight you need simply because you changed your focus.

Of course students may not feel that a break is justified or warranted, especially with deadlines looming, but the plan for allocating your time does not have to be equally balanced. It may be as simple as scheduling a 30 minute break per day. Work-life balance means that you work towards addressing all of your priorities, which includes your own well-being.

Students find that this mindset or approach to keeping balance in their lives is an important aspect of maintaining momentum in their degree program, especially if they have jobs, families, and other responsibilities.

When you make a commitment to your school work you have to consider how you will maintain your well-being. It's a coping strategy that does take time out of your schedule but the return on your investment will usually mean that you are better equipped and are better prepared to meet the demands you face, while feeling a sense of control and focus.

Dr. Bruce Johnson has had a life-long love of learning and throughout his entire career he has been involved in many forms of adult education; including teaching, training, human resource development, career coaching, and life coaching.

Dr. J has completed a master's in Business Administration and a PhD in the field of adult education, with an emphasis in adult learning within an online classroom environment. Presently Dr. J works as an online adjunct instructor, faculty developmental workshop facilitator, faculty mentor, and professional writer. Learn more by visiting http://www.affordablequalitywriting.com

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