Segue to Senior Year

Attention high school juniors: Don't let your senior schedule segue into senioritis. (Were there enough "s"s in that sentence?) If you haven't already done so, soon you will be consulting with your counselor to select your senior-year classes. Don't fall into the GPA Trap by thinking that easier courses can help bump up a faltering grade point average. No doubt, you're probably also thinking about your upcoming college admissions process and may have already planned some college visits this spring or summer.

Try to see things through the eyes of a college admissions officer who will be looking at your high school transcript. Think of your high school career as a kind of race. Maybe at this point it may be feeling like a marathon. Even if it has only a 10K kind of feeling, you have to be prepared to finish strong. Many races are won at the end with the runner squeezing the last once of energy and speed from his or her body's reserves. That's why you have to show those admissions folks at the schools where your applications will end up that you have run a good race and have not eased up your pace during the home stretch. The effect of your senior year on admissions decisions should not be underestimated.