Counselor's Corner: Sophomores

Road to Success

Sophomore Year Tips
Road To Success
by Laura Zamora

A successful future requires goal setting and evaluation of those goals. Ambitious high school plans strengthen your academic skills, develop your personal interests, and prepare you for a successful future. So how can you improve yourself while you’re in high school? You can focus on grades for one thing. Studies show that boosting your grade point average and taking challenging coursework are the best things you can do to increase your chances of college admission and college success. By taking challenging classes, you can improve your scores on the college admission tests and meet your goal of personal improvement. Planning your future involves defining your needs and building a support network. Many people in your life can help you accomplish your goals. By improving your communication skills, you can increase your chances of gaining the support you need. Build relationships with people by expressing your needs and wants and distinguishing yourself with your ideas. The ability to express your ideas is essential to success in high school, in college and in a career.

Ideas to Explore
• Participate in activities that are important to you – personal happiness relates directly to professional success.
• Take responsibility for your success by being accountable for your actions and building a list of accomplishments.
• Learn what kind of experiences drive you to succeed.
• Use short- term and long-term goals to make wise choices for ways to spend your time.
• Setting career goals helps you achieve long-term satisfaction.
• Talk to teachers, counselors, and other people you know to gain information about opportunities in your community.
• Build your research skills to identify what you can do for society and help yourself succeed in a career.
• Creating lists of your skills and talents helps you create successful career plans.
• Create high school plans that challenge you academically.
• Gain experiences and skills by planning classes, activities, and work experience to help you meet your goals.
• Make education a priority and increase your chance of success and your earning potential.
• Take the PSAT/NMSQT to prepare you for the college admission tests.
• Accept challenges as a way to improve.
• Consider challenging yourself by taking honors, AP, and Dual Credit courses.
• Link your personality, interests and skills to colleges, majors, and careers.
• Gain knowledge about college, majors, and careers that interest you to learn how to prepare for them.
• Access the college and career planning tool “My Road –College Quest” on the College Board website.
• Your college search should lead you to a place where you feel comfortable and part of the community.
• Visit college campuses to get a feel for college life and learn how they can contribute to your success.