Junior year · Class of 2028

11th grade college prep checklist

Junior year is the one colleges read most closely, and the one with the most moving parts. Almost everything Elite Prep publishes about the college search is written for this year — the score goal below, the College List Builder, and the college-visit worksheet are all junior-year documents.

Tests this year

Next: SAT: November 7, 2026 · Registration closes October 23, 2026
Next: ACT: December 12, 2026 · Registration closes November 6, 2026

See all test dates →

Fall

Courses and grades

Carry the hardest set of courses you can carry without the grades slipping. An A in an easy course and a B in a demanding one are not the same signal, and neither is automatically the better one.What this means

Tests

Aim at the score Elite’s own career roadmaps set as the target: an SAT of 1450 or better, or an ACT of 33 or better. Even test-optional colleges like to see strong scores.Test dates
Sit the PSAT/NMSQT this fall. Junior year is the only one that counts toward National Merit, and there is no second attempt.What this means

Applications

Ask two teachers from junior-year academic courses whether they would be willing to write for you, before the queue forms in the autumn of senior year.What this means

of 4 done

Spring

Courses and grades

Sit the AP exams for the AP courses you are taking. The exam score is what turns the course into credit.AP Courses for Credit

Tests

Book your first real SAT or ACT with enough of the year left to sit it a second time.Test dates
Check which of your colleges superscore, because that is what decides whether a second sitting is worth paying for.What this means

Applications

Work through the College List Builder before you name a single college: your unweighted and weighted grade point averages, how many AP courses you have taken, your composite score, and your top three activities with the role you hold in each.College List Builder (PDF)
Set up the federal student aid ID with a parent now, so the account exists and works before the financial aid application opens.What this means

of 5 done

Summer

Tests

Use the summer for the last concentrated block of test preparation, on whichever of the two tests you settled on.ACT Prep

Activities and awards

Note that the President’s Volunteer Service Award thresholds change for the eleventh and twelfth grade band: a hundred to a hundred and seventy-four hours for Bronze, a hundred and seventy-five to two hundred and forty-nine for Silver, and two hundred and fifty or more for Gold.

Applications

Visit colleges with the five Cs in hand — curriculum, campus culture, community, cost and career — and write your answers down while you are still standing on the campus.College visit worksheet (PDF)
Draft the personal statement over the summer. Every version after the first is easier to write, and the school year will not hand you a quiet week to start one in.What this means
Narrow the list to colleges you could genuinely write an application for, and make sure every match and safety school on it is one you would actually be happy to attend.What this means

of 5 done

Checked items are not saved; reloading the page clears them. Print the checklist to keep a copy.

This page prints as a plain checklist; the header, footer and navigation are omitted.

This checklist was last reviewed August 18, 2026.

Other grades

Speak with a college counselor See every test date this year