Planning by Grade
11th Grade: Own Your Story
The year, and the summer, that become the application.
What this year is for
The year that carries the most weight.
Junior year matters most academically, and the summer after it is the one admissions readers look at most closely. What a student does now becomes the raw material for essays, the activities list, and interviews.
Ask your kid
Ask your kid. Then listen.
Their answers now become the application. Let them do the talking.
- What are you proudest of building?
- What summer would feel most like you?
- What kind of college community do you want to join?
How are you going to save the world?
In Harvard's Turning the Tide II report, almost 140 admissions deans endorsed a statement meant to ease parents' fears that a child without a pile of impressive achievements would be shortchanged. Source
Where I encourage students to focus
Demanding, and genuinely theirs.
- Strong grades in a challenging schedule.
- Testing planned well ahead of application deadlines.
- A serious summer: a selective program, real job, research, or an independent project.
- A first college list, built on fit rather than rankings.
- Early thinking about the essay.
Three years of showing up turns an interest into evidence.
Where I come in
The details are the work.
I build a plan with each student, matched to their interests, with specific opportunities, people, and next steps. That is what we do together in our sessions.
The research
What colleges say.
Harvard
Harvard advises that juniors take on leadership or more responsibility in their commitments, like part time jobs or school clubs, and research summer opportunities that explore their interests.
Source →Testing
All eight Ivy League schools now require the SAT or ACT, with Columbia's requirement beginning August 2027. Stanford, MIT, and Johns Hopkins require scores as well.
Source →NACAC
Grades remain the foundation. In NACAC's national survey, the share of colleges rating grades in all courses as considerably important rose from 60 to 81 percent.
Source →Admissions policies change. Last reviewed October 2026.
Questions from families
Frequently asked questions
01When does essay work begin?+
In earnest, the summer before senior year. Juniors who start thinking earlier write with far more ease.
02Is it too late to start in junior year?+
No. What matters is the time we have left, not the time already spent.