For many high school students, junior year causes tremendous anxiety because of its importance in the college planning process. Students are generally aware that what they do in the 11th grade matters to colleges, but they don't know exactly how to plan for college.

In this article, I'll thoroughly explain everything you should be doing in the 11th grade to plan for college. If you're organized and equipped with this knowledge, you'll be able to successfully complete your junior year and increase the likelihood that you'll reach your college goals. Furthermore, I'll discuss aspects of college planning that you don't have to worry about in your junior year.

If you're preparing for the ACT or you've taken the ACT, you probably want to know what score you need to get into college. What's an average ACT score for colleges? Do you need to do better than average to go to college?

In this article, I'll explain average ACT scores and what they mean for you. Find out how to calculate the score you need to give yourself the best chance to get into your dream school.

Do you just want to be done with the application process and know where you're going to college? Do you have your heart set on one college, and you want to give yourself the best chance at getting in?

If you answered yes to these questions, early decision may be a good option for you. In this article, I'll explain what it means to apply for early decision and explain everything you need to consider to answer the often stressful question, "should I apply early decision?"

If you have college aspirations, you can and should start planning for college during your freshman year of high school. You want to make sure you're on the right path and have a solid plan in place to help you navigate the college process and eventually reach your goals.

In this article, I'll detail what to include in your 9th grade college planning. Then, I'll explain what you don't yet need to worry about.

If you're contemplating your summer plans, you may want to consider pre-college summer programs. These programs offer high school students the opportunity to live and learn on a college campus.

In this article, I'll explain the different types of programs and let you know the benefits and drawbacks of attending them. Furthermore, I'll let you know if doing one of these programs can help you get into college.

If you’re currently applying to college or getting ready to apply to college, you’ve probably heard of the SAT and/or the ACT. You may already know that the SAT is a standardized test which high school students take before applying to college, but how important is the SAT in college applications? It’s hard to overstate the importance of the SAT. Your test score will be one of the most important parts of your college application (if not the most important part).

In this guide, I'll explain why test scores are a key part of your application and how you can determine the SAT admission requirements for the schools you're interested in.

Recently, there has been substantial coverage about whether colleges discriminate against Asian-Americans in admissions and even test prep.  What does that mean for these students?  How should such students navigate SAT / ACT prep and college admissions?  This article surveys the current state of admissions and gives some tips.

Each year, Princeton University receives over 25,000 applications for its undergraduate class. Only 7% of them get a Princeton acceptance letter.

For example, in 2015, Princeton received 27,290 applications for the Class of 2019 and accepted 1,908 students. That's a tiny 6.99% admission rate.

Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of applicants get a rejection letter. “I'm sorry to inform you…”

I was one of the lucky few to apply to Princeton and receive an acceptance letter in the mail. Since Princeton was one of my top choice schools, I was ecstatic that they wanted me as part of their community. I dreamed about how my future would turn out if I attended Princeton.

Here’s my complete, official Princeton acceptance letter.

Each year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology receives nearly 20,000 applications from high school hopefuls. Only 8% of them get a MIT acceptance letter.

For example, in 2014, MIT accepted 1,447 applicants from 18,356 candidates. That’s a small 7.9% admission rate.

Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of applicants get a rejection letter. “I'm very sorry to inform you…”

When I was in high school, I was one of the lucky few to apply to MIT and receive an acceptance letter in the mail. This validated years of hard work, especially in the sciences and research. It was inspiring to know that they wanted me to be a part of their amazing community.

Here’s my complete, official MIT acceptance letter.

Did you know that almost half of all undergrads in the U.S. go to community college? In fact, there are 1,100 community colleges nationwide, and they enroll 13 million students!

If you're looking to make that 13 million and one, read on to learn how to apply for community college: from deciding where to apply to enrolling in classes. Before getting the ball rolling, let's review what community colleges offer their students and some good reasons to apply.

If you've applied to colleges, received acceptances, and selected the college you want to attend, then congratulations! You've done considerable work and made it through the college application and selection process. With May 1, also known as College Decision Day, just around the corner, how do you notify the college you've selected that you'll be attending? How do you let the other colleges that admitted you know that you won't? Do you even have to let them know?

In this article, I'll explain how to accept an offer of admission and why it's important to notify the colleges you won't be attending of your decision.

You’ve probably felt the pressure to go on college tours, but just how important are they? Are they an essential part of the college planning process, or is it not a big deal if you opt out?

This guide will go over the most important reasons to visit a college, along with some circumstances when you might choose not to tour. We’ll also discuss how you can prepare to make the most out of your college visits.

First off, what are some reasons you should tour your prospective colleges?

You’ve been working hard in high school to get good grades and test scores, but there’s another part of the college application that many students find more confusing: the extracurricular activity section.

How many extracurricular activities do you need for college applications? How many are too many? Will you get rejected from a school if you don’t have the right amount?

Many students who have participated in activities throughout high school are shocked to look at the Common App and realize there are ten spaces to fill out. Does that mean you have to be involved in ten different activities?

In this article I will tell you:

• The important things colleges need to see in your extracurriculars
• The ideal amount of extracurricular activities
• The minimum amount of extracurriculars you can have
• What to do if you have no extracurriculars
• What to do if you have too many extracurriculars

The college application process can be a long and difficult journey for high school students. Organizing your application materials well in advance and paying attention to deadlines is critical. You should also start researching colleges earlier rather than later so that you can account for each school's specific application requirements.

In this infographic, I've broken down the actions you need to take to be prepared for college applications starting at the beginning of your junior year through to your senior spring.

Forbes is a highly respected source of college rankings and is often consulted by students to help them decide which colleges are objectively the “best” choices. However, relying too much on these rankings can be a dangerous way to go about the college search process. In this article, I’ll outline how Forbes rankings are calculated and give you a rundown of the problematic aspects of these rankings.