Being prepared for your senior year of high school requires hard work and unwavering commitment in each year prior. Make sure to take these tips into consideration and your future will be golden.

Especially in a college preparatory school like St. Dominic, one of the first pieces of advice teachers and administration offer is setting a solid grade point average your freshmen year. If you’ve always been studious, this shouldn’t be a problem for you. If you or someone you know is on the other end of the spectrum, it’s time to change those poor studying habits and step up your game. College admissions committees won’t care which classes you took during your freshmen year—but your overall GPA will be front and center. While academics are important, don’t forget to balance it out with some fun. The friends you meet in clubs, sports and theatre will last a lifetime.

It’s no secret that sophomore year is a dead zone. Still, maintaining a good GPA is incredibly important. While you have some free time, it might just be the perfect time to get a head start on researching colleges, performing community service and putting a resume together. The sooner you start personalizing your resume and contributing information, the more it will benefit you later in high school. My advisory teacher made us start our resumes my sophomore year, which I hated at the time but really came to appreciate these past couple years. I’m constantly referencing my resume for college applications and essays, as well as printing out copies for teachers to write recommendation letters.

Touring college should be the main focus of junior year, as well as searching for possible leadership roles. If being admitted into the National Honor Society is a goal of yours, finding leadership opportunities should be at the top of your to-do list. Many juniors who applied in 2016, including myself, were rejected our first year because we failed to meet the leadership requirements. We were able to apply for Peer Ministry and Senior Advisory, which led to our admission the second time around. Don’t hesitate to try for every leadership opportunity available to you, whether it’s being the captain of the dance team, president of the French Club or earning the lead role in the school play.

As you’re gearing up for your last year of high school, it’s important to collect every bit of knowledge and information you have worked for in the past three years and put it to good use. Applying for college and dozens of scholarships can be intimidating as the thought of stepping outside into the real world finally hits you. Colleges expect students to step out of their comfort zones and go above and beyond. St. Dominic offers countless opportunities for you to appeal to the college of your choice, so don’t wait until the last minute to start applying.