junior (education year)
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{about|the year of study in the US|the type of school|Junior school}}
{{Short description|Year of study in the US and some other countries}}
File:1920 Locust yearbook p. 053 (Junior).jpg's 1920 Locust yearbook]]
A junior is a person in the third year at an educational institution in the US and some other countries, usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In United States high schools, a junior is an eleventh-grade student;{{cite web |title=Concise Oxford English Dictionary |url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/junior?view=uk |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130117055240/http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/junior?view=uk |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 January 2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}{{cite web |title=Merriam-Webster online |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/junior%5B1%5D |publisher=Merriam-Webster}}
juniors are considered upperclassmen.{{cite web |title=Definition of UPPERCLASSMAN |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/upperclassman |access-date=18 March 2018 |website=www.merriam-webster.com}}
Education in the United States
=High school=
In the United States, the 11th grade is usually the third year of a student's high school period and is referred to as junior year. High school juniors are advised to prepare for college entrance exams (ACT or SAT) and to start narrowing the list of colleges / universities they want to attend. A common assumption is that colleges and universities place greater emphasis on the junior year when making admissions decisions, as the last complete academic year before the college admissions process.
=College=
In the U.S., colleges generally require students to declare an academic major by the beginning of their junior year.{{cite web
|url=http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/articles/majors/MajorsBook3.asp
|title=Do I Need to Declare a Major on My College Application?
|publisher=Princeton Review
|access-date=22 October 2007}}
College juniors are advised to find internships in their chosen field and to begin considering additional education (medical school, law school, etc.) and preparing for relevant licensure examinations.[http://www.yale.edu/visvi/students/year_guide/junior.html Yale UCS – Year by Year Guide – Sophomore Year] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060916102757/http://www.yale.edu/visvi/students/year_guide/junior.html |date=16 September 2006 }}