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High School Today, College Tomorrow

Posted by Lisa Huber on Apr 19, 2018 11:16:29 AM

Yes, it really goes by that quickly!  If college is in your student’s future, you should know that it is never too early to start preparing.  Here are some quick pointers from this seasoned mom as I’ve had the privilege of doing this journey twice and will do it again .

Freshman year:Prepare early for college

  • Your student needs to know that grades start counting now, and now is the time to develop good study habits to carry all the way through high school and into the future.
  • Have your student track or journal everything they do, in and out of school, such as clubs, sports, volunteer work, etc.  Even tracking the dates and hours is important. This information comes in handy when it comes time to apply for scholarships.

Sophomore year:

  • It’s never too early to think about different colleges.  The website collegeboard.org  should become your friend. This site can help your student search for information on specific colleges, or even define some of the characteristics in a college or university that are important to them. Use the search bar to look up any college or university.  Your student can get a great overview of each school and should they want more information, there is a direct link to each school. 
  • Keep tracking school activities and co-curricular activities.  It’s really a must to show an accurate picture of  involvement for college applications and scholarship applications. These activities can often be the deal maker after grades and test scores. 
  • On vacation or have an available weekend?  Swing by a local college and at least drive through campus.  These informal visits can help your student see that there are many choices out there and make their future formal campus visits more effective.

Junior year:

  • Start the college search more seriously.  This is the year to start visiting college campuses in a more formal way.  Anytime the student has the opportunity,  an overnight visit is helpful, but not a must.  If traveling many miles away, plan on visiting about two colleges a day. My daughter and I flew 800 miles once and visited 4 schools in 2 days and it was doable.  Go prepared with a list of questions. Usually you’ll meet with an admissions counselor and get a student led tour. Again, ask tons of questions! What is important to your son or daughter? Two questions I always like to ask the representative college student are:  “What do you like best about your college?"  And, "What do you like least about your school?” 
  • Early in the junior year is the time to go to collegeboard.org and check out the dates for the SAT or ACT. This is the website you’ll use to register for these tests.  Your student can start taking the SAT as early as May. You can choose up to four schools to send scores to; additional schools can be added for a fee. Beware of registration dates versus test dates, you don’t want to miss a registration deadline. Look ahead to avoid schedule conflicts.  Remember, most colleges take the best of the individual  SAT scores. Taking the test more than once can only help your student!
  • Close to the end of the year is a great time to start asking teachers for letters of recommendation for college applications. As you can imagine, they get many requests and they respect the students who give them a bit more time.

Senior year:

  • By senior year, your student should have their list of Colleges have different Admissions policiescolleges narrowed to the colleges to which they want to apply.   Some colleges start accepting applications as early as August 1. If you're aiming to qualify for scholarships provided by a specific university, applications are going to be due sooner rather than later.  By now, you should have a connection with the admissions counselors at your child's top choice schools and they are your best resource for deadlines.
  • Realize there are different types of admissions processes.  Some schools have rolling admissions, making decisions several weeks after the application is complete.  Others have a spring date at which time they notify all of their applicants.  Some of those schools may also have an early commitment date.
  • Remember the SAT test.  Note that a November test date may work for admissions, but may be too late for some schools to qualify for additional academic scholarships. 
  • Start applying for college scholarships.  Look locally, search online, ask school counselors; there are a lot out there.
  • Beginning October 1, it's time to fill out the FASFA.  This is important to qualify for any financial need-based aid or government loans.  My advice is to sit down with your student to do this. They make it very clear that a portion MUST BE filled out by student, but honestly, they will not know the answer to all the questions.  Also a must-this is very important advice-WRITE down your user names and passwords and save keys and everything you’ll need to log back in. Every year you’ll need this info again. Also, parents have their own section of the FASFA to fill out as well.  That’s why, if possible, it’s easiest to sit down and do it together. By the way, you’ll need your taxes handy.
  • Depending on when applications were sent in and the type of admissions policy of the individual schools, you can expect to receive some acceptance letters in early December.   Some schools will give an estimated financial aid package early, but formal financial aid packages are typically sent in early spring.  Once these start arriving, make a chart of costs, scholarships received, etc. so it’s easy to compare each school.
  • Work with your son or daughter to compare the different characteristics and benefits of each school.  Make it an exciting and positive decision!
  • After graduation, be sure to send the college chosen a final transcript.

Have fun and enjoy the ride.  These are exciting times!

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Topics: Education, Parenting