Back to School: College Planning No Matter Your Age - Part I
“College planning, no matter your age, does not need to be overwhelming or scary. A little planning and foresight are all it takes to keep you organized and stress-free. Use the beginning of the new school year to make a plan for the year ahead and start your school year off right. ”
Welcome to your journey to college. Whether you have four years or six months to plan for college, the list of items to consider is the same. Where do you want to go? What will you study? How will you pay for it? Do your grades and test scores reflect your best self? With proper planning, you will have a chance to answer those questions and to make purposeful choices and informed decisions.
As you work through this process, remember to be honest with yourself. Take time to discover your academic, creative, social, athletic, and emotional strengths. Learn the attributes that you might need to improve upon to meet your goals. This is a wonderful opportunity to think about your future and what you would like it to be.
College planning, no matter your age, does not need to be overwhelming or scary. A little planning and foresight are all it takes to keep you organized and stress-free. Use the beginning of the new school year to make a plan for the year ahead and start your school year off right.
Review Your High School Curriculum.
In most cases, your high school transcript (which is a combination of your curriculum and your grades) will be the most important part of your college application. As a result, curriculum planning should be one of the main focuses for all students. Before the school year begins, you should review your classes and make sure you are challenging yourself to the extent you are able while still being able to handle the course load successfully. You do not have to start high school taking all honors classes, but trying to increase rigor each year is a good strategy if you are able. You should consider what, if any, AP, IB, honors, or advanced classes you would like to take and what electives you would like to try. If you have a major or career in mind, some classes should reflect that if you can fit those in. Major-specific courses are a great way to experiment and see if you genuinely like a subject matter. It is also important to understand that high school graduation requirements are different than what a college may want to see. We generally recommend a student take four years of all five core academic subjects - English, math, science, social studies, and foreign language.
Certain majors may necessitate certain classes, so it is important to continually keep an eye on requirements as you start to discover your path. For instance, a student interested in engineering should take an advanced physics class (typically AP Physics prior to graduation), and a student who wants to study international relations would benefit by excelling at a foreign language or two (if that fits into your schedule.) While students (especially younger students) don’t need to know exactly where they are applying to college, they should consider whether or not they are aiming for more competitive or selective colleges when selecting their courses. The more selective a college, the more rigorous a curriculum should be in order to compete with other applicants. Finding the right balance is key to success. If necessary (and possible), make schedule changes now rather than later. And while senior year grades are not submitted initially with the application, colleges absolutely care about what classes a senior is taking, so if you are a senior, make sure you are not planning to take it easy this year.
Prepare to Work Hard and Get Strong Grades.
Grades matter, even freshman year! When you initially apply to college, the admissions office will only see the first three years of grades, so freshman year is already one-third of that academic review. Another important note is that the GPA is not as simple as it may seem. Many students think if they take the easiest classes possible and get all A’s, they will fare better in the admissions process. This is not necessarily true. Most colleges want to see you challenge yourself to the extent you are able. If a college sees a student in all regular level classes getting all A’s, they are going to wonder why they didn’t try an honors course. You are probably wondering, is it better to get an A in a regular level class or a B in an honors or AP class? If you ask any admissions officer, they will smile and tell you that they like A’s in honors or AP classes. Remember, however, as with everything college admissions-related, academic planning is not one size fits all. AP, honors, IB, and advanced classes are not appropriate for all everyone, and that is okay.
And, if you are going to be a senior, remember that colleges do not want you to take your foot off the gas before reaching the finish line. It is very possible that a college will ask for first-term grades before making a decision, so strong grades are still important. And of course, a final transcript is expected once you graduate. If your senior year grades do not reflect the strong grades on the rest of your transcript, a college will ask for an explanation and could possibly even revoke an offer of admission.
The best way to get ready for the new high school year academically is to review the courses you plan to take, make sure you understand the importance of strong grades, have a solid plan for keeping organized and managing your time, and develop the communication skills necessary to talk to your teachers and counselor to get extra support when necessary.
Activity Planning.
Colleges love involved, passionate students! Many people mistakenly believe that students need to be well-rounded and involved in everything. Younger students should begin exploring activities that interest them, whatever that might be. While you will likely not be the president or captain of an organization when you first join, you can set yourself up for leadership opportunities later on by finding and committing to an activity they love. Don’t wait to get involved. You should explore and ultimately jump right into activities in or outside of school early in high school. Most high schools offer an activity fair at the beginning of the school year so students can learn about what options are available and talk to students that are currently involved in those activities.
Keep in mind that there is not one activity that will guarantee you get into a particular college. Colleges can tell when a student has a sincere interest in their activity and when they don’t. Instead of signing up for an activity simply because you think it looks good, you should get involved in something you will truly enjoy,
If you have Ivy League or other highly selective college aspirations, your activities should go a little deeper and be a little more unique. You should look for research opportunities, a chance to publish an article or participate in national and international competitions such as science fairs, computer science hackathons, or writing competitions. You can start a fundraiser for a cause that is important to you, create a foundation or a business, write a blog, create a YouTube channel, etc. The options are endless.
A word of advice – if you are not keeping track of the activities you have participated in, you should start making a list now. College applications ask for detailed information about what you did, when you did it, and how much time (hours per week and weeks per year) you committed to that activity. When you begin to fill out your college applications, it can be tough to go back three years and try to figure this all out without inadvertently leaving something important out.
Are you looking for someone to help your high school student build a reasonable and balanced list of colleges they are excited to attend? Contact North Shore College Consulting today to learn more about our one-on-one, individual college consulting packages.