For many families and students, college is the beacon at the end of a long educational journey. The Road to College is the culmination of years of learning and preparation, and the launching step for a career. To get a leg up on the college process, families can use the summer to plan ahead so students can make the most of each school year. Here are a few things you and your student can do each year to be ready for the college application process.
Entering Freshman Year
College seems far away, but the time will go by quickly. Right now students will want to focus on having a productive transition into high school (getting used to a new setting, new classes, new expectations, etc.)
At the same time, it doesn’t hurt to start planning. Students should map out a four-year plan of what courses they want to take each year and when they plan to take standardized tests. Creating decision deadlines (when your student will have their final list of colleges to apply to, for example) will help reduce stress later.
As your child is mapping out the courses they want to take, make yourself familiar with the A-G requirements. These are the courses every student in California needs to take to be eligible to apply to a UC or CSU.
As your student begins to take their first high school classes, ask them about what they find interesting — this can help them decide which major programs they should look into. Create an account on CollegeBoard (which administers the SAT) and start playing around with the filters to see what sorts of campuses are out there.
Entering Sophomore Year and Junior Year
Sophomore year brings the first big test: the PSAT, a mini-version of the SAT. Junior year will bring the rest — the SAT, ACT and possibly the SAT Subject and AP tests. Preparing for these exams in the summer will help, as the material is not what students learn in a traditional course, Check out free resources for exam prep like Khan Academy, which offers training and practice exams.
Continue researching colleges, and see what your student likes; it will be likely that their interests have changed somewhat since they first began high school!
Make sure they are on track to apply to college by reviewing your child’s courses over the last year or two, and making sure they are on track to meet the A-G requirements.
Entering Senior Year
You’re in the home stretch! It’s time to finally apply to colleges. Have your student finalize their list in the summer, and mark all deadlines in an organizer or calendar — they’ll be far less likely to forget that way.
Begin work on college application essays; with the essays drafted over the summer, they’ll be able to ask for feedback from friends, teachers, mentors and/or counselors when they return to school. The more eyes that look at their essay, the better.
The trick to not getting overwhelmed by the college process is to plan, and that means using summer wisely. By thinking about the future, students are already on track to be successful.
Entering Any School Year
No matter what year your student is entering, they can use summer as a valuable period to show passion. That can mean working a job, interning (paid or unpaid), volunteering, taking summer courses or traveling — check out this resource to get more ideas.
Depth also matters more than breadth — if a student returns to a job, internship, volunteering opportunity, etc. over multiple summers, that demonstrates persistence and dedication. Summer experiences can also be topics to write about for college applications.
If you are able to, plan family summer trips to college campuses. Visiting colleges can give your student a sense of where they might feel most comfortable, and help them decide whether they like a city or traditional campus, small or large school, etc. They can visit residences and dining halls, and many schools also offer their own summer programs for high school students.
And if your child is not yet in high school? The path to college starts early, and you can help your student build good habits well before college application season.