Planning early for college can save time and help boost your student’s chances of acceptance.
The symbolic end to your parenting journey – the college admission process – is one of the most significant periods in your child’s life. Searching for the “perfect fit” can require a lot of time. By starting to plan in sophomore year, it will make the process more manageable.
Here’s what you can do:
Start building your application early – College admissions panels want to see leadership and depth in a student’s activities outside of the classroom. This does not mean they should join every club available and put their name in the running for board positions. The best thing to do is explore some activities of interest freshman and early sophomore year and pick a couple to invest time into over the long term. One of the ways colleges form a well-rounded class is by making sure that a wide range of interests are represented among admitted students. If you seem to have involvement in too many activities, an admission panel may not know where your true interest lies.
Take a practice SAT and ACT and Test Prep – It’s probably a good idea to get the ball rolling on preparing for the dreaded college admissions tests. By the end of sophomore year, students should have completed a practice SAT and ACT. This is useful for determining which test the student should focus on in his prep efforts. Because all colleges accept either test, it’s a better idea to optimize your time on one test rather than divide your attention between two. There are, however, some extenuating circumstances such as recruited students, scholarships, etc, though they are rare. Give us a call to get a free practice SAT and ACT mailed to you today!
Identify Strengths – What is your student really rood at? Inventing? Entertaining? Writing? You don’t have to be a super hero to have super powers. Everyone has strengths. In fact, knowing your natural talents, skills, abilities and personal accomplishments will bring you one step closer to strengthening your application and finding your “perfect fit” school.
Seek advice from the experts – By working with a college admissions consultant and a test prep tutors, you can make sure that your student is on track to gain admission to a strong list of schools. College Consultant Reviews is a great place to start.