Middle School Parents: getting your child college-ready

I often get the question from parents: What should we do to make sure my child can get into the best possible college?  Well, when that question is asked when the student is in 10th grade, it’s a bit too late!  A good time to think a bit more in depth about your child’s college prospects is in middle school.  Think about how you’d plan for a new project at work – you don’t just dive into a project without completing a bit of brainstorming and perhaps more thorough strategic planning.  It is no different in the college applications process.  Here are a few things to consider:
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• Continuously be thinking about teachers/coaches that will be able to give you a reference.  It’s important to forge strong adult-student relationships throughout the 4 years of high school, the earlier the better with more choices and opportunities to click with different mentors along the way.
• Start looking at college requirements.  What are the minimum requirements of some of the schools that you think your child has a shot at?  It’s ok to be looking at lofty goals, shoot for the stars and you’ll be sure to hit all the basic requirements.  What are the minimum grades for classes to count for those schools?  What are the minimum number of courses a student needs to take to even be considered?  Is there a foreign language requirement beyond what the high school requires?  What about minimum attainment in math or science?
• Take classes at the most rigorous level offered.  It’s ok to ask to move up in difficulty if you feel ready to do so even if not openly offered to the student – this might be a good discussion to have with a guidance counselor or the current subject teacher.  Get help in classes that your child is struggling in before it is too late – schools have peer tutors typically, but you can also contact a professional tutoring service.
• Sophomore year – the numbers matter and testing is an important tool admissions offers use.  Start prepping for standardized testing at this time.  There are lots of free resources online (Khan) and private tutoring if necessary.
• Junior year – college selections, visits/tours, thinking about narrowing down what types of schools you’re interested in.  It’s a matching process – just like dating, you want to find the right fit for your child, not necessarily just the best ranking school.  There are lots of amazing colleges in the US and abroad!  Consider variables like: school size, diversity (income, ethnicity, etc), cost, location, look/feel, and culture of the school.  Best way to get a feel is to visit a bunch of very different schools to see what feels the best.  Then you can try to extrapolate to other schools that you may not have time to visit, but may be similar.
• Senior year – actual application, completion of essays, don’t underestimate how much time it takes to produce quality essays in a style that is much different than what students work on in school!  The fall season will feel like an additional class with the essays, application process, and additional standardized testing (if needed).  Definitely mentally prep for this as you get closer to senior year.