College Planning: When Is The Right Time To Start?
Perhaps a College Planning Checklist Would Help
When is the right time to start the planning process? Ultimately, the answer is: it varies. Colleges consider all four years of an applicant’s high school experience. Although the search for a college that will be a great fit often begins in earnest during the junior year, there are questions and opportunities students and their parents often have well before that time.
What do colleges and universities look for in the students they’ll accept?
When building a class, admissions officers are not just looking for a bunch of well-rounded students, they are looking at how each individual can contribute to the larger mosaic that will make up the class as a whole. While a student’s academic record is extremely important in the college admissions process, it often doesn’t end there. In fact, far from it. Many institutions believe a holistic approach to the admissions process best serves the mission of the college or university
Factors considered to represent a student’s academic ability typically include a combination of:
- grades
- test scores
- course rigor
- class rank
- standardized test scores
Factors that schools consider when following a holistic approach are revealed through:
- extracurricular activities
- essays
- expressions of their life experiences as found in various ways, which may include through their presence on social media platforms
- letters of recommendation
- interviews
Because all four years of high school courses, grades, and activities are considered, ideally a student needs time to identify their interests, participate in meaningful activities that align to these interests, perform well in class throughout high school, and achieve their goal scores on the SAT or ACT (and subject tests if appropriate). Since there is a lot of personal growth throughout high school, these interests and activities can change and evolve throughout each year. Consequently, individual experiences and opportunities are most valuable when considered within the overall experiences of the student.
About that college planning checklist…
Getting and staying on track with college prep is not hard as long as students and parents know what to expect during each year of high school. While much of this can be found in the information provided by your child’s high school counselor, if you have still have questions, send me an email and I’ll send you our College Planning Checklist (it’s free and we won’t bug you with annoying emails or phone calls later): jeff@collegeroutemap.com.
If you would like to talk this through in greater detail, call me 720.422.7676.
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For our website, click here If you’re interested in contacting us about our college planning and college counseling services, click here
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