Planning for College

Preparing for the costs and challenges of applying to college should begin, ideally, during the last year of middle school. If you’re the parent of a college-bound student, you should consider playing an active role early on in the college planning process. In addition to saving money to pay for college, you should start discussing with your child the value of getting a college degree and the different careers that could lead to a well-paying job. Try to get a sense of the possible career paths that might interest your child. Once he has shown some interest in a specific field, you can then assist him in deciding what major to take by showing him its potential career paths and post-graduation employment prospects. After that, you can begin researching colleges and universities that offer the most reputable programs in that major. If you have the time, attend college nights and other school events that cover college planning topics. Talk to friends or relatives who are currently in college. Your child should also consult his guidance counselors as they can highlight the requirements of each school and help him narrow down his college list to those schools that most closely match his career interests.

Keep in mind that the college planning process is not just about making a list of potential colleges. There are a lot of other things to do and consider. First, your child needs to stay on track with his classes and grades. Note that every grade in every subject from 9th grade to the first semester of senior year counts, which is why the high school transcript, not the report card, is what gets sent to the colleges. The transcript is the summary of all the courses your child has taken in high school. Colleges will be looking at his overall grade-point average or GPA which is a major factor in college admissions. But don’t worry if your child’s grades haven’t been that good so far; it’s never too late to improve since colleges do want to see an upward trend. Also, if your child can fulfill his high school graduation course requirements early, he will have room in his schedule for AP subjects or programs such as the College Now. In addition to getting college credits, they make the college application look good because they show that your child is challenging himself by taking the most demanding classes available at his school.

The second major factor in college admissions is the standardized test score. Students must submit a score from either the SAT or the ACT in order to be considered for admission at most U.S. colleges and universities. Most colleges accept both exams, though some schools may prefer one over the other. Sometime before your child enters junior year, you will need to organize a testing timeline for him since he would need a sufficient amount of time to prepare for these tests. Nearly all students take the PSAT, a shorter version of the SAT, starting in 10th grade. However, unlike the SAT, the PSAT scores do not impact your child’s chances at college admission. That is, unless he gets a score high enough for him to qualify for a National Merit Scholarship and so he could list that as an accomplishment. At the same time, he gets extra money to help pay for college. Other than those, he can use the PSAT results to assess his readiness for the SAT. A majority of students take either the SAT or the ACT by spring of their junior year and then retake the test in the fall of senior year if they’re unhappy with their scores. Some students prefer to wait until their senior year to take the test. The only disadvantage to this approach is that they will have less time to retake the exams if they’re not satisfied with their scores.

The non-academic aspect of your child’s high school experience is another important part of the college application. Colleges are interested in the extra-curricular activities, sports, and community service a student is involved in and will be looking for consistency and depth in these activities. Taking on leadership roles and making a commitment to the same groups are more important than trying out tons of new activities each year. Summer jobs and internships can also help boost your child’s application plus he gets the added advantage of earning extra money that can go towards the application and testing fees or for other minor future college expenses.

Finally, try to include in your college plan a search for scholarships. The sooner you start looking for scholarships, the easier it will be to select some to apply to during your child’s senior year. The costs of attending college in the U.S. has skyrocketed over the past few decades rising by as much as 179% between 1995 and 2015. This trend has shown no signs of abating and has so far generated record levels of debt escalating the situation to a full-blown student debt crisis across the country, As of last year, the average student loan debt is $34,000 which is a tremendous financial burden. Scholarships can help ease this burden.

College is a huge and valuable investment yet few plan ahead. Having a plan in place will help you and your child feel less overwhelmed and frustrated when the time comes for him to apply. The sooner you start, the more capable you will feel about the whole college application process and more assured that you are headed in the right direction.