Getting into college: What should you do and when should you do it? (Page 2)

Summer between Grade 9 and Grade 10:

Students: (Prepare for PSAT/SAT)

It is never too early to start preparing. You can buy SAT books that have real and practice tests. If you feel you need more help, take a class that can help you prepare for SAT.

Grade 10:

Students:

If you are an honors student, you will most likely take the PSAT in October. The PSAT is a good practice for SAT or ACT. When you get the test results you will know what areas need improvement. Continue to practice, even on sections you did well.

Exams to take:

If you are taking any AP courses, you will have to take the AP test in May and if you are in Honors classes, you can take the SAT II Subject test in June. You can also take SAT I or ACT if you are ready.

Students & Parents: (For best results, do this together)

Pick Colleges:

If you already know what you are interested in, then make a list of the top 50 schools which you would like to go to. The list can be based on the following criteria:

Location

Affordability - research the difference between the public (in-state), public (out of state) and private schools.

National Ranking based on publications like US. News and World report, etc

Name recognition

School atmosphere and community

Parents:

Understand and accept that your child can have different interests and ideas than yours. Your job is to open all the doors you can and guide them. If you feel that they are not going in the right direction (you feel that they will not be successful as you know them the best), try to help them understand by making it possible for them to get a hands on experience or at least take them to an appropriate workplace and show them what it takes and why you feel that there might be problems in the future. Explanation is the key.