My oldest starts 9th grade in the fall. Time to start obsessing about college. I received little to no guidance from my parents about college until the 11th hour and I would like to avoid that scenario (no doubt leading to oldest son believing that little to no guidance is best route).
Thanks for your best links!
Rule#1: Don’t obsess.
What kinds of websites are you looking for? School rankings? Parental advice? Advice for the teen in question?
The College Board’s Big Future website is a good starting point. Zinch can be helpful, as long as you remember it is very much a commercial service.
I’d take everything you read on College Confidential with a grain of salt. They know a lot, but it’s not a particularly healthy culture.
If you have the funds, a $200, one hour visit with a good professional college counselor now to broadly establish goals and map out anything that needs to be done to get there can be worth it. I mean, if she just generally wants to go to some state school and major in something, it’s not a big deal, but if she wants to go anywhere even mildly competitive there are some fairly simple things she can do now to increase her chances significantly.
There are a couple serious advantages to working with a professional: one, a professional will know the specific quirks of your district and state (pick someone who knows the district). So if there are automatic scholarships for a given GPA or ACT scores, they will know. And they will know simple ways to maximize class rank as it is calculated in your district. Furthermore, right now your child assumes you are a million years old and know nothing. Having a Paid Professional look them in the eye and say "If you want to go to [Whatever], your grades have to be [whatever] and you need to take [whatever] and you need to be in [whatever] carries an authority that you will never match. I really think seeing a college counselor before freshman year is probably the most important time.
right, all of those.
What is the culture?
Mando JO, what’s the best way to find a “good professional college counselor”? Do they have other job titles?
I would talk to the parents of your daughter’s friends who have older siblings. What you really want is someone who knows your state and your system. Possibly email the president of the high school PTA
ETA: And, MOST IMPORTANTLY, take with a huge grain of salt any advice offered by anyone based on experiences more than ten years ago. It’s a whole different game now: more competitive, much more expensive, more aid in some ways, less aid in others.
I’m in high school myself, and as suggested in a few prior posts, talk to a college readiness professional. I plan on doing that myself in a few months.
Also in regards to high school in general, make sure he or she is doing leadership based community service. Counselors have always told me that while working in the soup kitchen is a worthwhile cause, colleges want you to be passionate and hold leadership positions within organizations. I really wish I had known this going into 9th grade.
I’d also recomend beginning to study for the PSAT in his/her Sophmore year. Most kids don’t take it seriously at all (it holds no bearing on your grades or graduation). But, thosr who take it seriously have a really good shot at some scholarship money. I recomend the Princeton Review’s SAT book.
Also, this thread may help you out a little: