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Most families begin thinking about college years before their children will officially start the application process. Parents, understandably, feel the weight of setting their children up for a successful future, and the college process can be daunting. It is not uncommon for parents to ask us questions about how they can begin setting the stage for a strong college outcome when they are meeting with our advisors about kindergarten or even preschool!
Four years old is definitely too early to make educational decisions for your child, based on your hopes for their college future. We always remind parents, in these early stages of a child’s learning, that the most important factor is to ensure that your child is in the right environment to meet their needs now, not in fifteen years. As much as possible, it’s best for your child’s growth, and for your relationship with them, to focus on who they are today, not who they might be many years from now.
However, once your child reaches middle school, there are developmentally appropriate ways that you can begin to lay the groundwork for a positive college planning process. This doesn’t mean that you will start the college search in full swing yet. But by 7th, 8th, and 9th grade, it can be helpful to begin supporting the skills, interests, and course choices that will ultimately inform your child’s college application.
What to Focus on in 7th & 8th Grade
This is a good time to begin supporting the soft skills that your child will continue to develop over the coming years, which will ultimately be valuable to their college planning experience. Some areas to bolster in the middle school years include:
- Executive Function - As students move through middle and high school, they should become increasingly capable of organizing and prioritizing their work independently.
- Developing Interests - While students don’t need to know their life goals by the 7th grade, this is a good time to explore interests and passions, so they can develop increasing clarity of purpose over the coming years.
- Confidence in Communication - The college process involves presenting yourself with clarity and confidence, whether in written applications or in interviews. Middle school is a great time to nurture these emerging skills.
What to Focus on in 9th & 10th Grade
As your child begins high school, they should still be given plenty of opportunity to explore interests and develop new areas of focus. High school is often a time when students discover their passions and find new avenues for leadership. However, they should also begin to consider how the courses they are taking and the extracurricular activities they are pursuing will ultimately shape their future goals.
- Course Planning - Depending on the pathways that your child’s school offers, there may be academic decisions in 9th and 10th grade that will impact which courses are available to them in 11th and 12th grade.
- Extracurricular Planning - Some students enter high school with a clear passion or focus. But it’s very common for students to still be exploring new interests at this age. Opportunities to try new things and dig more deeply into existing interests will help them hone their path.
- College Visits - This can be a good time to explore a few colleges in a relaxed way. There’s no application pressure yet, so students can visit a few schools with the goal of getting a basic gut check on what kind of environment might be the right fit.
As your child moves toward 11th and 12th grade, they will develop increasing clarity about their hopes for the next phase in their educational journey, begin to build a college list, and take the more concrete steps involved in applying to college. Stay tuned for an upcoming post on how to approach the process, as your child enters their final years of high school.
We know this can be a stressful time, but it is also exciting! At all stages in the college planning process, we are here to support you.
