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Countdown to College: Tips to Help Students Find Their Fit By Janeen Lewis
The high school road to college can be challeng- ing. There are deadlines and tough financial choices, and parents and children don’t always agree on colleges. How do parents help their high school students navigate all the details and decisions they must make during their countdown to college? Here is some advice from the pros. Starting the Conversation It all starts with a conversation, but often the question that starts the conversation is the wrong one, according to Rick Clark, an under- graduate college admissions counselor. “Parents ask ‘Where do you want to go to college?’” says Clark, who co-authored the book, The Truth about College Admission: A Family Guide to Getting in and Staying Together . The biggest question that parents don’t ask is ‘Why do you want to go to college?’ That is important, and should be followed up with questions like “What do you hope to get out of this? What do you want to study? What do you want to do long- term?” says Clark. Freshman Year: The Importance of Academics Rachael Fain, a mom of three, stresses the
importance of GPA during the freshman high school year. “My children started taking high school classes in eighth grade,” Fain says. “A GPA is harder to bring up in junior and senior year, so our goal in their eighth and ninth grade years was to keep their GPA high.” Freshman year is also important for getting on a challenging track of classes. “Course choice is important,” Clark says. “Math in particular is something students need to pay attention to.” Sophomore Year: Getting to Know You In tenth grade,students can take personality tests and the PSAT to determine strengths and weaknesses. They can also think about the kind and size of school they want to attend. Understanding what they are good at will help students be realistic about the school that is the best fit for them.
ricular activities? Clark says one out of every four students who apply to the school where he works are accepted. “Most students that apply have good test scores, good grades, and good courses. Then the review committee asks, ‘Is this kid a good fit for us?’” Clark says they look for students who are innovative or who are entrepreneurs, and they ask “How does this student use their time?” Senior Year: Find Your Fit Clark says the most important thing about making a college decision is finding a good fit. “Fit doesn’t really mean, can the student do the work, but are they aligned well to the school?” For example, Clark says two universi- ties can look the same on paper. A student will apply to each with the same grades and same test scores and get accepted to one and not the other. “That is what fit is,” Clark says. “[It’s] how a student fits with a school, not just from an academic standpoint.” The good news is that there are many schools across the country, and probably more than one of them will match your student’s personality and academic standing.
Junior Year: Balancing Grades and Activities
Grades are crucial during junior year. Junior year involves a more challenging track of classes and leadership roles in clubs and activities. It’s hard to do it all, so how important are the extracur-
18 Education Guide | 2024
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