<p>Hi I was just wondering what age should you start applying and looking for colleges and start really searching for what you want? I really need help on this because I really would love someones advice I am stressing on this alot! </p>
<p>Oh and by the way I am turning 17 in a couple months and I am about to finish my 10th grade year and start my 11th grade year pretty soon so please help thank you guys :)</p>
<p>Have U tried your guidance counselors office yet? Your 11th grade year can be very good at preparing for standardized tests and reading lots of material. Talk to your GC. Find out where other students like yourself (in terms of academics) have gone on to matriculate. GL to you</p>
<p>okay that sounds good thank you good but the thing is im home schooled so I don't really have a guidance counselor I don't know who to talk to about this, because my parents have never gone to college and my older sister didn't either so no one knows how it works I will be the first one to be going and as excited as I am I really want to be prepared and ready by the end of my 11th grade year so i just want to know what I should do or who I can talk to about this?</p>
<p>Ooh, exciting!</p>
<p>But it's also stressful as well. Let's see, you're in tenth grade.</p>
<p>Tenth grade is still a bit early to start looking for colleges and applying to them. That's because your interests and preferences might change. Let me explain. When I was in tenth grade, I thought that I wanted large classes in a medium-sized university, not too big, not too small, but definitely in a large city. I wanted it to have a good math and sciences program. As I got older in eleventh and twelfth grades, my preferences changed a little. I knew more about college options as well, and I started not caring so much about whether the college was in the middle of a city--it could also be in a suburban environment close to a major city. I also wanted to attend a small liberal arts college. But I still wanted the school to be strong in math and science. In the summer after eleventh grade I already had a list of twenty to thirty colleges (which is fine for a first list) and over the summer I tried to narrow it down to six to ten. I was a little late, but I still had time to visit one of my choices and in the fall of senior year I got invitations to visit some of the schools I was interested for free! That gave me a better understanding of what I was applying to, and it gave me an understanding of what the school was really like. Then, after finalizing my list, I applied.</p>
<p>Try not to stress so much about college. I know it's exciting and hard not to stress, but I think that most people, if they're asked what they would have done differently, is not to stress out so much. It's a simple process, really, but there are a lot of steps, I guess you could say.</p>
<p>Here's what I recommend:
- Think about what your goals in life are (okay, I don't know how many 17-year olds can do this. I don't think most 27,37,47,57,67-year olds can do this!). But it helps to start, and you'll see why.
- Think about your goals in college. What do you want to get out of higher education? How do you want to be changed, if you want to be changed at all? What kind of person do you want to be? Now, this is still a highly debated issue. Lots of interesting philosophical issues are talked about in an old book called The Purposes of Higher Education by Smith. As an example, my goals in college are to learn as much as I can, learn more about mathematics (my main academic interest), become smarter, more prepared for the world, know how I can live the rest of my life better and help make the world be a better place, and become wiser. Quite a list!</p>
<ul>
<li>Then think about what kind of colleges you think would help you achieve your goals. Also, what size-school, what environment, what student body? Really, the whole college process is a LOT like buying a house--you need to find the house that's right for YOU. College will be a home for four years--you want to pick a good one! </li>
</ul>
<p>I'll continue the college process advice soon. Get a job. It helps pay for college (college is expensive!). </p>
<p>I have to leave now, so I'll leave you with a few books I recommend about college that you might like:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Complete Idiot's Guide to College Planning (let's face it, almost all high-schoolers are complete idiots when it comes to college)</li>
<li>Looking Beyond the Ivy League</li>
<li>Colleges that Change Lives, by Loren Pope.</li>
</ul>
<p>Loren Pope advocates small liberal arts colleges, and although I only applied to one of his recommended schools, I think he has a lot of good, wise advice.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>By the way, start thinking about what your goals, etc. are now. It's an ongoing process. You might change your mind later, but that's fine. You should have some kind of idea of what you'd like though. Give it a lot of thought--it'll be worth it. And as you're doing this, try getting a real job. I wish I had done that sooner.</p>
<p>OP: There is a forum here for homeschooled students. I'd suggest you look through it; there are sure to be other students with similar concerns.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Tenth grade is still a bit early to start looking for colleges and applying to them.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I completely disagree. While it's certainly too soon to start applying, I really don't think it's ever too soon to start looking.</p>
<p>Thank you guys so much and yes I will start doing all that yeah what is home schooled forum do you know the persons name that wrote it that would be easier in finding the thread? thank you guys so much</p>
<p>If there is a college near where you live or where you might travel on vacation, I think it is really helpful to start doing some college visits now. By that I mean the general tour, a snack on campus, a look at the bookstore and a stroll around the campus with your family. As you visit specific schools, talk with your family about what you like or don't like about the programs/dorms/neighborhood/student style.
You can get great advice here on CC. You will also find it helpful to pick a couple of schools you might be interested in and explore their websites. Most will have a discussion about the kind of academic preparation expected.
Since you are homeschooled, your test scores will be given more weight than most applicants. It is the right time to prep for the PSAT this summer, and consider which AP tests you will likely take in a year.</p>
<p>I'm done with all apps stuff and finished class 13th A Levels (its a UK system of study), and I am still 17. How can you be 17 in 10th grade? :s</p>
<p>Here's a link to the home school forum: [url=<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/home-schooling-college/%5Dhere%5B/url">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/home-schooling-college/]here[/url</a>]</p>
<p>"I'm done with all apps stuff and finished class 13th A Levels (its a UK system of study), and I am still 17. How can you be 17 in 10th grade?"</p>
<p>People have different experiences in their lives. I was a university sophomore at 16 but I don't ask why you're 17 and only just finished your A Levels.</p>
<p>^^^ cool kid. :P</p>
<p>So, i take it, you attended class 7 in a cradle?</p>
<p>Now is a good time...</p>
<p>No I turn 17 in a couple months i'm still 16 but I am almost done with 10th so yeah thanks guys for all the help do you recommend good schools because I really don't know yet what I want or where I want to go?</p>
<p>Take ACT in Spring of Junior year. Start looking for colleges spring of Junior year. Visit the 5-6 colleges you pick out in the summer between Junior and Senior year. Start applying Fall Senior year. Take the first Fall ACT if you have to take it over again.</p>
<p>As far as a good list of colleges, I would say:</p>
<p>Harvard, Columbia, University of Chicago, Washington University, Duke, Northwestern, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, University of Texas - Austin, University of Wisconsin - Madison, and UCLA would be a good list of colleges to apply to. Good variety, all good schools. Not sure what state your from, but if it is a rolling admissions school, apply to that one right away as your major safety net (since the list I gave, could all potentially just reject a homeschooled student, so you want to get in early in a rolling admissions school).</p>
<p>cbulla21--why do yu recommend those? Look, the original poster still doesn't know what he wants to get out of college. Don't just pick schools because they're famous--the point is to pick the school that's right for you. </p>
<p>Suevg: start thinking about what you want to get out of college. That's the first step. It makes no sense for us to tell you to look at this school or that school, because we don't know what you want in college. So once you've found out what you want, which might take a few months or more and might be revised again and again, come back to us. But you're only in tenth grade, so it's perfectly normal to not know what you want out of college.</p>
<p>well I want to be a massage therapist so the schools she said were pretty good I want to go to one based on that it is good and has a good reputation thanks guys this helps!</p>
<p>Wow, that list is not realistic given admit rates. The OP needs safeties - both academic and financial. She indicated in another thread that her parents will not give her any money for college. Unfortunately the aid process will look at their incomes and assets and determine a potential aid amount. And we all know that most schools don't give 100% of need.</p>
<p>I don't believe Harvard gives a degree in massage therapy.</p>
<p>And...there's no point in applying to Harvard if you want to be a massage therapist.</p>
<p>Just look up a list of top massage therapy schools, imo.</p>
<p>seriously to separate them out, probably in you Jr. year. However, what kind of plan you will have for college, probably in 9th grade or early if it involves a sport.</p>