<p>My son will be a 7th grader this fall. Just looking for advice on how best to prepare for college. Is it too early to even think about college? Is there some sort of tests he can take just to test the waters? He is unsure about which field of study to pursue in college. Is their a site or general guidelines he can follow to determine aptitude and interest.</p>
<p>it is WAY to early for you to start worryiing about this. Just encourage an overall love of learning as much as possible and be supportive of his current interests/ activities.</p>
<p>I think 7th grade is too young for anything besides very broad things which he should be learning as a developing person anyway. Teach him how to study (lots of kids really don’t get that). Make sure he sees the importance of doing homework- even “busy work”. 0s on homework can kill a grade; conversely, 100% on homework can save a grade if a bad test comes along. My sons really had to see this in action to believe me. Any high school class (usually algebra or foreign language) taken in middle school MAY appear on your son’s HS transcript, and be calculated into his GPA. Find out if this is your case. Be absolutely sure that those classes get a lot of attention. Nothing like a bad grade from 8th grade killing a GPA in high school. (We’re living proof… S got a terrible grade in algebra… I knew he’d been lazy and let it be a “lesson” rather than making him repeat the class as a freshman. Big regrets about that decision now, as he enters junior year). Finally, what interests does your son have? Sports? Music? Computers? Nurture them while still allowing him to try new things as more opportunities are going to come along. Colleges like depth of involvement, and long periods of involvement more than being a member of every possible club and activity. Encourage your son to find things he loves and spend time doing them, improving or branching into variations on the theme. For instance, a trumpet player in the middle school band may become involved with a marching or jazz band in high school. A soccer player may choose to start coaching younger players as he gets older. The kid who feeds the neighbor’s cat may have a thriving pet sitting business, or volunteer at a shelter when he’s a little older.
Again, nothing here about test prep, or expensive summer programs. He’s young. Let him be young, but sow the seeds now that will grow as he goes through high school.</p>
<p>Way, way too early. At this stage encourage a wide variety of interests, let your kid figure out which out of school activities he enjoys and might also be good at. (Usually they tend to be the same!) Make sure your kid keeps reading - sometimes at this age kids stop reading for pleasure. It doesn’t matter what they read, sci-fi, fantasy, Sports Illustrated, are all fine, but reading is the most important thing you can do to improved SAT scores. Keep an eye on what sort of accelerated options there are and I agree if those courses are going to appear on a high school transcript - make sure your child is aware of the consequences.</p>
<p>Many schools will give kids this age vocational aptitude tests of some sort - we found them completely useless. For my older son who already was obviously going to be involved in computer programming the closest suggestion the program made was meteorologist. Younger son swears he answered honestly and was told to be a garbage man! Younger son didn’t figure out a general direction for careerwise until he was a senior in high school. Older son knew what he wanted to do when he was 7 years old.</p>
<p>It’s too early to worry about fields of interest, but in my opinion, it’s not too early to make sure that your son understands the need to take schoolwork seriously.</p>
<p>I would particularly keep an eye on how he’s doing in subjects where each year’s work builds on the previous one – especially math and foreign language. Kids who get overwhelmed or confused in these subjects one year rarely catch up later, unless some special effort is made to help them (repeating a course, getting tutoring, etc.).</p>
<p>This will not be popular but…do not let gaming take control of his life.
He needs to do homework/computer work in a family area so you can control how much time he spends gaming, fb, other time sucks.
Laptop stays off and with you when he goes to bed.
He can earn your trust and given control in high school but you have to teach him how to manage his time, schoolwork, sports, music, ECs in middle school.
Gaming has ruined many a student’s quest for tippy top colleges.</p>
<p>Well, you can see if he qualifies for Duke’s TIP. [7th</a> Grade Talent Search | Duke TIP](<a href=“http://www.tip.duke.edu/node/44]7th”>http://www.tip.duke.edu/node/44)</p>
<p>I did not know squat about it. S’s private suggested it. Made a difference. He saw that he had what it took to do extremely well on the standardized tests. It took a lot of doubt out of the rest of secondary school.</p>
<p>If your son takes the test, I suggest no prepping. Also, you may want to consider your reaction/concerns if he doesn’t shine on this.</p>
<p>I would just encourage good grades and help him form good study habits. Also encourage activites in school.</p>
<p>This is more of a job for you, but pay attention to course sequencing - especially in math and foreign language - and look at the HS classes that a few decent universities require. </p>
<p>For example, if he wants to be sure to take Calculus, work your way back through the classes and make sure he is on track . For our students, the march to Calc starts in 6th grade, when a student decides to take “pre-AP” or “regular” - if a student doesn’t take HS Algebra I in 8th grade, he isn’t on track for Calc.</p>
<p>Foreign language is tricky. Around here, lots of kids take their “three years of the same foreign language” in 8th, 9th and 10th grades, then stop. So when it’s time to take their college language placement tests, it’s been two years since they’ve had it and many have to start at the beginning. It would make more sense to take the language in 10th-12th grades, but almost no one does it that way.</p>
<p>It’s not too early. The relevant talent search depends on the state you live in. For example, a California 7th grader takes the ACT and SAT through Johns Hopkins talent search, but can use those scores for eligibility in any of the other summer programs, like Duke TIP. Out of level testing can be a little intimidating for a 7th grader, but the potential benefits are significant.</p>
<p>Agree that if your son is particularly bright, have him take a test for one of the talent searches. If you are interested, post the region of the country you live in (there are several, and they tend to be regional). But if not, the other advice you have received here is good. </p>
<p>Missypie is right on target about math and foreign language being a couple of areas to watch closely. Our perspective on foreign language has been that our kids have NO natural talent in that area; working backward from the AP level, we figured out what year they would have to start so they could potentially get at least a 4 on the AP test an would NOT have to take a language in college (ex-H and I both agree that foreign language was the most awful class either of us took in college, and it was required for both of us to graduate). Not everyone looks at it that way, of course.</p>
<p>I would not worry about aptitude or interest for several years. Start thinking the summer before junior year, because it can affect what colleges you visit. But even then… D2 is a rising HS senior, and had just developed an interest in engineering in the past six months. New robotics team at her school, and she decided to attend an engineering summer camp this summer. Who knew, as her other great love is poetry… Fortunately I suggested we visit a couple of STEM schools last year along with the LACs we had on the list, so she has some options in that area if she wants to apply there. And she has stayed on the highest math track at her school because she likes math. But you are years away from that. Do NOT put pressure on your kid to even think about majors/careers until then, and starting junior year only to pick schools that offer majors of interest at that time. There is the rare kid who knows from the get-go what they want (D1 was trying to solve the problem of splitting up Jerusulem at age 4, so it was pretty obvious even then that politics and international relations were going to be her subjects of study… but that is rare).</p>
<p>Too early, in spite of the fact that public middle schools seem to push kids to start thinking about aptitudes and college majors and careers and so on.</p>
<p>Our school offered some sort of computer test to predict future careers. My musician daughter came out as a clown, and her best friend came out as a football player.</p>
<p>I would agree with much of the advise you have received: check into the Talent Search–Johns Hopkins, Duke TIP and/or the UCI Gifted Students Academy. Explore interests. Learn to study.</p>
<p>The most critical is your job: find out if the middle school grades/classes or some combination will be on the high school report card. For us, it’s just the class, but it could be the class and the grade. How is it designated on the report card?
Find out the class sequences, especially math and foreign language. I would also check into sciences. What are the prerequisites for honors classes as a freshman? For AP classes further on in high school? When can he register for honors/AP (some schools limit these to upper classman, find out the situation in your school district). Of course some of this could change in the next year or two, but it’s better to have some idea.</p>
<p>The lecture our junior high principal gave to parents for incoming 7th grade students was to stay engaged with our kids but to give them more and more responsibility for their own selves. The most important lesson we can teach our kids is for them to be responsible (or to think they are responsible). If your kiddo needs a planner, tell them to use it (and you can check it). If they need to organize themselves so they have time to do their homework, help them figure that schedule and help them keep that time free so they can do their homework. Start letting them use an alarm clock even if you set yours 15 minutes later to make sure they get up. </p>
<p>Continue to go to parent teacher conferences it’s important to still understand how your child is when they aren’t with you and how they interact with the other kids in addition to how they are faring academically. Junior high is a time when kids might break up their elementary cliques or they are entering a new school where they might be ‘younger’ and the social aspect of how they integrate are equally important. These are the kinds of things that will help kids be successful in college…they are far from dreaming about where your kiddo might go to college but it’s far to early for that…better to help them learn how to become independent and responsible. Keep reading the school announcements and stay up to speed because, yes, some of the G&T programs will begin with testing this year. In our district the parents of qualified kids get a letter from the guidance office. Other testing that might occur for your son’s age group is proficiency testing for placement purposes so stay tuned for those occurrences as it will help you understand your child’s potential trajectory in a few years entering high school. Alot of this is repeating what others have said…</p>
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<p>I recall reading something to the effect: Teach the concept of a pause button in order to stop, think and choose before acting. Whenever they are allowed to have a voice and a choice, they will grow up knowing that they have the power to guide the outcome of their life and contribute to the well being of the group.</p>
<p>Every year on CC, we hear the horror stories of students would seem to flounder (and often fail) early in college from being unable to be responsible in and for their choices. Seventh and eighth grades still allow for a degree of false starts and misses in learning personal responsibility.</p>
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<p>Nicely said 07Dad. One more thing we did in middle school was let the kids fail. We told them if they forgot their homework or forgot something for school we would drop everything and run whatever was “forgot” out to the school but only once. It was really hard sometimes to turn around and see a book or a piece of homework when you know they needed it, but try to sit on your hands. But at least in 7th grade I would still not leave for work until they left for school and I would ask them one time before they went out the door “do you have everything you need?” and often they would stop, think and remember something. If there was something unusual they needed that was in the fridge, or somewhere other than there study spot in 7th grade I would tell them to make themselves a note and tape it their bathroom mirror. Basically in 7th grade it helps them learn the practical side of life and gain some habits through routine that will help them along the road into high school…until their brains turn to mush at 17 anyway :-)</p>
<p>If you think that your kid may want to eventually attend a very selective college, then check out Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth. If kiddo qualifies for testing, then take ACT in 7th grade, without studying, to see where kiddo falls academically. Could then take SAT in 8th grade, again without study, mainly for practice in taking this test.</p>
<p>As for what else to plan for college, encourage kid to try everything or anything that interests kid. Can be broad and without any plan. It’s all about experimentation. If kid likes it, then continue on, or go along a side branch of interest. If kid doesn’t like it, try something else. It’s difficult to know what your are interested in unless you experience it first hand. This is not necessarily for classes only, but also for any enrichment experiences. Try to instill a love for learning. </p>
<p>Then in highschool, you will start to notice that the interests start forming certain patterns. Keep moving into more specific branches. Many kids change majors many times while even in college, so don’t try to pick one at 7th grade.</p>