<p>I just found this site today, and am wondering if I am being silly for looking into this now? my D is just in 7th grade, but wasn't it yesterday that she was in diapers? :) She is my oldest, and I have been told that I need to start the "college process" early. I don't necessarily know what that means. She is an all A student, she is taking 9th grade math, and advanced English, in addition to her other classes. She is already asking about the SAT. She plays 3 sports, 2 of them year round. So, here I am, wondering what the heck I am supposed to be doing? </p>
<p>Any advice you are willing to pass on, would be great. Even if it is to chill out for a couple years...</p>
<p>It is never too early to understand how the college process works, and it is definitely never too early to understand how much college costs & how financial aid works. As long as you use this site for gaining knowledge, you’re fine … just don’t use it to push your child more than she wants to be pushed! :)</p>
<p>well you see im in my grade 11 right now. my humble advice would be allow your “D” to enjoy life for the next 2 years at its fullest. then from 9th grade(11th latest) im afraid she’ll have to start her preps for college admissions.this is what i did. and dont forget her extracurriculars like music and stuff. hope this helps.</p>
<p>At this point just make sure that she stays on the college track class wise. Consider having her take a foreign language in 8th grade if her school allows it. Otherwise, have her take the most rigourous course load she can handle, and be involved with sports and other extra curricular activities that she is interested in.</p>
<p>That is all she needs to focus on now, though it would be good for you to start understanding the financial aid part of college and to read here to have a general understanding of stuff.</p>
<p>So much as changed since 2005 when I began the process with #1 and now as I begin the process with my #3. And much will change between this year and 4 -5 years from now for you. However I agree with kelsmom that it is never to early to understand the financial aid ins and outs. It is too early to early to talk about specific colleges as you will have very little idea of how your child will continue to grow educationally, what areas she will excel, what areas she will struggle. Those things will be come clearly as they grow in the high school years. Continue to encourage your daughter to work to the best of her abilities and support her. When mine went off to middle school the principal’s lecture (which I heard 3 times) was about using the middle school years to develop good study habits and to help the kids learn to be responsible for their deadlines and requirements.</p>
<p>Be sure she optimizes her course selections. Here most students are encouraged to have a study hall- son never needed one. Since she is far ahead in math it sounds like your school district allows students to take courses best for them. Find some time to discuss things with your D’s guidance counselor. We were able to have ours make sure our gifted son got the best teachers in middle school. Schools generally won’t let students and parents choose this but working within the system helped optimize his classes. </p>
<p>It is too late to sign up for the SAT or ACT given through the Midwest Talent Search this winter. Depending on your region you can find out which gifted talent search serves you. There are east and west ones. Doing well enough on the SAT in 8th grade can make her eligible for summer programs at various programs- our son did the WCATY one in Wisconsin one a few years and could have done programs through CTY at Northwestern. Taking the SAT and/or ACT while still in middle school won’t show up on the HS record and could give your D a sense of how she is doing. Others may tell you about talent searches in their areas and you can do the online search.</p>
<p>Next year find out how the courses work at the HS. In our HS most students would take a physical science course, then biology et al. Some would skip it and take biology freshman year. Likewise some would do AP physics only and skip regular physics. Ditto AP US History instead of sophomore US History. No study halls for our son, either. Taking 4 years of one foreign language in middle/high school can mean meeting a college requirement for graduation, and applicants for many colleges will have had that much foreign language- this keeps your D competitive for most colleges.</p>
<p>My son continued his instrument and did sports (distance runner) all four years along with various academic extracurriculars that interested him. Sports your child likes and does reasonably well in are a good stress outlet as well as looking good on the record and giving her something to do with her time. Your D can, and should, participate in other extracurricular activites THAT INTEREST HER. You may need to have the school “think outside the box” and let her take courses normally reserved for higher grades- such as she is already doing for math.</p>
<p>Remember to let her be the child she still is. She will find a way to afford a good fit college somewhere. But she can never replace her childhood so be sure you don’t get too concerned about her doing a perfect job in HS and building a “perfect” resume. Keep an eye on her so she doesn’t pressure herself too much.</p>
<p>Once she is in HS and taking the best classes for her, involving herself in activities she enjoys and otherwise settled in you can look ahead to colleges. Family trips and vacations can include casual looks at various colleges en route or convenient for you. Exposing her to different campus atmospheres will give her an idea of similarities and differences. Junior year spring break is a good time for a college visit trip. By then she should have been on small/large, public/private, city/small town, etc campuses. She should have seen what dorm buildings, unions/commons areas, libraries and other campus features are like. By doing this before the college search begins she will know about colleges so her first real looks won’t be biased by being the first exposure.</p>
<p>In a few years you and she can start the serious college search. By junior year she will know more about her abilities and interests in various areas. She can then make a list of potential colleges to visit. Most students entering college will either have no major or change the one they declare so her future will remain unknown for many years to come.</p>
<p>Always remember to enjoy the present while preparing for the future.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. She does want to take a foreign language next year, she took one semester last year of mix of languages to prep her for 8th grade. Class wise she is on track, but she is having a hard time staying challenged. She has asked for extra tutoring just so she can learn more and stay competetive. This is from her, not me. She is pushing me more than I am pushing her! </p>
<p>I just want to make sure I understand what I need to get done for her. If I need to have her start doing community service or anything else.</p>
<p>"she is having a hard time staying challenged. She has asked for extra tutoring just so she can learn more and stay competetive. This is from her, not me. "</p>
<p>EPGY offers a wide range of online courses from the Kindergarten through the University level. Courses can be taken on a course-by-course basis on a year-round calendar. Additionally, courses can be taken through full-time, part-time, or single course enrollment in the Online High School (OHS), a fully accredited, diploma granting, independent school for grades 7-12. While course attributes differ by subject matter, course level, and whether they are offered on an individual basis or through the OHS, the following information is generally applicable.</p>
<p>Check with your school district for gifted and talented options. Check on a Talent Search for your region. Visit the Hoagies and other GT sites. Girls are more likely to get good grades than boys- you are lucky (know a mother of gifted twins- school gave grades without pluses or minuses and her D would do A++ work while son would aim for the A- and both would have the A on the report card).</p>
<p>"At this point just make sure that she stays on the college track class wise. " - bajamm Exactly, if your kids have the aptitude and the family support, make sure that they get into the middle-school classes that feed into the honors and AP classes in high scholl thaqt will yield the gpa and class rank to allow your child to be competitive for the schools he or she has interest in.</p>
<p>Again - Thank you everyone for all of the wonderful information. You have all given me a great start. I appreciate it and so will my D!</p>
<p>NonameNeil - I did not make this post to be criticized. I can refer to my D, DD, Dtr, daughter however I choose, as she is my D and not yours. This doesn’t make me any less of a person or mother, as you can see by my starting this process now, when she is only 12. Unless you have something pertinent to the subject, please keep your comments to yourself.</p>
<p>The fact that your daughter wants to stay “competitive” in 7th grade sounds worrisome. I would encourage her to follow her natural interests and avoid living life in middle or high school in a way that is too focused on college admissions. Seeking challenge because she wants to learn is of course worthwhile.</p>
<p>OP, I suggest you do a bit of checking on costs at, say, your state university. All colleges have this info readily available; just google “XYZ University Cost of Attendance.” Might as well get the sticker shock out of the way.</p>
<p>While it’s not too soon to start aiming her in the right direction, I’d say it’s too soon to be really focusing much on college per se. For now, besides setting the trajectory in terms of course selection, she should be pursuing her extra-curriculars, but ONLY activities which she really loves. Other than that, let her be the kid she is. :)</p>
<p>Believe me, college will engulf her life soon enough. Don’t let it be a focus of her daily attention right now (or yours). And one lesson I learned the hard way: Don’t let her college future become the topic of too much extended-family discussion. I made the mistake of allowing the grandparents to ask my D about it every time they talked; she’s the oldest grandchild and they were beyond excited. What I didn’t realize until much later was that all of that well-meaning attention made her feel like she was in the entire family’s crosshairs for two years. My sister-in-law, perhaps seeing my error, handled it much better. The GPs first asked about my nephew’s college prospects at the beginning of his freshman year. My SIL interjected, pleasantly but very firmly, “We’re not talking about college until junior year.” She had it right.</p>
<p>You really have to understand that the goal is not college, but to be educated. Education is not an assimilation and regurgitation of ideas presented by the instructor. It is liberation from ignorance. Raise your kid to be a thinker, a dreamer. Encourage imagination and questioning. Really, you have to get that through your head before you can help your child. College is not a goal here; it is to nurture a free thinking individual. Allow her to take whichever classes she wants. Do not teach her of success in conventional forms, but the joy of finding things out. Really, I understand that you want your kid to succeed, but imposing your goals on her is a big no no.</p>
<p>The problem with this laissez faire approach is that a 7th-grader, by not taking certain courses, is in effect making decisions about her academic future that she is unaware of and doesn’t understand, and which may foreclose later opportunities that she may be very interested in. Parents need to provide prudent guidance in course selection so that options will not be closed in 5 years.</p>
<p>And I’m sorry, but college is a goal here. That’s why this website exists. There is a happy medium between being obsessed with college admissions during the high school years and completely giving up and allowing total (and in my view, disastrous) freedom.</p>
<p>I understand the boredom issue. My D HATED middle school … the emphasis was on socialization, and that is a fact that the school was proud to trumpet. She begged to go to a prep school for high school. We were fortunate to be able to send her there, but she had to work incredibly hard to make up for the education she missed out on in middle school. We put S in the prep school’s middle school, and he had a far better experience academically (without sacrificing socially). He went to high school at a public school, though. Our local public was not rigorous enough (after the black hole of middle school, they continued on with no academic differentiation until a couple AP offerings in junior year). We have the option of attending school in another district, as long as the district opens itself up to out of district enrollment. S attended a school that was no farther away than our “home” school, and he was even able to take the bus - the stop was within walking distance. If this is an option for you, you may want to look into out-of-district schools.</p>
<p>Check out talent programs like Duke TIP program which allows your D to take SAT early for practice and maybe get into enrichment programs in which she may be interested. Most are based on doing well on some standardized test and not all GCs keep up on them.</p>
<p>Make sure she’s on track for honors or AP classes later on. Start checking out what may be taken dual credit, AP or honors and which may work better for your situation. My D took many classes dual credit (college credit) which was much better than AP classes in her situation. Teacher recs can be required for some.</p>
<p>Don’t necessarily do foreign languages etc too early (where your kid ends up in French 15 without an interest and is happy to stop after 10th grade… before it even counts for college admission.) Just overall don’t push subjects your child isn’t ready for unless it is a prerequisite for something she really needs later or unless it’s a special interest.</p>
<p>I would say…look at your kid’s talents and interests (passion is only for a few) and feed them. </p>
<p>My best piece of advice…don’t let a mediocre teacher get in the way of your kid’s future.
I know that sounds bad but while my own D had some truly FAB teachers (bless every one!), she also had some of the most mind numbing also. I let it slide and I shouldn’t have…I still wish I’d taken a more pro-active part in her schooling.</p>
<p>I would add that you’d be wise to examine the high school curriculum where she’s headed and familiarize yourself with admission patterns for recent students relative to the course work they’ve taken. For instance, if NO ONE with fewer than 6 AP’s has ever been admitted to your state flagship school, make sure to leave room for those classes in her schedule, etc.</p>