<p>Everyone says wait till the end of junior year, but I think that's too late.</p>
<p>Just do what you love to do and don’t focus too much on college. Taking some SAT/ACT prep courses can be helpful. But mostly just pursue what you love and keep your grades up and leave worrying about college off for a few more years. Colleges love well rounded people. :)</p>
<p>The harder you try, the harder you’ll fall. Hence, don’t try. Because then when you fall, you won’t give a flying ****. </p>
<p>Trust me, it works. All the stoners are doing it.</p>
<p>That was all the lazy people say, “just wait till junior year…”</p>
<p>All the grades affect your course selections junior year. Try to be the best that you can be. SAT IIs are biggy freshman/sophomore year. Try to get those done.</p>
<p>Freshman year: refer to spunaugle’s post</p>
<p>Sophomore year: Get some college guide books and check out websites, just to get a feel of what kinds of schools are the right “fit” for you. Your list will probably change drastically by the time you actually apply, but it’s good just figure out what you’re looking for. Also, study for the PSAT and SAT, and then the ACT and SAT Subject Tests (you might save this for summer before junior year) if you’re taking them. </p>
<p>Above all, pursue your interests, get involved, and construct a challenging but enjoyable schedule for your remaining years of high school.</p>
<p>Do whatever you want and/or what your parents want.</p>
<p>Wait until the start of junior year to start thinking about college. Take your first tests in the fall/winter and ask your parents if you might be able to visit colleges in the winter/spring.</p>
<p>You can “think” about it soph year but don’t waste a lot of time getting stressed out about it (liking spending all your time on CC!). Pay attention to vocab when you read and your math class (testing). I changed my mind 3 times before the end of Jr. year about what I thought I may like to study. I took a trip overseas the summer before Sr. year and knew then that I wanted to study IR. That is what drove most of my college search although I had looked at schools before my Jr year just for feel of size. Just saying…think about where/size of school you would like to study at, then just let yourself evolve and as you get closer, you can search out colleges that fit you.</p>
<p>PS: Don’t procrastinate on testing…start Jr. year as soon as you feel ready enough.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about college until junior year. Focus on grades and some ECs that you really enjoy.</p>
<p>um, just make good grades. thats the only thing that’ll really affect your college applications process right now.
chill out, you’ve got a pretty long time till you’ll be even getting ready to apply.</p>
<p>Carefully consider your course selection. If you want to go to the most selective schools, you will need to be taking the hardest classes offered by your school. </p>
<p>Consider taking SAT II Subject Tests at end of freshman or sophomore year. Consider junior year course selection with SAT II subject tests in mind. </p>
<p>There’s a whole relevant thread on the Parents Forum.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/557114-advice-any-parents-hs-freshmen-even-8th-graders-out-there.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/557114-advice-any-parents-hs-freshmen-even-8th-graders-out-there.html</a></p>
<h1>20 on that thread relates to Subject Tests and course selection, and is probably the most helpful thing that I have ever read on CC.</h1>
<p>Find extracurriculars you love and will devote yourself to! Keep up the good grades. Have fun while it lasts. Start volunteering.</p>
<p>Not taking AP Physics online…</p>
<p>Take the most challenging courses you can Soph and Jr years especially. Find or continue a couple of EC’s that you really love, don’t start new EC’s just to pad your resume, (unless it is something fun you want to do,admissions are well aware of padding), take subject tests if needed immediately after you finish an AP exam since you’ve already done some studying, take 1 or 2 SAT/ACT (and subjects tests if needed) tests towards the end of you’re Jr. year, then if needed take another one at the beginning of the SR. year. Jr year, make a calender and pencil out a plan for testing, etc. Start researching colleges over the summer when it is fun and relaxing. This is what my kids did so as try and not get too stressed out. It worked out pretty well. It is so hard for kids to see beyond today so if they know what it is that they need to do starting their freshman year, they can learn to manage their schedule and hopefully it will relieve some stress. Anyway, hope that makes sense and it is just my opinion that worked for us:)</p>
<p>freshmen and sophomore: explore all your options and think about what you really want to do… get on with active high school life with challenging courses and ECs…</p>
<p>then from junior: it’s plenty of enough time to start preparing for college requirements like SAT, apps , and so on</p>
<p>REMEMBER! High school will never come back to you! so enjoy it and never make college application to be too much of a burden for you… always think in long run perspectives!!!</p>
<p>One of the most important things for you to do, is to start talking with your parents about how your family plans to pay for college. Do you have a college fund? If so, what kind. If you don’t, does your family have other savings, investments, etc. that are ear-marked for your education? If your family doesn’t have savings, how much can they pay each year out of current income? Are they able and willing to take out loans for your education? Are you expected to take out loans for your education? If so, what kind of long-term loan burden will your parents think is too much?</p>
<p>I say this because every year smart, hardworking students just like you end up posting sad questions in April along the lines of, “I just found out that I can’t pay for any of the schools that admitted me. What do I do now?”</p>
<p>Your parents should run one of the on-line FAFSA calculators, and one of the CSS Profile calculators to get an estimate of what the colleges and universities will expect your family to be able to pay. According to the experts at the Financial Aid forum, this year the most accurate calculators are at the College Board website:
[College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>How Much Will College Cost – BigFuture | College Board)</p>
<p>Encourage your family to be brutally honest with you about how much money there is for college. Encourage them to be brutally honest with themselves about this too. Don’t be dismayed if it takes them a while to accept the financial facts. It took me amost a year. It is hard for parents to learn just exactly how much money college can cost, and then have to face the fact that money may well determine where their children will be able to study.</p>
<p>Encourage your parents to create their own usernames and passwords here so that they can stay up to date with information on the Parents and Financial Aid Forums. You don’t have to let them know what your username is if you don’t want to.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>