Where (WHEN) to Begin

Last Updated on July 26, 2019 by Jill Schwitzgebel

A few weeks ago,  I was on the phone with a mom friend whose son is in the middle of his Junior year.  Unfortunately, our public high school is a bit behind in advising students about the college search process. Because of that, many parents and students do not realize that to get the best results, you have to begin this journey well before the end of the high school Junior year.  I have a feeling that many, many high schools leave families in the same situation.   My friend had that nagging feeling that they should be doing something, but had no idea what, or where to begin and had suddenly begun feeling overwhelmed with the realization that in a year, her very bright son was supposed to be applying to college.

         See also:  High School Counselors and College Admissions

What first?

In her case, I suggested that they begin by immediately registering him for the next test date for both the ACT and the SAT.   Typically, kids will do better on one of these tests than the other and you can use that first baseline score to decide which test is best for the student to focus on studying.  If the percentiles on each test happen to be the same, then I would recommend choosing the test the student felt they preferred.

Many colleges superscore the SAT for admissions, meaning they will use your best scores on each section (math, verbal, etc), even if those scores occur on separate test dates.  Some colleges will also do the same for the ACT.  Thus, it can pay to take these tests more than once.  Additionally,  it seems that many kids do better on these tests the second time they take them, even if they have not put in the hours they should put in to prep for them.

Ideally, it makes sense to take those tests for the first time at the end of the sophomore year.  Why?  Because those scores, combined with your child’s unweighted GPA, will give you a basic sense of what kinds of colleges that your student might want to consider.  Additionally, the ACT and SAT math sections don’t go beyond Algebra 2, so as your student moves in to more advanced math, they may actually forget how to do some of the math on those tests!

            See also: To Send or Not to Send the Free Test Score Reports

You can go online and easily search to find what the average score ranges are for colleges that may be of interest.  (See Safeties, Reaches and Matches) That gives you the ability to start checking out colleges over the summer before Junior year.  That might seem early…but you will find that Junior year is a busy and stressful academic year, and more importantly, it goes FAST!

And what next?

Junior year, your child needs to re-take those tests at some point, maybe in the winter.  With luck, you can be finished with testing then…or you may decide it is worth trying one more time.  When Senior year hits, along with Senioritis and the virtual pile of college applications, the last thing you or your senior want to be worrying about is trying to fit in more tests and crossing your fingers that they’ll get a certain score.

By spring break or so, if not before, it is really time to start narrowing down potential colleges of high interest.   That means you will likely want to do some college visits over Spring break.  “College visits” these days does not just mean going to the campus and wandering around.  Colleges generally have one or two information sessions daily at their Admissions office where you learn some great information, and then a student will take you on a tour of the campus, usually including getting a look at a dorm room (which depending on your kid, can make or break the whole school!).  At large schools, there may be several group tours going on at the same time, at some smaller schools, you may be able to go on a tour one-on-one with a student and ask all the questions you want!

You can go to the college website and book your visit online.  Learn from me and book them EARLY, because they do fill up!   A few weeks ago, I tried to book a visit to a school over Thanksgiving (it was in about 6 weeks) and learned that apparently, most of the Juniors in the state had the same idea!  😉  Then, I tried Veterans day, but Nope!  I tried over Christmas break, but the university is closed the whole time Kid #3 is off of school.  So I had to book in February!  I have to say that’s the first time I have ever encountered that, but it is also the first time I tried to book at a large university over a major vacation.  Lesson learned.

Don’t forget about Sophomore year!

So, when to start?  Sophomore year.   (Although, don’t forget that most colleges do calculate GPA starting with freshman year.) While ACT and SAT testing may not happen until later in tenth grade, remember that colleges will look harder at students’ grades beginning in sophomore year, as well as looking at their activities.

And if your school offers the chance for sophomores to take the PSAT, jump on it!  It’s great practice – the PSAT during Junior year is what qualifies students to apply for the National Merit scholarship, which can be worth a LOT of money (no, not the scholarship itself, but many colleges will offer significant scholarships of their own to National Merit finalists), so it matters.  Not all schools will explain that well, and students often think it is a waste of their morning…I promise it isn’t.  And if nothing else, as intended, it is great practice for the SAT, without the added pressure.

See also: College Search and Admissions Timeline