As a freshman in high school, a student has three main priorities:
1) Take tough classes/Make your best grades. As a freshman it is often difficult to see the importance of a math grade in the grand scheme of things. It’s just Algebra, right? Wrong. Your high school transcript is required by all college admissions offices, and it details all of your classes from grades 9 to 12. Students should aim to do the best that they are capable of in every subject, taking their performance seriously and quickly seeking help when they need it. If a family expects to get any non-need based financial aid, the student must merit financial help.
2) Start a family dialogue/Research. Parents and students need to begin a long conversation that will touch on the student’s particular college interests, life aspirations (at this point vague is to be expected), and your financial realities. This means that parents and students are intentional about discussing what expectations they have and what is required to achieve the agreed upon, feasible goals. College is a student-driven endeavor, but the cooperation and guidance of a student’s parents is absolutely vital to a student’s long decision process. Parents are wiser than kids. As you begin researching colleges, think about two important criteria:
1) Where will you be challenged? (You absolutely want to go to a school that will test and push your limits.)
2) Where will you be happier? (i.e. In what setting do you foresee that you will be happier? I am not going to school for you; ultimately your parents aren’t either. Some students want a huge school; some want to know the name of every person on campus. There is NO perfect school, but there are much better options for you.)
3) Begin keeping an Activity/Award Journal. This has nothing to do with what you ate for lunch or your crush of the moment. It is not necessary to record exactly what you do each and every day, but you will really be glad that you wrote down how many hours you volunteered as a math tutor in ninth grade when you are a senior filling out a stack of college applications. It only takes a 50 cent spiral notepad, and you will thank yourself for the investment. This assumes that you are involved in academic AND non-academic activities. Colleges want well-rounded students who can e.g. 1) write a tight thesis and 2) [e.g.] teach judo to 10 year olds.