9th Grade: College Planning Timeline

At this stage in the game, you’re laying the foundation for your high school career. This is a time to establish your academic and extracurricular activities. You should also begin to explore options for your career or further education.

Pick the right mix of classes.

Make sure you’re enrolled in the appropriate taking key core requirements, such as English, math, science, history, and a foreign language. Give consideration to any college-prep or tech-prep classes that may be offered in the next few years.

Make the grade.

Get off to a good start with your grades because they will impact your GPA and class rank. Although college seems like a long way off right now, grades really do count toward college admission and scholarships.

Get involved.

Extracurricular activities (both school- and non-school-sponsored) are an important part of high school. Make the effort to get involved with groups, clubs, or teams that interest you. These activities are fun and make you a well-rounded student.

Keep track of your awards, achievements and community service.

Keep track of academic and extracurricular awards, community service achievements, and anything else you participate in, so it’ll be easier to remember later. It’ll come in handy when you want to highlight your accomplishments—such as when you’re filling out college applications or creating a resume.

Meet your guidance counselor.

Introduce yourself and make sure you attend any meetings your Guidance Counselor sets up, especially to advise for upcoming classes or college visits.

Explore your interests and possible careers.

Discuss your skills and interests with your guidance counselor. You can also access career searches from the college board website at https://roadtripnation.com/edu/careerfinder

Consider a college savings plan.

Talk to your parents about planning for college expenses. If your family already has a savings plan, continue to add to it. If not, now is a great time to start saving for college. Your parents can use our financial planning calculator to help them assess their current savings situation and plan for the future.

Start learning about college.

Be sure to visit the tables of any college representatives who come to visit. Use the Internet to check out college Web sites like www.collegeboard.org. You may even want to start a list of colleges that might interest you.

If you are interested in playing sports in college

If you are interested in playing sports in college, be sure to sign up with NCAA. This will ensure proper coursework, give you resources for playing sports, as well as increase your visibility with coaches. https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/

Begin to get a feel for college life.

Visiting relatives or friends who live on or near a college campus is a great way to get a sense of what college is like. Check out the dorms, go to the library and student center, and walk around the campus. Don’t worry yet about where you want to go—just get a feel for college in general.

Make summer count.

There are plenty of ways to have fun and build your credentials during the summer, such as volunteering, getting a job, or taking a class.

Source: https://www.petersons.com/blog/9th-grade-college-planning-timeline/

For Parents: Helping your child prepare for college

It's time to begin looking at courses and activities your child is taking and involved in. For more information, click on the article below:

https://www.petersons.com/blog/9th-grade-help-your-child-prepare-for-college/