Planning Guide

We can provide advice as you plan your student's academic and extracurricular path even before you get to high school. Please visit our services page.

There are many factors to consider and strategies to employ before your student enters his/her freshman year of high school. Middle school is a good time to make sure your student is on track academically. Also, it is a good time to get involved with extracurricular activities.

If you have a choice between high schools to attend, you need to look closely at the courses offered by the high schools. Is one school an IB high school while the other is an AP high school? What is the math curriculum like at each high school? When will they allow your student to begin an accelerated program? Which school will be better for your student? We can help explain the differences, suggest additional options, and help you decide which school will be better for your student.

Once you enter high school, you need to choose the classes you will take, plan for the proper sequence, and consider testing options. It is important to challenge yourself when choosing your classes. If you have the opportunity to take honors or accelerated classes, you should do that. Testing in subjects requires an understanding of the options available and the pros and cons of each option. For example, if your student attends an IB high school, s/he will not be allowed to take the corresponding IB test in that subject until s/he is a Junior. We can advise you about testing options and course sequencing for your students.

There are other things to plan for, too. For example, what extracurricular activities will your student participate in? What tests should your student take and when? How should your student spend summer break?

Also, remember your GPA does matter, along with your class rank and the difficulty of the courses taken. GPA is one of the first things a college will look at - it is not the only thing, of course, but if you have achieved straight A's, it allows you to pass the first level of screening by a college. Also it is an important consideration for scholarship applications. However, you should know that even if you achieve straight A's in your classes at your school, you may not have the highest class ranking at your school.

Finally, work hard to build good relationships with your teachers. You likely will need two recommendations when you apply to college!