College Going Kids Moms

This is my last year as a high school math teacher - yay. Pre AP classes are good for getting into college, as long as your son enjoys them and keeps up his grades. If it comes down to it, some pre AP (in areas he wants to focus in) and some regular (in the required classes that aren't interesting) may be best for his GPA.

AP classes (which follow PreAP) are awesome, too, because passing the AP tests (about $100 each) gives him college credit - which also looks great when applying.

Band can be a good source of extra curricular activities and scholarships. A part time job or regular community service also looks good on college applications.

Most colleges want students who are good at school but also reasonably well adjusted at life - i.e. a 3.7 with a part time job or regular volunteering looks as good or better than a 4.0 who does nothing but study.

Your son's school counselor should be a wealth of information on the subject, and if he already has a school or two picked out for college, you can contact the admissions counselors and find out exactly what courses, grades, and test scores they want to see.

Good luck.

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Stay in band and start talking to the school counselor or the person in your school that has information about colleges and things he can start to do. When he's ready have him take dual credit course. That's what I did and I only had to go to college for like 2 years. I had 32 credits when I graduated from HS. IT's really good for me. Less money spent on college and I was way ahead some of the other kids that I attended college with. He can take the SAT/ACT his sophomore year to see what kid of scores he gets and to be familiar with the tests so when he does decide that he wants to go to a particular school he can have that score already ready and they according to his score he can get a full scholarship or partial scholarship. Mine was partial because I messed around too much in HS. I hope this helps.

Hi R.,
Wow, college search. First relax and try to make this an adventure for the whole family. There is alot to learn about schools, interests, programs, so just stay calm and try to have fun.
First go to his guidance counselor at school. Then go to a local college and ask to speak to a counselor there.
There are all sorts of programs and types of schools that your son may be interested in attending.
Ask his guidance counselor to help put your son on the academic track at his high school. This is to help him prepare himself through courses he takes now to gear him toward college. Even if he decides to be a music major, which he may or maynot, having certain classes helps prepare them for the SAT and other application processes.
There are alot to learn along the way for both of you so my biggest advice is to stay calm and ask for help along the way.
M.

Hi,
I have a 9th grader this year and we were fortunate enough that our high school offered a class called AVID (AVID is an acronym that stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination.) You can find out if your son's high school offers this course through the national website, www.avidonline.org. My daugher has gained a trememdous amount of information this year thanks to this program. Good Luck.

As a teacher, I can tell you that the councilor at your son's school should be your best bet. When he begins his junior year you need to began mapping out his options with his councilor. These days kids can graduate high school with about 20 college hours with AP classes. The councilor can also tell you about any scholorships your son can apply for and other finicial aid options.

R., have him meet with the school counselor next year and she'll be able to help guide him as to which classes to take. For colleges, they want to see that your son has good grades, good SAT/ACT scores (when he takes them), and band is great for him to do also as it can open doors for more scholarships than just academic ones. Best of luck! If he can stay focused on his goal and not get burned out or stressed out over the courseload, he'll do great!

First you should try his high school counselor, but if they aren't any help start with the colleges. There may be a local community college or a state college nearby let them help you get started, even if that isn't where he thinks he wants to go. I would suggests continuing in band if he loves it for a myriad of reasons such as it makes him a better student, it will give him a social gorup, and it will help him in college. Depending on the college he goes to he may get a scholarhip depending on his music abilities, even if he majors in another subject. My roommate was in band in college and she got paid to play in the groups even though she was going to be an elementary teacher. Hope that helps.

My son is also 14 but he is a Freshman this year. There are several questions come to mind that you might need to consider. What does he are his interests, what career does he want. In 8th grade they had him take a interest assestment test to key in on what he would be good at or what career his natural interest would lead him to. If your son's school does not offer this, then the High School Counselor should be able to assist him to a career field he may be interested in. From there of course is to keep his grades up, be involved in the extra cirricular activities in school - including those things that he seems to want to interested in career wise. The High School should help in in what courses to take and such. If he is not for sure and is all over the place, have him consentrate on the geneneral courses (English, Match,Science, History) and as his freshman and sophmore year passes have him look into several difference career fields to see what might interest him.

In his junior is the big push to find scholarships, grants, and the like to help fund the college. The High School should have the resources and the internet is also a good resource to look up information.

My son is interested in the medical field and so this summer I will be looking for a hospital or clinic for him to volunteer at to see if this would be a working environment that he feels he's suited for. Something like this could work for the field your son is interested in also.

If you are budget minded and frugal. My son plans to do two years in a community college and the last two year at a major university (unless he gets a direct scholarship). It is the University that you finish your degree in that gets placed on your diploma not where you took your basics - his plans are to go to Baylor. I have been told that it some times is easier for a transfer student with excellent grades to enroll in a major univerisity as a Junior than it is to get in as a freshman. I throw this out as something to think about.

His GPA and extra activities are the focus. Many colleges and university are starting to rethink the way the evaluate potiental new students. As for now, pre-AP course are great but it they are too difficult and pull down the GPA, it may be something that needs to be considered. Again the HS should be keeping abreast of the changes in recruitment for the universities and what they are looking for. I wish you the best.

R.,
collegeboard.com is a great site for information regarding colleges. Most high schools have information on their web site about college nights etc. that are great resources for parents to attend. I will tell you as an AP Instructor at the Senior level the load of advanced classes and the demands of Band are normally intensive and put my highest achievers under tremendous stress. If he loves band and wants to stick with it I personally would keep him focused on that and not add any other activities if he is planning on taking advanced classes. Some high schools also have programs like early college start that allow high school juniors and seniors to take college credit classes for free at their high school. Check to see what is offered in your school district.

Good luck!

Your son's school counselors should be able to help with planning his college career. It's great that he is taking all pre-AP classes; as long as he keeps up his grades and gets good results on the SAT and/or ACT, getting into a good college should be no problem. He should maybe pick up another after-school activity, like debate, drama, or a sport.

Good luck!

His Middle School Counselor should have already told him all the information he needs. If that did not happen you or your son should talk to his High School Conselor and get the information at the begennin of his Freshman year. I hope this helps. Good luck to you and your son.