College Counseling

List of 5 items.

• 8th Grade

  How early is too early to start preparing for the college admissions process?  It’s important to let kids be kids, but in the selective college admissions process, every move in high school counts – from the first day of freshman year to the last senior year exam.  More and more families are beginning the college prep process in the eighth grade, aiming to set their students up for success at the start of high school.

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• 9th Grade

  • This year begins your transcript, which will be sent to colleges during the fall of your Senior year. At year’s end, you will have over one-third of your GPA.
  • Set goals for your high school years to include awards, honors, community service, and extra-curricular activities.
  • Remember the Georgia Hope Scholarship GPA derives from 4 English, 4 math, 3 social science, 4 lab science, and 2 foreign language credits.
  • Start your high school resume.
  • Take your first PSAT in October. 

• 10th Grade

  • If your GPA isn’t where you want it, get help with study skills from your teachers.
  • Begin selecting a few extra-curricular activities that you wish to sustain over high school. This is better than a one-year commitment to a dozen activities.
  • Review your goals. Make necessary adjustments.
  • Begin researching college and scholarship opportunities. Attend meetings with visiting college admissions officers.
  • Visit college campuses when you are out of town. Call ahead for tour booking.
  • Continue building your resume.
  • Take your second PSAT in October.

• 11th Grade

  • This is your final research year. Attend all Brookwood meetings with college representatives.
  • Visit campuses. Ask questions of college students you know: “Why did you pick this college?” “What do you like best?” “Least?”
  • Research merit scholarships. Sources include parents’ business and civic groups, internet sites and colleges themselves. Notice competition essay topics - consider working on these over the summer.
  • Take the SAT or ACT by June. You may test better on one format than the other. Colleges use scores admissions and for monetary awards.
  • By year’s end, select 10-12 potential college choices to which to apply.
  • This year’s grades are the last which will appear on the transcript sent with your college application.
  • Continue building your high school resume.
  • Take the PSAT in October for National Merit Scholarships.
  • Line up recommendations you will need. The writer needs notice to construct an effective, thoughtful letter to be sent to colleges with your transcript.

• 12th Grade

  • Finalize your resume with your senior activities.
  • Be ready to apply to 3-5 colleges. The standard formula is 1 reach (a bit of a stretch given your GPA and SAT scores), 3 reasonable schools (you fit in their admission parameters) and 1 safety school (you are quite certain of admission here).
  • If you are close in score to scholarship or admission qualifications take another SAT or ACT to reach that goal.
  • Try to have all of your applications done by November 1. Early Action and Early Decision applications need to be done earlier.
  • If you have questions, email the college directly. They appreciate a proactive student.
  • The College Counselor and Dean of Students  will automatically send midyear grades to the colleges and HOPE-qualified students to the state, respectively.