Parents' Guide to College Planning for Gifted Kids
In this article, you will find:
The High-School Grades, and College Traps
Ninth and Tenth GradesBy ninth grade, your child should develop a four-year plan to guide her academic courses and extracurricular activities. You can help her shape a flexible schedule that will accommodate time for studying, extracurricular activities, working out, spending time with friends, relaxing, and volunteering her talents in the community.
This is the time to start thinking about SATs and ACTs. If your school offers the PSAT to students in ninth or tenth grade, it's great for practice. If your child's scores are lower than expected, talk with him about a prep course. Instructors can analyze his answer sheets and tell him how to raise scores.
At the end of ninth and tenth grades, your child should review her four-year plan with you and her school counselor. If her grades need a boost, she should think about eliminating some activities in order to focus on classes. Colleges look for level of commitment in -- not the number of -- school and extracurricular activities. Can your gifted child take up a leadership role in something she's interested in?
Your child is probably already thinking about careers. Why not consider an internship program that might clarify career possibilities? Most high schools offer vocational aptitude tests, interest inventories, learning style inventories, or personality tests to help students begin exploring career fields. Talk about the topic of careers as a family.
Find tips just for ninth- and tenth-graders!
Eleventh and Twelfth Grades
These are the years when study skills and time management really count. Your child should take the most rigorous courses he can manage.
Networking counts! Your teen should take advantage of career-planning activities, shadowing, and other ways of looking closely at the connection between academics and the world of work.
Your child should make sure he is on track for ACTs, SAT I and II, Advanced Placement tests, and any other standardized tests that colleges use to compare students from different parts of the country.
The ABCs of selecting colleges becomes a priority. Kids experience a lot of anxiety around the college admissions process and often think that they have no control over the outcome. In your role as a guide, you can offer your child this advice: "There are three decisions in going to college, and the student gets to make two of them -- where to apply and where to attend. The college makes the decision in the middle -- whom to accept." But even in the acceptance game, the student controls a lot -- in the careful attention to the application's details, in the form of her essay, her interview, and in how she presents her extracurriculars. All in all, it would be better to say that there are three decisions, and your child gets to make two-and-a-half of them!
Find tips just for eleventh- and twelfth-graders!
Traps to Avoid for College
Your college-bound child might be thinking:
"I'm going to college X because my family wants me to go there.'' Selecting a college should be a match between your child's strengths and interests and the school's offerings.
"College X is too expensive for me.'' Parents can put together a financial-aid plan that takes their child through all four years. After a student has completed one year successfully, there are often more opportunities for scholarships and work-study.
"I'm not applying there because I'll be rejected.'' Encourage your child to select a range of schools: those that match his credentials, safety schools that are "easy-ins," and one or two longshots that will provide a variety of options. You both might be surprised.
"If college X doesn't want me, I'll be unhappy for the next four years.'' Your child might not have the identical experience; however, she will probably enjoy any school that is a good match for her interests and talents.