When should you start preparing your child for college admissions? Is it ever too early?
Some parents start preparing their children for college before the latter even start school. Once their children reach elementary school, these parents may even have them visit campuses, practice for entrance exams, and receive tutoring. Even though this approach may seem promising, it is unnecessary and counterproductive in practice.
In this article, we share some Ivy League admission strategies that will help you prepare your children before high school for college admissions success.
Early Years
Many families focus on getting their children into the best nurseries, preschools, or kindergarten programs. However, no evidence suggests that these programs provide children with a greater love of learning, intellectual curiosity, or overall development than proper attention and encouragement at home. Passion for discovery usually originates at home.
It’s never too early to help your child love learning and reading. Children who are read to at home and consequently develop a love of reading tend to perform well on the SAT Reading section. So, if you want to equip your child for academic success, do your best to instill in them a love for reading. Read to your child while they are little, and help them improve their reading skills.
If your child develops their reading and writing skills early on, other academic abilities will follow. To gain admission to a top college, your child will likely need to be a strong reader and writer. Additionally, encourage your child to explore different activities and discover what they enjoy (this Ivy League admission strategy will help your child develop a unique application theme).
Middle School or Junior High
As your child enters middle school, you should pay close attention to their academic performance. Your child should pursue as many honors courses as they can handle. Determining which and how many honors classes your child should take will require an honest and careful assessment of your child’s performance.
Also, keep in mind that a rigorous course load is one of the most important components of a successful academic record. Helping your child get on track academically is important because the courses they take in middle school or junior high will determine their course load in high school.
Academic trends during middle school or junior high can be even more important for students who will attend a high school that assigns higher grade-point values to honors and AP courses. The key is for your child to remain academically competitive in the context of their high school’s curriculum.
Therefore, you should use your child’s performance in middle school or junior high to determine what course load they should choose in high school. It will be much easier to determine your child’s academic path before they begin high school.
Clearly, there is much you can do to help your child get ready for the competitive college admissions process. Ivy League Prep offers its clients personalized guidance on how to craft the most competitive admissions profile possible, often advising students several years before they graduate from high school. Book an initial consultation to learn more about how we can help your child gain admission to the most selective colleges and universities.
