College Planning Checklist - Middle School/Junior High School

Students, the following is a list of things you could do to start getting ready for college. Even though you’ll need your family’s help, support, or even permission for some of them, it’s your responsibility. 

  • Read, read, read!  No matter how much you read, how well or how fast you read now, you should strive to improve in each area.  Read anything that interests you. The faster you are able to read and comprehend material, the easier school will be, and the better you’ll do on college admission tests.
  • Take school seriously.  Work hard, learn as much as you can (not necessarily the same thing as getting good grades), and do your homework even when you don’thave to.  The better you do in school and the more you learn, the easier it will be when you get to high school and college.
  • Get a job – to make extra money and show your work ethic.  Think about putting some money aside in your own college account. 
  • Talk to your parents/family about you going to college.  Ask if they went to college, and where.  Talk to them about what they did in college.  If they didn’t go to college, ask why (my guess is money was at least part of the reason).  Tell them you want to go to college and ask how you can work together to pay for it.
  • Think about careers/majors/jobs you might be interested in. Research them on the Internet (use the occupational outlook handbook – www.bls.gov/oco), and by interviewing someone who does what you’re interested in doing.  Volunteer or get a job doing something related.  Look for summer camps that relate to what you’re interested in doing, or one that will help you look at different careers – colleges may host these. 
  • Get involved in extracurricular activities (if you’re not already).  Join clubs related to your interests, participate in sports, learn a musical instrument, get active in student council or church youth activities.  Run for an office or volunteer to coordinate an event or project.
  • Volunteer to help out in your community – you’ll be helping other people and making yourself feel good in the process.  Both extracurricular activities and volunteerism are highly valued by college admission and scholarship committees, and by employers.
  • Spend time on college campuses.  Call (or have a parent call) the admissions office to see what areas of campus are open to the public, and go visit.  Try to plan extra time when visiting another town, or going on vacation for this purpose.  You’ll start to form opinions about what you like and don’t like.
  • Stay off drugs and out of trouble – colleges really do care about that stuff!
Parents/Family – you need to be there to support all these efforts, whether driving to a campus tour or helping your child find a place they can work at their age.  However, your most important tasks are the following;

  1. Help college become a part of their consciousness, part of their goals, part of their life plan, and part of their future.
  2. Save, save, save!  If you haven’t started, it’s not too late.  If you have started, consider saving more.  You are the foundation of your student’s college finances. Also, talk to them about their responsibility to pay for a portion of their college expenses.

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