College Roadmap - Plan ahead and don't stress

Introduction: There is a lot of information about colleges and application process out there. This blog aims to present all the important information in a concise way with useful links. Please feel free to suggest any feedback that will help other parents. 

It is important to have a plan as you enter high school. Often by planning a little ahead of time, you can achieve a lot more and reduce the stress level for kids.

These are the primary areas to focus for college admissions. I am not listing them in any priority as different aspects are important to different colleges.

1. GPA
2. SAT or ACT
3. Subject SATs
4. AP Courses
5. College Essays / College applications
6. Extra curricular activities
7. Recommendation Letters
8. Summer Internships / courses 

Note: Please don't stress about college admissions. There are a lot of colleges out there and your child will go to a college. Try to understand your kid's perspective as well. They face a lot more pressure than what we faced at that age.

College Roadmap - High Level plan for high school

Create a plan as you enter high school. This plan is not set in stone but gives a good framework. Review the plan every six months and update it based on your child's ability. Often you may change the courses based on how your child is able to handle the load each year.

Note: This is a suggested plan, you can modify it based on the kid's interests and ability.

• Freshman (9th grade)
• 4 year course plan 
• Take 1 subject SAT if possible
• Volunteer
• Summer activity

• Sophomore (10th grade)
• Adjust your course plan
• PSAT exam (practice)
• Prepare for SAT/ACT exam. He/she can take the exam if they are ready. 
• Volunteer
• Summer activity
• 1 or 2 AP exam(s)
• 1 or 2 Subject SAT exam(s)

• Junior (11th grade)
• Take PSAT exam
• Volunteer
• SAT/ACT exam (final attempt)
• Remaining Subject SAT exams
• AP exams
• Summer activity
• Start working on college essays during summer

• Senior (12th grade)
• Complete college applications by November or December. 
• Relax

Note: The items in red have deadlines and cannot be moved to a different year. 

College Roadmap : 1. GPA

GPA  is one of the most important criteria for colleges. This metric usually serves as a filter and determines if your child's application is even seen by a college. Each college publishes a GPA range. The higher end of the range is required for the more competitive fields like computer science.

Few points about GPA

• GPA is important for both public and private colleges. Private colleges emphasize other criteria whereas public colleges give more weight to GPA
• UCs use grades from 9th grade summer to 1st semester of 12th grade for the GPA calculation
• Private colleges and other states consider grades from all the four years
• Few colleges use  weighted GPA while others use unweighted GPA. 
• You can improve your GPA by taking courses during summer or online courses from accredited colleges. 

Unweighted GPA

   Here GPA is calculated using an unweighted scale irrespective of how difficult the coursework is. So each class is given 0 to 4 with A being assigned 4. 

Weighted GPA

    Weighted GPA takes into account the rigor of the course work. For instance a honors course or an AP class scale is from 1 to 5. 5 being assigned for an A grade. 

College Roadmap: 2. SAT or ACT

The next most important criteria is the SAT or ACT exam. Colleges usually accept either exam. The kid can take the SAT or ACT depending on their aptitude. Some kids try to take both exams as well.

• Have your child take both the SAT and ACT practice exam during their freshman or sophomore year to to determine which one is more suited to their testing style. Once you identify SAT or ACT, then have them focus their preparation towards it.  
• It is advisable to take the SAT or ACT exam at the most 2 times. Depending on the college both scores are taken into account or the best score. 
• Take these exams by your junior year. Do not push this exam to the senior year as they will be very busy with the applications and essays. 

Useful Links

1. College board administers the SAT exam and this site has some useful information. 
2. ACT  site has useful information about the ACT exam. 
3. TBD: I will provide a link to an additional post about SAT and ACT preparation resources. 

The image below shows a good comparison between the SAT and ACT at a high level. 

Note: This image is from applerouth  and I do not own the copyright for it. If you would like me to remove it from this blog, please contact the editor. 

AP Statistics resources

AP Statistics helps satisfy the math curriculum requirements in high school.

These are some resources to help prepare for AP Statistics.

1. Edx AP Statistics online course (not for credit)

College Roadmap: 3. Subject SAT

Subject SAT is required by the more competitive colleges. Few points to remember

•  It is usually recommended to take at least 2 subject SAT exams. College board administers around 20 subject SAT exams. 
• Take the subject SAT exam relevant to the major you will take in college. For instance if you plan to apply to engineering taking the math subject SAT and a science SAT will help. If you plan to apply to pre-med then taking the biology SAT exam will be more relevant and indicates your interest in the subject. 
• A note about the MATH subject test. If you plan to take Math Level 2 subject test, do not spend time taking MATH level 1 subject test. 

Useful Links:

1. This post has links to the different subject SAT exams.
2. College board administers all the subject SAT exams.

College Roadmap: 4. AP exams

AP exams are college level courses. Several colleges waive their lower level classes if the student does well on the AP exam. While it is beneficial to have these courses waived at the college (usually more expensive) that should not be the criteria for choosing to do an AP course. The kid should choose the AP exam based on their interest and ability.

• AP courses are recommended but not required for college admission
• AP courses usually have a heavier course load. 
• AP courses have an exam administered at the end of the year by the college board. This score is used by colleges to waive a course requirement. 
• AP courses are graded on a 5.0 scale. 
• Kids often take anywhere from 2 AP courses to 12 AP courses during their high school. 

Useful Links:

1. AP Central has a list of all AP exams that are offered and the exam dates.