College Roadmap: 5. Extra Curricular activities

Extra curricular activities are used to show how well rounded the kid is. Kids spend a lot of time on extra curricular activities however it is important to choose the ones that you enjoy.

• Quality is more important than quantity. Often kids sign up for a lot of activities but it is better to choose one or two activities that you can focus on and excel at it rather than spend time in 10 activities that you are mediocre in. 
• An extra-curricular activity is given a high preference only if they show mastery in an area. For instance a national level player gets admitted to some prestigious colleges even if their scores are lower. 
• Always volunteer. Not only is it an opportunity to show the admissions counselor that you care about your community but it is also quite a rewarding experience. Volunteering is a valuable habit to learn when you are young. 
• One activity does not have a higher value than other. Few examples of extra curricular activities are
• Scouts
• Speech and Debate
• Sports such as swimming, golf, volleyball, basketball etc
• Clubs at school 
• Tutoring
• Most important, choose an activity that you love, enjoy and can stand out!

College Roadmap: 6. Recommendation Letters

Several colleges require one or two recommendation letters. It is usually recommended to get a letter from a subject teacher in the area you intend to major in. Recommendation letters usually help influence an admissions officer when they see two similar candidates and need to make a decision.

• Private schools usually emphasize more on recommendation letters compared to public schools. 
• Some high schools have strict deadlines to request a recommendation letter, please pay attention to them
• Private high schools give better recommendation letters when compared to public high schools

College Roadmap: 7. College Essays and applications

If you are writing your college essays you are now in the last step of your high school journey. College essays play a critical role in your application process. They probably are the most important criteria after your GPA and SAT scores so do not take these lightly.

• Start preparing for your college essay from your junior year summer
• Parents, please DON'T help your children write their essays. Admission officers can easily spot essays where there is parental involvement. 
• Review your essays multiple times and make sure you do not have any grammatical or spelling errors. This will reflect poorly on your application and also indicate to the admission officer that you are probably not very interested in their school. 
• Tailor your college essay to the college you are applying to and the major you are interested in. 
• You have spent all these years preparing for your college, college applications help you show the effort you put in and the passion you have. 

Useful Links:

1. Early Action vs Early Decision
2. CNBC article about early action vs early decision

College Roadmap: 8. Summer activities

Plan for summer activities. Few ideas are

1. Sign up for additional classes
2. Sign up for speech and debate or other extra curricular activities
3. Internships
4. Sign up for SAT / ACT prep classes

College Roadmap: 9. Additional Resources

These are some resources you may find useful

Course Planning template

Course Planner Chart

College Roadmap - List of activities


Link to main page: College Roadmap

Early Action vs Early Decision Application

Summary:

Most colleges offer early action or early decision application deadlines. Students choose to apply as they have the chance to be reviewed ahead of time by a college.

Key differences:

Early decision is binding and the student has to attend the college. Some top colleges fill 50% of their spots through early decision
Early action is non-binding. If not admitted they are rolled over to the regular application pool. Student can make a choice after receiving all admissions.

A good article that explains this further is the article from CNBC "Key differences between early action and early decision"

College Planning for your first child

College planning seems to be a complex process especially when it is your first kid. I guess once you finish doing it for your first kid, it seems easier and perhaps you can even advise other parents in the future :)

Over time I will try to add further information about college planning and perhaps a step by step process as well.

Few Facts:

• Merit aid is quite tough and most schools require very high GPAs and excellent SAT/ACT scores to even be considered. One suggestion is to ask your kid to apply to a school that they will over qualify with their grades and scores. These schools will often try to entice the student with scholarships as every college's goal is to get the best students possible. However your child has to be ready to go this school as well. 

• Loans - There are several loan options available however if your AGI (adjusted gross income) is high then the chances of subsidized loans is quite low. Need based aid options are higher and my blog will not cover those as much. 

• College specific loans - Several schools offer loans for their students. However an important item to remember is that we need to apply for the loans even before the child is accepted to that college. So it is very critical to understand the different deadlines. 

• Best option would be to invest in a 529 account. You can open it at Vanguard. There are several other providers but I found this to be the best.                                                                                 
• Few states offer deductions and more information can be found here at the Saving For College

A year end webcast is available on Dec 6th, 2017 for those of you who interested in learning about this process and various options available to parents.