International College Counselors

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Our Team
    • Brochure
    • Scholarship Essay Contest
    • Why ICC?
  • Services
    • College Counseling
    • Graduate School
    • International Students
    • Transfer Students
    • Learning Differences
    • K-12 Placement Services
    • SSAT Flex Testing
    • A La Carte Services
    • Corporate Benefits
    • Giving Back
  • Contact Us
  • Results
  • News & Events
    • In The News
    • Press Releases
    • Awards & Recognitions
    • Upcoming Free Webinars and Seminars
  • Essays
  • Blog
  • Testimonials
  • Locations
    • Florida Locations
    • Connecticut Location
    • New York City Locations
    • North Carolina Location
  • Resources
    • New Book: To University and Beyond
    • Overall Admission Rates

Start Preparing for College in Middle School

March 24, 2017 by Cheree Liebowitz

Today we’re talking about middle school.  The perfect time to start college planning! Starting the process now, before high school, will make the process easier.  There is less pressure and the more time you have to prepare for the admissions process, the better.

In middle school, the focus is different than it will be in high school.  Unless a student is taking high school level classes in middle school, grades do not appear on the college application.  So this is the best time to make mistakes and learn from them. During seventh and eighth grades, students should be setting themselves up to have the strongest possible start in high school.

To accomplish this, students and their parents should:

1. Establish good study habits

Middle school is the opportune time to develop time-management, organizational and study skills.  Things to work out include choosing the best study spaces, establishing a homework and study routine, and obtaining all the needed materials to complete assignments. It’s easier to address these issues now than when the work gets more challenging.

2. Explore extracurricular activities

On their college applications, students will need to show depth and leadership in at least one or two extracurricular areas. Middle school is a great time for students to try new things and figure out what activities and community service they enjoy most. Talk to different people about their careers, and explore sports, hobbies and volunteer opportunities that match a student’s interests. A child who enters high school committed to one or two activities or with a career goal in mind, will find it much easier to focus on building their resume during their four years of high school.

3. Read, read, read

Reading strengthens a student’s verbal, writing and critical thinking abilities. Reading is great preparation for the SAT, ACT and high school reading assignments.  Almost any reading material – from graphic novels to books and blogs – will improve vocabulary and introduce new ideas.

4. Choose challenging courses

Colleges look closely at what high school courses students choose to take. They want to see that a student is taking challenging courses. Students who challenge themselves in middle school will have more opportunities to choose the courses colleges want to see. Students want to position themselves to take full advantage of the AP / IB or other upper-level courses their high school offers.  To get on the right track, parents and their students should meet with their guidance counselor or their independent college counselor and discuss the courses that can be taken in middle school to prepare for high school.

5. Get caught up and-or ahead

Students should seek out extra help and tutoring if they are not doing well in a particular academic area. Improving academic performance in middle school will better position them to earn better grades. Parents need to stay on top of their child’s grades and stay in contact with teachers and counselors, so they can inform about any changes in behavior or schoolwork.

6. Talk about college

Envision the future with your child.  Talk about his or her interests, and how college can translate their dreams into a career.  Parents should also share their expectations with their middle school student. Parental expectations have a huge influence on what children expect of themselves, even if they don’t say or show it.

7. Get familiar with college costs and how to save money

Start learning how to make college affordable. Options to cut college costs include scholarships, low-interest loans, work-study, taking college classes in high school, and attending a community college before going to a four-year school. Knowing how the system works can save families a lot of money and prevent panic. Students can cut costs by earning college credits through Advanced Placement (AP) classes in high school or dual-enrollment classes at a local community college.

Keep in mind, middle school is not the time to stress about college. This is the time to get study habits, academics, and extracurriculars on the right track so there will be less stress in high school.The time to start college planning is…in middle school. Starting the process now, before high school and the real pressure of college applications begin, will make the process easier.

In middle school, the focus of parents and their middle school students should be different than it will be in high school. Unless a student is taking high school level classes in middle school, grades do not appear on the college application. Seventh and eighth grades are the time to set a student up to have the strongest possible start in high school.

Parents and middle school students should be doing the following:

1. Establishing good study habits

Middle school is the opportune time to work on good time-management, organizational and study skills. Things to work out include choosing the best study spaces, establishing a homework and study routine, and making sure to have all the needed materials to complete assignments. It’s easier to address these issues now than it will be when the work gets more challenging.

2. Exploring extracurricular activities

On their college applications, students will need to show depth and leadership in at least one or two extracurricular areas. Middle school is a great time for students to try new things and figure out what activities and community service they enjoy most. Students should try different volunteer opportunities, talk to different people about their careers, and explore sports, hobbies and interests. If your child enters high school committed to one activity or with a career goal in mind, it will be much easier to for them to focus on developing the necessary skills and resume during their four years of high school.

3. Reading, reading, reading

Reading strengthens a student’s verbal, writing and critical thinking abilities. The more a student reads, the stronger he or she will be. Reading is great preparation for the SAT, ACT and high school reading assignments. Almost anything a pre-teen or teenager reads – from comics and graphic novels to books and blogs – will improve their vocabulary and introduce new ideas.

4. Choosing challenging courses

Colleges look closely at what high school courses students take. The more students challenge themselves in middle school, the easier high school will be, and the more opportunities students will have later on. Many middle schools offer high school courses in biology, algebra I, geometry, and Spanish. Don’t be afraid to tackle these classes. Students want to position themselves to take full advantage of the AP / IB or other upper-level courses their high school offers. To get on the right track, parents and their students should meet with their guidance counselor or their independent college counselor and discuss the courses that can be taken in middle school to prepare for high school.

5. Getting caught up and-or ahead

Middle school is a good time for students to seek out extra help and tutoring if they are not doing well in a particular academic area. Students who can improve their academic performance in middle school will be positioned to earn better grades. Parents need to stay on top of their child’s grades on tests and report cards, and stay in contact with teachers and counselors so that they can inform about any changes in behavior or schoolwork.

6. Talking about college

Envision the future with your child. Talk about his or her interests, and how college is needed to translate their dreams into a career. Parents need to let their middle school student know their expectations for their child. Parental expectations have a huge influence on what children expect of themselves, even if they don’t say or show it.

7. Getting familiar with college costs and how to save money

Start learning how to make college affordable. Options to cut college costs include scholarships, low-interest loans, work-study, taking college classes in high school, and attending a community college before going to a four-year school. Knowing how the system works can save families a lot of money and prevent panic. Students can cut costs by earning college credits by taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes in high school or dual-enrollment classes at a local community college.

Keep in mind, middle school is not the time to stress about college. This is the time to get study habits, academics, and extracurriculars on the right track so there will be less stress in high school.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: College Planning, International College Counselors blog Tagged With: college admissions, college preparation, junior high, middle school, middle school courses

Sign up for free college admissions advice!

Subscribe

Recent Acceptances

M.I.T.
Yale University
Stanford University
Brown University
Caltech
Harvard College
Princeton University
Harvard Business School
University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School
Washington University St. Louis
Cornell University
Columbia University
Dartmouth College
Northwestern University
The Cooper Union
Johns Hopkins University
University of Florida
New York University
University of Michigan
University of Chicago
Brandeis University
University of Texas @ Austin
NYU Dental School
USC Dental School
Duke University
University of Virginia
Barnard College
Amherst College
UNC Chapel Hill
Wesleyan University
Rice University
McGill University
Olin College of Engineering
Tufts University
Emory University
Carnegie Mellon University
George Washington University
University of Notre Dame
Georgia Institute of Technology
Boston University
USC
U.C.L.A.
Vanderbilt University
Syracuse University
UC Berkeley
Rensselaer Polytechnic
University of Maryland
New College of Florida
Loyola Marymount University
American University
Harvey Mudd College
Middlebury College
Boston College
Babson University
Georgetown University
Colgate University
Bard College
Ohio State University
Indiana University
Stevens Institute of Technology
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Tulane University
University of Miami
Purdue University
Oxford College @ Emory
Wisconsin @ Madison
Northeastern University
Lehigh University
Goucher College
Pennslyvania State University
Muhlenberg College
University of Connecticut
Loyola University Chicago
University of Colorado Boulder
Colorado State University
University of Alabama
Louisiana State University
Drexel University
Embry-Riddle University
University of Arizona
Florida State University
University of Central Florida
S.U.N.Y @ Binghamton
S.U.N.Y @ Stony Brook
S.U.N.Y @ Albany
S.U.N.Y @ Geneseo
S.U.N.Y. @ Oneonta
S.U.N.Y. @ Oswego
S.U.N.Y @ Purchase
Art Institute of Chicago
University of Illinois
Pratt Institute
Ringling College Art & Design
George Mason University
University of Vermont
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Parsons New School of Design
Emerson College
Auburn University
Michigan State University
UC Santa Cruz
UC San Diego
UC Santa Barbara
Elon University
St. John's University
UMass Amherst
UMass Dartmouth
UMass Lowell
UMass Boston
Suffolk University
Bentley University
Lynn University
Arizona State University
University of North Florida
Florida Atlantic University
Florida International University
Florida Gulf Coast University
University of South Florida
Nova Southeastern University
University of Tampa
Hofstra University
Pace University
University of New England
Western New England College
Bowling Green State University
Rollins College
Eugene Lang College
Baruch College
Hunter College
Santa Fe College
Fordham University
UNC Greensboro
University of Hartford
Lasell College
Shimer College
Hillsdale College
College of Charleston
Bryant University
Clark University
James Madison University
Curry College
Southern Methodist University
Florida Institute of Technology
LIM College
University of British Columbia
College of the Holy Cross
University of Pittsburgh
Purchase College
University of Minnesota
Virginia Commonwealth University
Columbia College
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
St. Leo University
Stetson University
Canisius College
LIM College
Case Western Reserve
San Diego State University
Marymount Manhattan College

Blog Categories

  • College Admissions
  • College Applications
  • College Essays
  • College Planning
  • College Visits and Information Sessions
  • Extracurricular & Summer Activities
  • FAQ
  • Financial Aid & Scholarships
  • Giving Back
  • Graduate School
  • In the News
  • International College Counselors blog
  • International Students
  • Other
  • Special Students – Athletes, LD, Art Majors
  • Standardized Tests – SAT/ACT/AP Courses/PSAT
  • Summer Opportunities
  • Tips for High School Freshman and Sophomores
  • Tips for High School Juniors
  • Tips for High School Seniors
  • Transfer Students
  • Uncategorized

Blog Archives

Connect with Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

International College Counselors

3107 Stirling Road, Suite 208
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33312 USA
(954) 414-9986
(800) 452-9090

Connect with Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Books By Our Staff:

To University and Beyond: Launch Your Career in High Gear by Mandee Heller Adler and David Teten. From Public School To The Ivy League by Mandee Heller Adler International Admissions by Mandee Heller Adler and Aimee Heller

Navigation

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Services
  • Contact Us
  • Results
  • News & Events
  • Blog
  • Privacy Policy

Recent Posts

  • Personalized Support for Seniors – Get Help with College Admissions, Essays, and Applications!
  • Mark Your Calendars: SAT and ACT Testing Dates for 2022-2023
  • Top Tips for the Common Application
  • Tips to Start the School Year Right
  • Game On: How to be Recruited as a Student-Athlete

Copyright © 2022 International College Counselors • Log in

en English
en Englishes Spanishzh-CN Chinese (Simplified)nl Dutchfr Frenchit Italiande Germanpt Portugueseru Russianar Arabic