FRESHMAN YEAR TIMELINE FOR CONTACT WITH COLLEGES

Unless a student is very motivated, freshman year is pretty early to begin making contact with colleges; nevertheless, it does happen. For example, as a freshman one student I know began looking for colleges that were well known for their dance programs. In her search, she found an East Coast college that was exceptionally good, so on her own (and without her parents or my knowledge) she sent the dance department chair/professor an email, to which the chair replied. Over the course of four years, the student and professor emailed one another back and forth. By the time the girl applied to the college as a senior, she and the dance chair were friends and the chair wrote a recommendation letter for the girl. The girl applied Early Decision to the school and - no surprise - she was accepted. Serendipitously, sometimes college contact comes early and really pays off.

PARENTS
Starting when children are quite young, some parents make college visits a part of any visit to a vacation town or city, simply because they are cool places to go. Student centers and bookstores always have something of interest to children and the campus, itself, often offers a park-like setting. What this does is introduce children to the notion that colleges are neat places.

SOPHOMORE YEAR TIMELINE FOR CONTACT WITH COLLEGES

If as a sophomore you are curious about colleges and are interested in making contact with them, here are some things you can do:

• On your way to different destinations away from your home or while on a family vacation, have your parents take a few minutes to make a quick stop at a college or two. Find the college admissions office and sign in. This is one way of showing your early interest in a college and also gets you on their mailing list.

• Sign-up for and attend college fairs held in your hometown (see below for what to do and say)

• If there is an opportunity to meet a college rep in a school in which you are interested, you might want to consider taking advantage of it.

PARENTS
Sophomore year, some high school students begin showing interest in colleges; however, many more don’t. Parents should pay attention to where their children are in their interests and not push them to do things that they don’t want to. 10th grade is still very early in the admissions process.