At What Age Should You Start Preparing Your Child For College?

teach dice ornament on table

Raising a child is challenging but oh so rewarding. When you see them off to college you can feel a lot of pride in the fact that they are going off on their own to make a life for themselves. The big question is what age should you start getting your child ready for college. 

Some people start getting their children prepared for college as early as kindergarten. The thought is that they will have a head start by learning beyond their age. This is not a great idea since it can have the opposite effect. There may be a situation in which it is too young. In this article, we will explore the idea of the ideal age for a child to start getting things in place for college. 

Think around 10 years old

The idea is that you should be getting your child ready for college in middle school. Selecting the right middle school can take some time so it is best to prepare for that a little early. In theory, at ten years old you are trying to get them ready for junior high school and not college exactly. 

This will give you time to look at some private middle schools that will be good for your child. In other words, there is nothing that your child needs to be doing now to get ready aside from focusing on getting good enough grades to get into a good middle school. 

What to do while in middle school

Once your child is around 12 years old and in middle school then this is the time to begin getting serious about college preparation. At this point, your child is maturing and is ready to start being disciplined enough to follow a plan. 

This is the age when they can be doing things that will give them a reputation going forward. If they are athletic then they should try to dive deeper into getting very good at their sport of choice by taking it more seriously. Academics will also be important so grades need to be higher than average.

This is also when they should be doing things to build up some experience. Having a summer job is a good idea as it shows determination and discipline. They can also do some volunteering on the weekends or during the summer to show colleges that they are also interested in becoming good global citizens. 

Freshman year

Their first year of high school is a good time to go visit some college campuses. This will get them excited about their future and make them hungry to do well. If they are unsure what they want to do when they’re older then go to several that have different focuses for studies. 

Try out a couple of colleges that focus on business, others that are geared toward technology, and some others for liberal arts. They can then get an idea of where to focus their efforts for their high school career.

You may also like

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.