8th grade: know yourself
Build the habits and pick the high school path. Nothing this year goes on a college application, and all of it decides how freshman year starts.
The plan to follow
The blueprint: 8th grade to senior year
Scholarships are won long before the application opens. Grades, the classes a student chooses and what they do outside school decide which awards they can compete for. This is the plan to follow, one year at a time.
8thknow yourselfMake grades a routine: a set time and place for homework, every school night.9thbuild the GPAProtect the GPA first. One low semester in 9th grade takes years to average out.10thget marketableAdd AP, IB, dual credit or honors classes the student can carry without the GPA slipping.11thtest and applyTake the PSAT/NMSQT in the fall. It is the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Program.12thstack the moneyFile the FAFSA as soon as it opens. Some state and college aid is first come, first served.
9th grade: build the GPA
Every semester grade from here is on the transcript colleges and scholarship committees read. A strong freshman year is the cheapest scholarship advantage there is.
10th grade: get marketable
Turn a good student into a strong applicant. This is the year to add harder classes, a leadership role and a first look at the tests.
11th grade: test and apply
The most important academic year. Junior grades are the last full year on the transcript when applications go in, and the testing calendar runs all year.
12th grade: stack the money
Apply, compare and stack. The goal is to cover the cost with money that does not have to be paid back, from as many sources as the rules allow.