Countdown to College; When Should I Start Planning?

Joanie Baker, M.A. Secondary English Education & Gifted Education (The Ohio State University), Certificate in College Admissions Consulting (U.C.Berkeley)


Anyone interested in going to college should start thinking seriously about college by the spring of 8th grade, at the very latest, because 8th grade is when you schedule and plan out your high school college preparatory courses. Making sure that you plan for that college preparatory diploma and schedule the right classes in the right order is important. North Carolina’s Future Ready Course of Study (the college preparatory diploma) requires a minimum of 22 credits, which include four English credits, four math credits, four social studies credits, three science credits, one health and physical education combined credit, two elective credits in art courses, career/tech education (CTE), and/or world languages, and four additional electives in CTE courses, arts, ROTC, or in other core areas of interest.


Remember that 22 credits is the minimum. Like you see in sports when they pick teams for the playoffs, your strength of schedule is really important when it comes to college applications and being a competitive candidate. Colleges look to see that you took rigorous coursework that prepares for your college, at least in your areas of strength. Also, if you are serious about college, you should be a fulltime student and take a full load each year, which could be up to 32 credits, if you are looking to attend a competitive school. If you plan to attend a community college or less selective school, shooting for a few more than 22 credits and getting out early for a parttime job or sports can work, as long as you are getting good grades and challenging yourself somewhat.


If you want to be a competitive college candidate, you want to definitely take advantage of AP, IB, and dual enrollment options offered at your school. Selective colleges value rigorous coursework over everything else, even your GPA and test scores. A ‘B’ in an AP course looks better than an A in a regular course. They want to see that you challenged yourself, especially in areas where you are talented and show interest. Artists should take available AP Art courses, good math students should take AP Precalculus and AP Stats. Love computers? Take AP Computer Science. You don’t have to load up on a dozen APs but you should take a few each year they are available in the academic areas you like. Don’t torture yourself in an AP Chemistry course unless you plan to apply to very selective colleges or plan to major in pre-med or become a chemist or pharmacist. The number one course for super selective college admissions (those admitting 15% or less) is AP Calculus. 97% of students in Harvard’s freshman class have taken AP Calculus (Who Gets in and Why-Jeff Selingo) and if you plan to major in engineering, most colleges want to see AP Calculus AND AP Physics on your final transcript. To fit in these very high-level AP and IB courses (which are essentially college courses taught in high school), you have to have prerequisites in place. AP Calculus is at least a 5th credit math class, so if you don’t have four credits prior, you cannot take it by your senior year. For world languages, at least 3 years of language looks good on your transcript and shows dedication to actually learning a language, as you cannot really learn a language in two years.


Plan backwards from your college major of choice and where you want to be your senior year (attending a selective college or wanting a less competitive college experience) to make sure that you have a roadmap in place for how you need to get there. Be sure to ask for help if you need it. Your middle school and high school counselors are a great resource and most parents know a lot, too, believe or not. 


“Countdown to College” will be a new edition to our magazine this year. Please send any college questions you want answered to JBaker@bestversionmedia.com.

What high-level courses are best for college preparation, AP, IB, or Dual Enrollment options and how many should I take?

By Bill Sholar • April 22, 2025
Most high schools offer high-level courses like honors/challenge courses, Advanced Placement courses, International Baccalaureate Program courses or dual enrollment options at the local community colleges. The short answer is that colleges want to see that you challenged yourself with rigor, they want to see you earned the college preparatory diploma and they expect the “core for four,” or the core curriculum courses for four years (English, science, math, social studies, and often a language), especially at the selective colleges. The more selective the college, the more challenging courses are expected. Often course credits earned in high school can shorten the time spent in college and save on tuition! The long answer is what you take can depend on a lot of things. Obviously, the rigor you can access depends on what programs and options are offered at your school. The IB and AP programs have great reputations with all the colleges. These programs and courses are equivalent to first-year college courses with curricula developed by college professors. They have final exams that are standardized internationally, so your exam score reveals whether you are college ready in that subject area. AP Exam scores range from 1 through 5, with a 3 or higher considered passing and a 4 or 5 typically earning college credit. IB exam scores range from 1-7, with at least a 2 expected and a minimum of 24 points out of 45 points in an array of courses needed to earn the IB Diploma. Dual enrollment courses are great for introducing you to college expectations, but it is more difficult for colleges to know the level of rigor of these options than for AP or IB courses, especially if they are taught at the high school or online instead of on a campus. Often dual enrollment options (and many AP and IB courses) are given an X credit or elective credit at the more selective colleges, and you still have to take the course equivalent or a higher-level course in the same subject. You need to check with each college as to how they handle credits for all these types of courses in each subject area. Often, what you take depends on what you plan to study in college. If you plan to major in medicine or engineering, you should load up on the highest level of science and math courses all four years, and definitely take AP Physics and AP Calculus, if majoring in engineering. If you plan to major in computer science, you should take AP Computer Science courses and any other high-level technology and math offerings. If you plan to major in the humanities, load up on the highest-level humanities courses (and languages), but the highest-level science and math courses might not be as important (unless you are shooting for super selective colleges). Your courses in high school should align with your college plans whenever possible. What if my school has limits on how many high-level courses I can take? It is good when schools put limits on the number challenging courses taken to help students set limits on themselves. You should not take more high-level courses than you can handle and only take difficult courses in your areas of talent and interest. Some students overwhelm themselves by taking on too much and end up floundering across the board. A good balance in your courseload is always a good thing; it keeps you sane and allows for you to take some fun electives and have some down time, too. If you think your school or schedule was not rigorous enough or you were limited by your school or odd scheduling conflicts, you can always explain anything out of the ordinary or specific to your situation or school in the “Additional Information” spot on your applications. 

Difference between ACT / SAT

By Bill Sholar • April 22, 2025
What’s the difference between the ACT and SAT and which one should I take? While many colleges became test optional during and after Covid, many schools are now adding college entrance exams back as requirements for admission. The SAT is considered more of an aptitude test, testing your ability to reason and content knowledge, and the ACT is more of a content knowledge test. You should take both to see which you like better and which gives you higher scores. Most students prefer and do better with one or the other. The SAT is 100% digital now with no paper option, lasts about 2 hours and 14 minutes and has a total score of 1600. There are fewer questions on the SAT, so you have a little more time to answer than on the ACT. There are 4 sections to the SAT, two verbal sections worth 800 points, which include a reading comprehension section, where you read passages and answer questions, and a writing section that tests your knowledge of the English language (vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, etc.) and two math sections worth 800 points, one where you can use a calculator and one where you cannot. The SAT math sections are heavy on algebra. The ACT lasts 2 hours and 55 minutes and still offers a paper version of the test, as well as digital options (always choose paper!). It has a total score of 36 and offers four sections: reading comprehension, writing, math and science. The math section has more geometry and trigonometry than the SAT, and you can use a calculator. The science section is mostly data analysis, where you interpret charts and graphs and science data. There are more straightforward questions (fewer reasoning questions) with less time for answers on the ACT. With the ACT, there is more of a cushion for missed answers. You can miss more and still do well on it, where as the SAT has more time to answer and less forgiveness. Neither test penalizes guessing, so you should always guess rather than leave answers blank. Should I submit my scores? About 80% of schools were test-optional in 2024. Generally, if your scores fall in the average range (mid-50% range) for the schools for which you are applying, you might want to submit them to show that you meet their average requirements. If your scores are higher than a school’s average (in the top 25% or higher), definitely submit them, and if they are lower, you should not submit them. Of course, if scores are required, you have to submit and should retake the tests until you have the highest scores you can get. Many schools allow for a “superscore,” which means they look at the best scores for each section on all your combined tests. If you are applying to a very competitive academic program, especially a STEM program, you should submit scores. At competitive schools, more students are accepted who submit test scores than those who opt out. Also, often test scores are used for merit aid and scholarship opportunities, even in test-optional schools, so be sure to visit each school’s website to find out about the testing policies and requirements for the schools and programs for which you plan to apply. If you have questions about college preparation or the college admission process to tackle in an upcoming article, please send to JoanieBaker.BVM@gmail.com .

When Should I Start College Visits?

By Bill Sholar • April 22, 2025
When should you start thinking about and setting up and going on college visits? In short, it’s never too early! We started taking our kids on purposeful college visits in 4th grade. Wherever we vacationed, we would find a college or two to visit in the area while we were touring or in a town along the way. It doesn’t have to be an organized tour, just stopping at area campuses and walking around, having lunch on campus and checking out the bookstores in the college towns is a fun way to spend an afternoon. While there, taking photos and collecting banners, pens, ornaments, T-shirts, coffee mugs, or other souvenirs from your favorite school visits is a fun way to remember each college. Being involved in academic extracurriculars that are held on college and university campuses like Odyssey of the Mind, Destination Imagination, robotics, spelling bees, debate, Model U.N., math and science olympiads, and science fairs is a great way to visit campuses early. From 4th-12th grade, thanks to the Odyssey of the Mind program in our local schools, my girls attended regional and state competitions at various colleges in North Carolina, and the week-long world finals competitions were held on campuses in other states each year, so they were able to experience all aspects of campus life like living in dorms and eating in dining halls from a young age. Summer camps are another great way to kill two birds with one stone when it comes to college visits. Athletes can sign up for sports camps, artists can sign up for art camps, and anyone can sign up for academic summer camps on college campuses. These summer opportunities can range from very expensive Ivy League and out-of-state options to very reasonable community college camps. If camps are held at local universities, students can be day campers without the overnight costs but the overnight options are where students really get a feel for the school and a small taste of college life by sleeping in the dorms and eating at the dining halls and playing your favorite sport in the athletic complexes. North Carolina’s College and Career Promise Program (CCP) is the dual enrollment program where high school students can take college courses as dual enrollment options. This is also a great way to get a taste of college while still in high school, and you can get early college credits, a certification, or even an associate’s degree! Covid pushed many things online, including campus tours. Almost all colleges have official virtual college tours now, and YouTube has a huge amount of unofficial college tour resources posted by students at the colleges, so you can visit schools anywhere from the comfort of your laptop and see the many different perspectives offered on schools that interest you without spending a dime.

College Application Timelines by Grade Level

By Bill Sholar • July 29, 2022
Grade 9: Maintain a 3.70+ GPA, higher for more selective colleges. Consider taking a few AP, IB, honors, and community college classes. The rigor of your courses is the most important factor in admissions. Explore a few clubs and activities at your high school or in the community. Volunteer in something related to your talents and interests. Be consistent and and consider starting your own type of drive or fundraiser or other ways that you can help and give back to your community. Explore your talents and interests to turn them into projects in or outside of school. Enrolling in out-of-school classes, online classes or programs, and summer camps to explore your talents and interests. Take any preliminary ACT (PreACT) or PSAT (PSAT 8/9) exams that your school offers, so that you can practice and get a gauge on how you’ll do. Enter competitions and think about a project you can do based in areas of your talents and interests (art, writing, sports, music, etc.). Explore a few college campuses close to home or while vacationing, do virtual visits and research colleges online, and start researching some careers you might like. Take a career interest inventory assessment. Grade 10: Take AP, IB and community college courses to leverage your GPA. These classes add rigor to your schedule and can earn you college credit early, saving money on tuition costs and allowing you to skip intro courses. By now, you should be active and consistent in 2-3 clubs and exploring leadership opportunities in them. Continue volunteering in areas of interest. If you are trying for super selective schools, consider starting a project based upon your interests such as a web site or art/writing portfolio. Start a new club or activity (at your school or in the community), a business, or a non-profit. This will take a great deal of time and commitment, so start early. Take a PSAT practice test and at least one practice ACT test (formal or informal) by spring to get a good idea on how you will score. Continue entering competitions in your areas of interest, keeping track of any accolades or awards. Take a personality and career interest inventory, if you have not yet. Start a formal college list with 3 reach/unlikely dream schools, 3 target or likely schools, and 3 safety or very likely schools you’d want to attend. Grade 11: This is the last year to take weighted grade courses to leverage your GPA. Start thinking about college essay ideas and write it by May. Start finalizing your college list with 6-12 schools in each category (Reach-Target-Safety). Research and visit these schools in person when possible. You should have about 3 – 5 clubs or activities on your resume and being an officer/leader/captain in any club or sport or activity is ideal starting this year. Joining too many clubs, where you spread yourself thin in all of them, is NOT a good idea. Colleges want to see depth not breadth in activities. Interesting extracurriculars and special projects in areas of talents are also important to keep developing. Continue volunteering in an area(s) and entering competitions in areas of interest. Take the PSAT! Take informal (practice tests) or formal (registering for a real one) ACT and/or SAT test in the fall or spring to get preliminary scores. Take informal practice SAT and ACT tests in the winter and spring to improve your scores or sign up for tutoring (online or at a local testing center) or summer ACT and SAT boot camps. Summer between Junior and Senior Years: Finalize your college list (3 per category is a good target) and do any last visits. Finalize your college essay! Review supplemental essays on your colleges of interest websites and start writing them. Get into the Common Application when it opens on August 1 and start completing all sections. Take a last SAT or ACT, if you are trying to improve your scores. Finalize a resume or vitae sheet with all your activities and awards. Grade 12: You should be an officer/leader of at least 1 or 2 clubs or teams. You should have at least 100-200 volunteer hours in an area of interest. You should have longevity and depth in your activities and interests. You should have your Common App (and any other applications) completed by October. You should have all final admission tests completed by October. Start applying to colleges! Early Action & Early Decision deadlines are usually November 1st for the majority of universities, and Nov. 15th for some. The next round can be as early as Nov. 30, followed by Dec. 1st or 15th for ED 2 and Regular Decision is typically around January 1st.