Blog #3 Middle school – what early prep should I do for college admission?
What I’ll cover in this blog:
-Should I even think about college in middle school?
-Math pathways and language elections in middle school
-Extracurricular choices in middle school
-Reading
-AP courses in middle school
-Middle school to High school transition
-How Goal Admit can help
Should I even think about college in middle school?
For parents of only one child, or parents of first-born children, middle school seems like a low-stress, easily navigable stage in your child’s life. College is far away and a complete unknown. Yes, we tell our child to do their homework every day and pay attention in class. But we are totally fine with it if they happen to goof off and do not take their assignments or tests seriously, and get Bs and even Cs instead of As. “He/she is so young, they can save the grind and the stress for high school. Let them enjoy just being a kid.”
Parents who have an older child in high school are more pushy with their younger kids, insisting on good grades and starting early on extra-curriculars, because they know what’s ahead and want to lay the groundwork early.
I think the ideal path to navigate middle school is somewhere in the middle of these two. Grades by themselves do not matter in middle school. Inculcating good academic habits is more important. A 7th grader who is diligent about homework completion, pays attention in class, actively interacts with the teacher, and loves to read, is setting themselves up to have an easier time in high school. But there is no need to force the child to study for 3 hours every day. Social interactions are critical in middle school – this is where bonds of lifelong friendships form. And video games and sleepovers provide important outlets for stress relief.
Math pathways and language elections in middle school
The three decisions in middle school that do impact the college admissions process are:
1. Math pathways
2. Language elective
3. Extracurricular activity
Depending on what your child wants to do, what they are capable of doing, and what your middle school allows them to do, Math pathways that get set in middle school have a big impact on your high school elective choices in 11th and 12th grade. For eg. in the Bay Area California public schools that my kids attended, qualifying for and choosing the more advanced Math course in 7th and 8th grade determined whether they were able to complete AP Calculus in 11th grade or 12th grade. This is more important of course for kids who wish to choose a Math or CS major in college.
Deciding to start your language elective, say Spanish, in 7th grade instead of 8th or 9th grade makes another big difference in the last two years of high school. College requirements have a minimum of 3 years of language, and colleges count middle school language classes. So if your child completes their 3 year language requirement in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades, they would be able to do Spanish 4 in 10th grade and AP Spanish in 11th grade if they wanted to showcase a language AP for their college admissions. Not taking any language courses in 7th and 8th grade would make it impossible to do AP level courses for the language by the time they graduate high school.
Extracurricular activity
It is important to show many years of continued interest in a particular extra curricular activity, rather than brief forays into a large number of hobbies. Consistency matters a lot more than diversity when it comes to extra curricular activities. For my two boys, we started them on piano and karate when they were 6 years old, and we stuck with both all the way until 12th grade. Of course we have to show progression as well over the years. Boy/Girl Scouts have to start in middle school if they wish to complete their Eagle Badges before applying to colleges.
Reading
Students who have a love of reading in elementary and middle school have higher odds of success in high school and beyond. Read for fun. Read because you want to, not because you have to. Frequent your local library. Spend your summer reading and identifying favorite authors. Young reader series are a great way to get hooked into reading a large number of books. Reading improves comprehension skills, vocabulary, creative thinking, and imagination. All of which will help with your school assignments and, later, your college essays.
AP courses in middle school
Some schools offer AP classes in middle school. I think this is too much pressure for children who are so young. AP classes are intense, with complex, college-level curricula and fast-paced instruction. There is a lot of peer pressure to start racking up the AP count early. But unless the child is advanced and confident about taking on the additional workload, this could backfire. You wouldn’t be able to use the AP classes for your future college application if you scored a 2 on the AP exam.
Middle school to High school transition
For kids who stay in the same school system, the most important aspect of school – the friends – will remain the same – the building may be different, the commute may be shorter/longer, but the friends are the same. For these kids, the biggest adjustment when going from middle school to high school will be in the expectations. Teachers expect a lot more from kids in high school – independent homework submission, proactive requests for help, limited excuses for non-completion. For kids switching to a new school system, breaking into established friend circles and making new friends will be the biggest source of stress.
Parents start worrying more about college in high school, so the parental pressure increases. Every low test score leads to lectures and even punishments. Kids feel the weight of the future bearing down on their present. Every activity seems to have a purpose – the art classes taken for pure enjoyment now become geared to the future portfolio for colleges. Even friend circles are cultivated to maximize interactions with the “smart” kids, so study groups can be beneficial. Interactions with the opposite gender are complicated if romance enters the picture – having a boyfriend/girlfriend can be a comfort as well as a distraction.
What to focus on for the transition from middle school to high school?
1. Grades – some college systems like the UCs do not include 9th grade transcripts when considering admissions, but most private schools and some other colleges do. So grades matter a great deal in high school.
2. Extra curricular activities – start to narrow down your focus to a few limited extra curricular activities, to acquire more depth instead of breadth. If you know the area you plan to major in, please tailor your extra curricular activities to related ones. Like robotics or coding/hackathons for CS/Math majors, hospital volunteering or HOSA for the Biology majors.
Ideally your mandatory volunteering hours should also be in an area relatedto your planned major choice. Like volunteering in a history museum if you plan to major in History or mention History as one of your interests.
3. Stress management – stress levels increase exponentially between middle school and high school. Be prepared and learn coping mechanisms. Maybe meditation works, maybe a round of basketball in the evening helps, maybe an hour of “Call of Duty” distracts you.
There are three keys to stress management:
a). Be better organized! – keep a calendar of each homework/project/test deliverable and break down the preparation into manageable parts.
b). Do not postpone! Last minute work adds a lot of stress that can be avoided with better preparation.
c). Do not compare! Peer pressure is a huge cause of stress.
You can check my earlier blog on stress here:
https://www.goaladmit.com/high-school-stress/
How Goal Admit can help
This blog has generalized suggestions for navigating middle school. But each student is unique, with different interests, capabilities, and inclinations. At Goal Admit we aim to tailor our advice to each individual student. If you give me the background information, I will provide either a quick answer or you can schedule a one-hour consulting session. Ask Me Anything – what extra curricular activities are suitable for your child, attitude issues, teacher troubles, pathway questions – anything! Our long term goal is to help you get admitted to the college of your choice!