In the newly implemented U.S. college application system, planning from the first year of high school has become particularly important. To help children who intend to attend college in the United States better plan their four years of high school (equivalent to the third year of middle school and three years of high school in China) in terms of curriculum and activities, so they can be confident when applying to universities, Worldway Immigration Group has collected, edited, and organized information on the four-year U.S. high school plan to share with parents who care about education.
U.S. college applications are undergoing a series of changes, from the reform of the SAT to the introduction of the new "Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success" (CAAS) application system. CAAS is intended to build an application coalition that provides more opportunities for advancement, allowing more students to receive a college education and achieve academic success.
In the "Coalition Application System," students can start learning about the college application process, connect with university admissions officers, and build their own application lockers as early as the ninth grade. Students can begin uploading portfolios, including essays, drawings, and assignments, from the ninth grade and continuously refine their application packages over time to showcase their growth during high school. The purpose of this is to encourage ninth-grade students to start thinking deeply about what they want to learn and what goals they want to achieve upon entering high school. At the same time, it allows college admissions officers to better understand the students, ensuring that by the time they reach the 12th grade, they already have a rich archive of records, which can help them better find schools that suit them and subsequently apply to those schools.
It should be noted that once a student enters high school, scores from standardized tests (SAT, ACT) are recorded and cannot be taken casually; however, test scores obtained before high school, whether good or bad, will not be carried over to high school. Therefore, parents who are determined to get their children into prestigious schools should arrange for them to take the SAT once in the eighth grade. This score can not only serve as a basis for school applications during high school but also help identify the child's starting point, which is very useful.
The following is the specific four-year plan for U.S. high school, which should be adjusted according to the student's specific circumstances.
U.S. High School Ninth Grade Plan
If a student's ultimate goal is an Ivy League university, they must take a solid first step starting from the ninth grade:
1. Enroll in challenging courses and strive to take AP courses in the ninth grade. If conditions permit, students should take targeted AP preview courses during the summer before the start of the ninth grade.
2. Strive to achieve the highest grades in all elective subjects.
3. Strengthen reading to rapidly improve vocabulary, which is crucial for the analytical reading section of future SAT exams.
4. Strive to participate in student council and various club activities to enhance leadership skills.
5. Regularly meet with the college counselor to discuss plans and insights regarding academics, extracurricular activities, and elective subjects for the coming years.
6. Start browsing the websites of Ivy League schools to understand their evaluation criteria and admission standards for ideal candidates, in order to establish your own steps and direction.
7. Clearly understand the subject requirements of Ivy League schools for high school students, select future subjects early, and register in advance.
8. Keep a record of all ninth-grade grades, review them frequently, and maintain detailed records of school volunteer work and community service performed.
9. Begin preliminary design for your future major and career path for Ivy League applications, and consciously link your high school volunteer and community service work to it as much as possible; this is a point that prestigious schools pay close attention to during admissions.
U.S. High School Tenth Grade Plan
Starting from the 10th grade, the academic burden and pressure will undergo a qualitative change compared to the 9th grade. Therefore, students who want to attend Ivy League schools should focus more on academic strengthening, the cultivation of basic skills (such as reading comprehension), and participation in extracurricular activities and community work. The monthly plan for the 10th grade is as follows:
September: Meet with the college counselor to arrange for the October PSAT exam. This exam should usually be registered for several weeks in advance. For students with athletic talents, they should search the websites of Ivy League schools to understand the requirements for specific sports to determine their focus.
October: Take the PSAT exam to clearly understand your strengths and weaknesses, so that adjustments can be made in learning and course selection. Strengthen extracurricular activities. Remember, prestigious U.S. schools value participation and achievement, not the number of activities.
November: Strive to improve your academic ranking in class. If necessary, seek intensive tutoring. Carefully collect and record competition results in various subjects and grading/competition works in the arts for future use.
December: Carefully analyze the received PSAT scores and your own evaluation report, and discuss with college counselors (both internal and external) how to improve your performance in future official SAT exams.
January: Continue to work hard in both academics and extracurricular activities.
February: Take time to go online to learn about information on Ivy League and other prestigious schools, and start preliminary preparations for school selection.
March: Start consulting and learning about the application procedures for prestigious U.S. schools, and discuss financial aid matters, as well as family income and tax-related issues, with your parents to make necessary preparations.
April: Consider determining the subjects for the SAT-2 exam (one math, one science, one humanities), understand the relevant requirements, and conduct a comprehensive assessment of high school elective subjects against future majors. If you plan to take the SAT in June, you should register this month.
May: Register for summer jobs or choose summer courses or other special subjects to prepare for future applications in engineering, journalism, drama, or music majors.
June: Take the SAT exam registered for in April.
July: While working a summer job, try to familiarize yourself with SAT test strategies through self-study or by attending specialized SAT test training classes.
August: Enrich yourself in various ways during the summer, and at the same time, focus on improving your SAT vocabulary.
U.S. High School Eleventh Grade Plan
The pressure of academics and the burden of extracurricular activities in the 11th grade reach their peak, especially for students who want to get into prestigious schools. The monthly arrangement for the 11th grade is as follows:
September: Register for the October PSAT exam. Meet with the college counselor to review the subject arrangements for this academic year and the selection of subjects for the 12th grade. Carefully organize and save records of excellent academic achievements and extracurricular activities.
October: Take the PSAT exam. U.S. students with good scores can apply for the National Merit Scholarship, and they can also become more familiar with the SAT exam through the PSAT. If candidates wish to receive free information materials from prestigious U.S. schools, they can make a selection in the "Student Search" column on the PSAT answer sheet. After the exam, if the score is high enough, they will receive promotional material packages from various prestigious schools.
November: Strive to achieve and maintain a high academic ranking, and further understand the financial aid policies of prestigious schools in detail.
December: Carefully analyze the received PSAT scores to make final preparations for the following year's SAT exam. Also, search the websites of relevant schools to understand their requirements for SAT-2 exam subjects.
January: List the schools you intend to apply to, read the content of their application forms and financial aid forms online, and discuss issues related to family income and taxes with your parents.
February: Discuss with your college counselor and parents whether the selected schools match your own conditions, including academic ranking, artistic and athletic qualifications, extracurricular achievements, and financial affordability during college. If fully prepared, register for the March SAT exam; otherwise, you can only take the May or June exams. However, do not let SAT preparation affect your extracurricular activities and school grades.
March: Contact prestigious schools via letter, phone, or the internet to obtain relevant materials.
April: When choosing subjects for the 12th grade, challenge yourself as much as possible; this is critical for admission to prestigious schools. Register for the May and June SAT and SAT-2 exams. Continue to research target schools and further narrow down your choices. Find and arrange summer courses or summer camps at prestigious schools.
May: Take the SAT1 or SAT-2 exam. Sign up for various summer activities. If conditions permit, you can contact schools you intend to apply to for a visit during the summer vacation.
June: Take the SAT or SAT-2 exam. Try to visit several prestigious schools to get first-hand information.
July: Use the last summer before applying to prestigious schools to enrich yourself as much as possible and clarify all relevant questions. Visit seniors and parents who have already been admitted to gain useful experience and advice.
August: Fully adjust yourself and prepare for the upcoming final sprint.
U.S. High School Twelfth Grade Plan
Entering the 12th grade, for students who intend to apply to prestigious schools, it should be the final steps of the sprint. Most students are concentrating on taking AP courses. Moreover, they have to spend most of their time on the process of applying to prestigious schools. For every prestigious school selected, they must fill out forms and write assigned essays. It can be said that this period is a test of perseverance. The unusual tension and pressure before the harvest season will leave unforgettable memories in the candidate's life. Past experience tells us that during this period, the children's own strength and diligence, combined with the encouragement and support of their parents, are the key factors for success. If conditions permit, you can also visit prestigious schools and meet with current students and relevant professors.
September: Obtain the latest application forms and financial aid forms for all schools you intend to apply to by downloading them online or by mail. If you cannot find them, contact the school immediately to clarify and resolve the issue. Be aware of the final submission deadline for each school you are applying to; be careful! Meet with the college counselor to carefully evaluate your academic level and achievements in various extracurricular activities to ensure they match the selected prestigious schools. At the same time, discuss letters of recommendation with the college counselor and main subject teachers, and provide the recommendation letter forms and the envelopes needed to return them to the teachers writing the letters. Remember to write the address of the receiving school on the envelope and attach sufficient postage. You also need to clearly inform them of the deadline for returning the recommendation letters, and remember to attach a thank-you card. If you need to take the SAT and SAT-2 exams in October or November, you should also register this month.
October: Students participating in early decision must send out their admission application forms and financial aid application forms online before the end-of-month deadline, and urge the college counselor and designated teachers to complete the letters of recommendation on time and send them out together with the high school transcript. At the same time, start preparing materials for regular applications.
November: If you registered in September, you should also take the SAT and SAT-2 exams this month and ensure that the College Board sends the test scores to the schools you are applying to on time. Strive to maintain excellent grades in the first semester of the 12th grade. Continue to prepare materials for regular applications. Before sending them out, you must keep copies of all forms for reference, including admission application forms, financial aid application forms, and transcripts. Copies of some forms will still be used in the years after enrollment, so they should be kept properly.
December: Ensure that SAT scores are sent to the schools you are applying to. Before sending out application materials, be sure to keep copies of all materials so that if they are lost, you still have backups to reorganize and send out. For students participating in early decision, they have already learned the admission results at this time. Students who have been admitted should continue to work hard according to the requirements on the notice. For students who have been deferred or rejected, they should seize the time to prepare regular application materials to apply to other schools.
January: Continue to work hard to maintain excellent grades in the final year. Meet with the college counselor and request that the mid-year transcript for the first semester be sent to the schools you are applying to. Parents and children should also complete the personal income tax return for the previous year as soon as possible and send copies to the schools applied to, so that the relevant departments of the school can begin the financial aid review process.
February: Closely track whether the regular application materials have been received by the schools you applied to through online procedures, and take immediate remedial action if they are lost. For financial aid forms, you should receive a receipt notification from the school within 4 weeks after sending them out. If there is no response after the deadline, you should immediately contact the school to confirm. At the same time, work hard to prepare for and handle the final step of the regular application--the interview!
March: Continue to work hard to complete the study of all subjects in school.
April: Confirm the admission notices and financial aid decisions from each school. If you are admitted by more than two schools, you should compare them in terms of school, major, and the amount of financial aid to make a final decision. For schools you have decided to give up, you should notify them as soon as possible so that the school can admit other candidates. For the school you decide to attend, you should pay the tuition deposit to the school before the deadline.
May: At this time, you should feel proud of being admitted and having completed a major event in your life. However, if you are placed on the Waiting List by your favorite school, do not be discouraged. You should actively contact the school to express that you are still willing to wait. Students taking AP courses should send their AP scores to the schools they are applying to.
June: Request the college counselor to send the final transcript for this academic year to the schools you are applying to. At the same time, you should also notify the admitted school of any other scholarships or grants you have received, and carefully study the list of tuition, room and board, and other expenses sent by the school. If necessary, contact the school's financial department to arrange payment methods. Students outside the United States should contact the school to obtain the student visa form (I-20) as soon as possible.
July: Carefully review information regarding housing, roommate arrangements, orientation ceremonies, elective subjects, etc., and reply to relevant departments in a timely manner. At the same time, prepare to adapt to college life as soon as possible and consult with seniors.
Nowadays, "younger age" study abroad has become a trend, and in China, it has become a new normal educational choice. "Immigrate first, study abroad later" is also gradually becoming the main motivation for many "young-age families" to choose to immigrate overseas. In terms of cost, it is more in line with the economic reality of young families; and the harvest is more than just high-quality overseas education. If you have the idea of sending your children to the United States for high school or immigrating to the United States as a family, you need to act immediately. Early preparation, early action, early planning, and early immigration are the only ways to achieve a relatively ideal result.
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