As a ninth grader at George School, you are adjusting to high school routines and your teachers’ expectations. Your college application process is still years away! Although you won’t be assigned a college counselor until January of junior year, we’d like to pass along a few pieces of advice for your freshman year:

• Develop good study habits and do well in your classes. (Yes, colleges do look at the freshman year grades on your transcript!)
  
• Get involved in activities outside the classroom.
  
• Cultivate positive relationships with your peers and mentors.
  
• Work thoughtfully with your advisor to choose sophomore year classes. Pay attention to course descriptions and prerequisites for classes you may wish to take as a junior or senior.
  
• Develop a course plan for the next three years. It can be altered as appropriate, but planning well ahead helps keep your options open. Colleges respect applicants who have sought out appropriate academic challenges and found ways to stretch themselves in high school.

The college counselors are happy to answer general course planning questions as you and your parents look ahead to college.

If you want a preview of how the college search and application process will work, take a peek at the information we’ve provided here for sophomores, juniors and seniors. We encourage you to activate your Naviance Family Connection account and begin exploring the College Board website. This is the site that you will use, starting with sophomore year, to register for standardized tests. Among its wealth of services is a financial aid estimator that may be helpful to your parents. You and your family should be thinking now about the realities of financing your college education.