Choosing Best Classes for College Prep

My freshman daughter has just breezed through what I think is a very easy schedule this year. Next week, she is meeting with her counselor to choose classes for her sophomore year. How can I make sure that she is on track to getting into college? -- Too Easy Schedule
Answer: It just isn't enough for your daughter to select courses for one year. She should have a rough schedule of the classes that she'll take each year to make sure she is meeting the admissions requirements for a college she would like to attend. If she doesn't have any college in mind, she should be meeting the admissions requirements for state schools.
Having a plan of the classes they'll take each year in high school helps students balance their class load so that no one year will be too difficult or too easy. No plan has to be written in stone. It only sets a path that can be changed, as needed. Before your daughter meets with her counselor, talk with her about how well she has handled her current schedule. Encourage her to take a more demanding schedule next year to improve her preparation for college. After your child has met with her counselor, be sure to ask to see her plan for the remaining years of high school.
At the same time your daughter is planning her future class schedule with her counselor, she should also be discussing when she will take college-admissions tests and what tests she should take. PLAN, the pre-test for the ACT, is designed to be taken in the fall of students' sophomore year. The PSAT/NMSQT is taken in the fall of the junior year to acquaint students with the SAT. Some students also take it as a sophomore. Your daughter should also determine if and when she will need to take SAT Subject Tests.