When Should You Start the College Search? (It's Later Than You Think)
- Lynn Hofstad
- Jul 25
- 3 min read
"When should our kid start the college search process?"
This is hands-down the most frequent question people ask me when they find out what I do for a living. The answer I give surprises some people—it's later than many people think. The time to start talking about colleges is the second half of junior year. Before you become alarmed that I am suggesting you don't prepare for college before that point, that's not what I'm suggesting. There are things I certainly think can be done to prepare for the college search before the end of junior year, but the concrete, specific conversations should wait.
Why it's important to wait
I have noticed what I refer to as a college search creep. Kids are thinking about college generally, and specific colleges, younger and younger. The problem is, starting to think about specific colleges that early is putting the cart before the horse. As a 14 year old (the age most students are when they enter high school), kids haven't had the chance to explore different academic opportunities and extracurricular activities. It's hard to know what makes a good academic fit if you aren't sure what you want to study. More importantly, 14 is pretty early to know your life trajectory. Don't get me wrong, there are certainly people who are clear early in life about what they want to do , but for most people that knowledge comes through exploration and experimentation. Kids need the chance to grow and explore before they feel the pressure of having to decide where to focus their studies. The college that feels right at 14, often won't be the right fit when it comes time to graduate, and students need the space to be able to grow and change.
Another important reason to wait is the length of time between freshman and senior year in high school. Focusing on a handful of specific schools increases the stakes for getting accepted. Rather than entering the college search process with a number of colleges that are a good fit, the list becomes calcified early on. This results in an emotional tie to being accepted by certain specific "dream schools." Being rejected always stings, but if you have pinned your hopes and dreams on one specific college for four years, it is even more crushing if the result is a rejection.
Early Prep Without the Pressure
When I tell families to press pause on the college search process early in high school, it often makes parents feel antsy. I get it. If you are in this boat (and even if you aren't) there are things you can do early on in high school to prepare for the college search. The most important thing a student can do is to learn how to study and succeed in school. This is harder than most people think. Study skills and academic organization are two of the most important things a student can learn in high school that will translate into success in college. However, aside from focus on academics, stopping by colleges for college visits is always a good idea. Visit different types of campuses—big, small, public, private, urban, rural. Figuring out what type of campus appeals to a kid, helps narrow the college search options later when it comes time to make the list. The visits don't need to be formal visits, but just a wander around the campus to get a feel for what that type of college campus is like.
When to Start and What to Do First
The second half of junior year. This is when students should start to build a preliminary list of colleges to research. The list should be broad and many of the colleges on that initial list won't end up on the final list. Starting broad enables students to learn what appeals to them (or doesn't) about certain colleges. It helps hone the focus on schools that end up being a good fit academically and socially.
However, the summer between the junior and senior year is when the work really begins. By the end of the summer, students should (ideally) have a final(ish) draft of their personal statement, the activity and honors lists compiled and the common app profile completed.
It can be hard to wait. College is such an exciting time and the process is—or should be —fun (but also exhausting). Waiting until the appropriate time helps ensure the student doesn't burn out on college talk, get emotionally tied to a school too early, or apply to schools that don't fit their academic and social needs.
Resist the college search creep. And if you feel the creep coming on, go visit another college campus.
