A great way to get started on your college search is to go on an official tour. We started doing this the summer before Cal's junior year, and it definitely wasn't too early.
You don't have to spend money on a fancy trip to some exotic college or faraway locale. Living in Virginia, we have lots of choices close to home that make a great day trip. You can get to UVA, Washington & Lee, JMU, VCU or Mary Washington in an hour or less from Charlottesville. Try to plan ahead by visiting the school's website to sign up for a tour and information session, but if you get a last-minute chance to go, it's unlikely that they will turn you away.
These visits usually always yield some fruit. Even if your student comes away from the school thinking they don't like it at all, you will know a little more about the criteria they think are important and how to choose the next school to tour. Visit schools that represent a variety in size, cost, public/private, urban/rural campus, etc..., and you'll see a picture of the school with the right fit start to emerge.
Taking a college tour can help your student to understand why they are doing all of this hard work in high school. They may start to see that campus life can offer much more than four more years of classes and schoolwork. A close-up view of life at a university may be exactly what they need to invest them in the college application process.
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