I love receiving e-mails from readers, but was a little nervous to open
one that arrived from the Executive Director of SAT Programs at the
College Board. Had they suddenly discovered a mistake in CJ’s math
score? How would this affect his upcoming college graduation?Or could
they be writing to apologize for getting rid of the analogies, my
favorite section?

It turns out that the e-mail was about none of the above, but instead offered solid advice for high school freshmen, encouraging them to be more proactive and
how to plan ahead.

I don’t usually post serious info here, but if you’re concerned that your child hasn’t yet mediated a peace conference because he’s still trying to figure out how to open his locker, this piece by Jennifer Karan very much warrants a read:

http://media.collegeboard.com/homeOrg/content/pdf/Freshman_Year_The_Big_Picture.pdf

So much here that I wish I had known when my kids were in ninth grade. It doesn’t go overboard with resume boosters about prestigious oboe competitions or tips about how to get internships with Stephen Hawking. But it does offer stellar, sensible advice like meet with your counselor early on, plan to take the right courses, and start thinking about what your passion might be.

So if you have a new high school schooler, now’s the time to think about the Big
Picture before the serious angst sets in sometime during eleventh grade. And as
icing on the cake, the College Board has come up with a whole Big Future
program, free one-stop shopping that will de-stress the process that lies
ahead.

Good work, College Board. Now can we talk about adding a summer
test date?