How to Help Your Child Ace an Early College High School Application

When my daughter asked if she could apply to an alternative early college high school, I was thrilled. The high school combines four years of high school classes into two years and provides three years of free college courses. More than 1,000 students applied to the early college high school and only 88 were chosen for admittance. This is how my daughter secured one of those spots.

Stress the importance of school attendance. If my daughter does not attend school regularly, she cannot learn necessary foundation lessons required to perform well on classroom quizzes, activities and tests. Aside from the direct link between school attendance and better grades, the early college high school administration team verified every student's attendance record to rule out students who missed too many days. If the student misses at day at an advanced high school, they may miss crucial information making it harder for them to succeed.

Teach proper study skills. On average, students attending an early college high school study two hours a night. Studying is about more than simply reading over notes and memorizing the facts presented by the teacher and textbook. I taught my daughter to start preparing for tests at least three days before the scheduled test date. She gathers all her notes, pens, paper, music, drink and a small snack before sitting down to study. She even takes a bathroom break so she has no excuse to get up in the middle of study time to fiddle here and there. Her study area is quiet and interruptions are limited. She goes over notes, rereads the relevant chapters and takes the provided study tests. For end of grade testing (EOGs), she prints off EOG tests from previous years and completes them in a timed setting for additional practice.

Encourage extra-curricular activities and community service. A well-rounded student manages to find time to study and participate in activities outside the school. Before applying for the early college high school, my daughter joined the Builder's Club, sponsored by a local chapter of the Kiwanis Club. She participated in community activities to raise money for Relay for Life and Trick or Treat for UNICEF. She volunteers as the manager for a local travel basketball team and works on the school yearbook. When reviewing applications for the early college high school, her middle school principal interviewed her about community activities and she was ready for the challenge.

Practice creative writing assignments. The final stage in the application for admittance to the early college high school was a creative writing assignment. My daughter was asked one question that she needed to answer in a given length of time. The answer needed to reveal her personal life goals and reasons she wanted to attend early college high school. To prepare for the creative writing assignment, we gave her one question every other night on a similar topic. She practiced writing a clear, concise answer to the question that was both grammatically correct and honest.

As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect. Copy the physical application several times, so your child can practice before filling in the questions on the final application form for admittance to the early college high school. Preparation is part of acing the application so start on this list of "Must-Dos" months before the application deadline.