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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Since this is anonymous and DCUM... looking for HONEST answers.  When did you really start the college admissions prep thought process? What did you do/start with?  Activities, sports, tutors, etc.   (Parent motivated of course...)

9th grade? 7th grade? In my circle I've heard as early as pre-school..

Let the college hunger games begin!

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I am assuming you don't have a true prodigy (DC is not a DCUM prodigy, which of course we all have :)).  If you had a true prodigy people would already be thinking about this on your and your child's behalf and you wouldn't be asking us.

So, for most kids, it depends on how you define process:

1 -- elementary years: for sports, arts, music, etc., if you are hoping to get recruited, that would be the time to start and still have time to try multiple options -- "I HATE lacrosse!", "No I am not going to practice piano ever again" -- if some things don't take.  Most preschoolers who excel in sports burn out, and most musicians/artists haven't yet developed the manual dexterity.
2 -- middle school: this one unfortunately does matter, in that if your DC might care about STEM, or a competitive school (or God forbid both), they really need to be able to take calculus in HS, preferably their junior year.  Working backwards from that, you need Algebra I in 7th or no later than 8th grade, but not every middle school does that automatically (and some do but teach it badly so DC has to retake).  The rest of middle school is hard enough; don't worry about college.  
3 -- before 9th grade: this is when you figure out course selections.  If you think DC will need calculus, or 4 years of a language, now is the time to plan ahead to get the prerequisites in place.  English and history will take care of themselves.
4 -- fall of 11th grade: (sometimes if you are lucky, fall of 10th grade) -- PSAT test.  I am told there are folks who actually pay for tutoring for this.  If your kid is good enough to get NMSF, they can game the test with just the test book.  If they aren't that good, you've wasted money.  However, once you have the PSAT scores, they do give you a lot of feedback, on why DC scored as they did, so if you think tutoring may be needed, this would be a good time to go meet with some possibilities.  Many kids take the prep classes over the summer between jr/sr but you need to register for those back in the winter.  This year is also a good time to have them go to college campuses as part of sports, activities, etc., and just see what a campus is like.  We also took DC to a campus and just walked around for a couple of hours, explaining what things were and why they were important and maybe things she would want to look for or ask about.  Otherwise, focus on junior year grades and don't sweat it.
5 -- spring of 11th grade: take SAT or ACT.  Or both if you can't decide, don't care, and have the money and the Saturdays.  If DC did really well in junior year science (physics?  chem?) and wants to take the requisite subject test the June one will still have the subject fresh in their mind.  Otherwise I would hold off on SAT Subject Tests until the fall as not everyone requires them.  NOTE: no one wants you to send in your AP scores.  Those are for AFTER you accept.
6 -- Summer before senior year: go look at colleges.  Don't do more than 4-5 in a single trip, and [u]never[/u] more than one in a day.  Make the first one a place that has nice and friendly tours, so DC can see what tours are like, but after that, start with the least likely school and move up the list; DC will start to circle around to what they want by the 3rd or 4th visit, and that's when you focus.  All tours are structured the same (and many campuses look similar) so DC took and geotagged a lot of pictures to keep them straight.  Drafting Common App essay now can save time later.
 
Also, NEW in 2018: SAT and ACT will BOTH offer opportunity to take tests in the summer (August).  Good timing, no homework yet, and frees up a fall weekend.

7 -- Fall senior year: DC take SAT/ACT again (if need be), you do the FAFSA (opening this Sunday!), and start applications.  Scatter any remaining tours at this point.  Regardless of when real application deadline is, set one for DC that will not ruin your holidays.

Then sit back and wait...

HTH

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