ABSTRACT
College planning is a major event in the lives of many families. For many high school students, college planning is a process that begins and ends arbitrarily and abruptly, without reflection. For gifted students, college planning should be one step in a life development process that takes place between seventh and 12th grade. Many college planning guides provide slick marketing tips for college applicants. College planning and ultimately the transition to college are life-changing events for most teens, but keep in mind that all teens will have different reactions to the process. Some career centers or libraries offer computer-assisted college planning programs in addition to Internet programs, books, and websites. Photocopy everything before sending the application packages to colleges, because applications can be lost in the mail or college servers can break down, losing all data.
