College admissions is not a senior year event. It is a four-year process, and the families who build a real college admissions timeline early have a lasting advantage over those who scramble in the fall of senior year. Here is what that timeline looks like, grade by grade.

9th Grade: Build the Foundation

The single most important thing a 9th grader can do is start paying attention to what genuinely interests them. Not what looks good. What they would pursue if no one was watching.

This is the year to go deep on one activity rather than joining everything. The year to start building real relationships with teachers who will eventually write recommendation letters. The year to make intentional course c...