What Should Your Child Actually Be Doing Before Senior Year?

Senior year gets most of the attention in the college process.

College lists. Essays. Recommendations. Applications. Deadlines.

But by the time senior year starts, many of the experiences a student will eventually write about have already happened.

The projects they built. The subjects they explored. The leadership they took on. The research they conducted. The work they published.

So for families of 9th, 10th, and 11th graders, there is a more useful question to ask:

What should my student actually be doing before senior year gets here?

That is what we’ll help you answer in this virtual event.

You’ll get a live look at The FlightPlan, a college strategy platform from Curious Cardinals, and see how it creates a personalized roadmap for the years before applications begin.

We’ll show you how to think about:

• What a 9th grader should be exploring now
• What a 10th grader may want to start taking more seriously
• What an 11th grader should prioritize before senior year
• Which extracurriculars are worth continuing
• When research, internships, competitions, leadership, publications, or original projects make sense
• What students should focus on during the school year versus the summer
• Which accomplishments require more lead time than families expect
• What opportunities and deadlines should already be on your radar
• How a student’s interests and activities can start adding up to a clear trajectory

The goal is not to reverse-engineer every decision around college admissions.

It is to avoid getting to junior spring and realizing your student has spent years being busy without ever having the chance to go deep.

A student who starts coding in 9th grade might have an app with real users by 11th.

An interest in biology can grow into original research.

Writing can become publication or outside recognition.

Tinkering can become an engineering portfolio.

Volunteering can become an initiative a student genuinely owns.

Curious Cardinals students have gone on to publish research, win major competitions, launch businesses and nonprofits, build award-winning projects, earn recognition for their writing, and present work to organizations like NASA.

During this event, we’ll show you how The FlightPlan helps families understand what matters before senior year and what a student can realistically start working toward now.

You’ll leave with a clearer picture of what the next one, two, or three years could look like for your student.