When your child enters high school, most parents hear the same advice: “You have plenty of time to think about college.” However, what many families discover later is that college planning doesn’t happen all at once during senior year. Instead, small steps taken early make senior year dramatically less stressful. College planning for high school works best when families understand what actually matters each year and what can safely wait. Freshman Year Freshman year is about building routines. Colleges are not evaluating applications yet, but they are evaluating the academic record that begins now. Students should: At this stage, parents do not need to schedule campus tours or test prep.…