Goal: Build a College Portfolio with My Middle Schooler  

Recommended Steps

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  Buy a portfolio.

  Keep it simple; a three-ring binder (with dividers labeled by grade or by category) or an accordion file is all you need.

  
  

  
  Tip: Ask your child to design a cover and personalize the portfolio. Your child will have this tool for the next six years, so get him or her to add some personal flair. Tastes change over the years, so encourage your child to update the look as appropriate for his or her age.
  
  

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  Make a list of items for my kid's portfolio.

  The following items should be on your list, but you can add others as well: academic information (classes taken during middle school plus report cards); sports awards; community service (volunteer) hours; extracurricular activities; academic nominations and awards; and letters of recommendations from teachers.

  
  

  
  Tip. If your local paper runs a list of honor roll students, whenever your child is listed, add the article to the portfolio.
  
  

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  Update my kid's portfolio.

  Do this whenever you have new material to add. If there are some items you are not sure if you need, save them anyway. At the end of the year if you decide that you don't need some items, you can throw them away then

  
  

  
  
  
  Thinking ahead: To avoid a last-minute scramble during your kid's senior (and very busy) year, start a photo file that includes pictures of your child (from birth through high school) and his/her friends, plus pictures of your family. These can be used for graduation announcements, invitations, or collages if your kid has a graduation party.