Most families start college counseling in 11th grade — after the course schedule is set, the activity list is thin, and the scholarship deadlines that mattered most have already passed. C3 is built for the two years before that: 9th and 10th grade, when a student's choices quietly compound into everything JYCP and senior-year admissions will later depend on.
Nothing about 9th and 10th grade looks urgent from the outside — no applications, no deadlines splashed across a calendar. But the GPA trajectory, the course rigor, the first real extracurricular commitments, and the first scholarship and summer program cycles all start now. C3 exists so none of that happens by accident.
C3 is organized around four areas that matter most before junior year — each with its own dedicated guide, checklist, and grade-by-grade action plan.
Local, renewable, and merit-based scholarships that reward students who start applying in 9th and 10th grade — plus how PSAT performance quietly opens doors two years before it "counts."
Research exposure, shadowing, volunteer leadership, and club tracks that give an underclassman a genuine head start — and the beginning of a real, non-generic story.
How to choose between pre-college programs, research labs, community service, and paid work — matched to interest, budget, and selectivity, not just prestige.
A semester-by-semester checklist — academics, testing, activities, and college exploration — covering every term of 9th and 10th grade in one place.
A condensed look at what C3 covers term by term. The full checklist — with specifics for academics, testing, activities, and exploration — lives on the Roadmap page.
It's early for applications — not for the decisions that shape them. Course selection, activity commitments, and the first scholarship or summer program cycles all happen in 9th and 10th grade whether or not a family is paying attention to them. C3 makes sure those choices are intentional.
JYCP (Junior Year College Prep) picks up in 11th grade and focuses on test strategy, the college list, essays, and application execution. C3 covers the two years before that — building the foundation JYCP later works with, so a student doesn't arrive at 11th grade starting from zero.
No. Families typically start wherever there's the most immediate need — often scholarships or summer planning — and add the others as the school year progresses. A strategy call is the fastest way to figure out where to start.
1:1 sessions with a counselor, a running checklist tailored to the student's grade and goals, and direct guidance on scholarship, internship, and summer program applications as deadlines come up — rather than a single static plan handed over once.