Most teens start talking about college in 11th grade. But a better time to begin to seriously consider college is 9th grade. The beginning of 9th grade. 

In ninth grade, senior year and college seem light years away. In reality, at the beginning of ninth grade a student has 36 months to get ready for college. 

For students who will apply to college during early admission, the beginning of ninth grade is six semesters away from the end of the transcript that colleges will use to decide college admission. Ninth graders who are aware of that and what courses and GPA they need to get in to college, will have extra motivation to take the most challenging courses and do their best.