Preparing for Senior Year

Transcription

1 Preparing for Senior Year Senior Year Senior Year Senior Year Senior Year

2 The following topics will be covered: Senior year costs. GPA and Class Rank Picking a college major. College Testing SAT/ACT/THEA tests. What they are, what they cover, how and when to register. Picking the right college. Visiting colleges. Student Athletes How and when to apply. Financial Aid Basics.

3 Senior Year Cost Estimates Senior Pictures $100 and up. Cap, Gown, and Tassel $50 Graduation Invitations $80 and up. SAT / ACT scores $12 per college to send scores online TSI testing $32 unless the student is exempt. High School Transcripts sent free from BHS College Dual Credit Transcripts First one is free, the rest $10 each. College Application Fees Range from $30 to $120 Prom ticket for date* $60 Graduation pictures $50 and up Graduation video $30 - $40

4 GPA AND CLASS RANK FOR JUNIORS College GPA (what we send out to colleges) grade points grade points grade points grade point Below 70 no grade points GPA is cumulative and is the sum of all grade points earned divided by the number of classes that can count toward the calculation (certain classes like PE, Band, Athletics, and teacher aide, etc. do not count).

5 GPA AND CLASS RANK FOR JUNIORS Class Rank Rank is determined by the weighted GPA, not the college GPA. Extra grade points are given for the following classes: Pre-AP classes These courses receive extra.5 grade point for each semester grade in a class. AP and D.C. classes These courses receive extra 1.0 grade point for each semester grade in a class.

6 Example #1: (Student who is taking all regular level classes) Class Grade Grade points earned English Algebra Physics US History 80 3 This student would have an unweighted GPA of a 3.5 / 4pt. scale (14 total points divided by 4)

7 Example #2: (Student who is taking advanced classes) Class Grade Grade points earned Weighted points earned English 3 AP Algebra 2 PAP Physics 1 PAP US Hist. AP This student would still have an un-weighted average of 3.5, but a weighted average of 4.25 (17 points/4)

8 GPA AND CLASS RANK FOR JUNIORS The weighted average is used to determine class rank, but the colleges are sent the unweighted GPA. Rank and GPA are re-calculated every semester and at the end of the 5 th 6-weeks for seniors. Juniors can find out their current rank in class and GPA by visiting their counselor.

9 Picking College Major 2015 Does your student have a longstanding career interest area? Career Testing what we have done already Holland Self-Directed Search and type in your access code from your score sheet. This had an aptitude test component and an interest inventory. Myers Briggs Inventory go to We did a type of assessment based on a shortened version of this inventory. Students should begin to visualize themselves in occupations. To do this, these websites are helpful: Occupational Outlook Handbook - O*Net Online Real life budget scenarios Start to look at labor market information

10 Current Labor Market Info 1. Texas Workforce Commission Website Click Plan Your Career located under Job Seekers & Employers. Click Texas Job Market Information located under Understanding the Job Market at the bottom of the page. Put in your career search options.

11 Most Popular College Majors 1. Business Administration 2. Psychology 3. Elementary Education 4. Nursing 5. Biology 6. Education 7. English 8. Political Science 9. Economics 10. Marketing

12 Most Popular Career Interests 1. Sports Athlete 11. Auto Mechanic 2. Lawyer 12. Police Officer 3. Doctor 13. Musician/Singer 4. Veterinarian 14. Artist 5. Registered Nurse 15. Food Chef 6. Teacher 16. Cosmetologist 7. Actor 17. Fashion/Graphic Design 8. Forensic Science Technician 18. Criminal Justice Investig. 9. Architect 19. Computer Programmer 10. Pediatrician 20. Photographer

13 College Testing 2015

14 SAT Scholastic Aptitude Test ($52.00) Subtest Score Range Average Score Critical Reading Section Math Section Writing Section Colleges want to use the CR + M sections for admission purposes ACT American College Testing ($54.50) Subtest Score Range Average Score English Math Science Social Studies/Reading Writing Colleges use a composite score which is the average of the Eng, Math, Sci, and SS Reading parts. The best plan is to have juniors take both tests toward the end of the junior year. Re-test if necessary using the best test format for each individual student.

15 How to pick the right college Find out what you want to study first Longstanding career goals? Career testing results Labor market information Career exploration websites Summer enrichment programs Job shadowing experiences What colleges have the program I am looking for? Use web search engines like collegeboard.com. Go to college fairs. Other web searches. Books and magazines like US News & World Report.

16 TSI Assessment (New) Required to attend Texas public colleges Cost = $32.00 Online test covers Reading, Math, and Writing Students must take TSI at the college Takes from 3 to 8 hours to complete Students can be exempt if their 10 th grade PSAT, ACT, or SAT score are high enough to qualify.

17 How to pick the right college Do I have the rank and test scores to get accepted? How do I find out? What if I don t qualify right now? If I can t get in, what about transferring. How far from home do I want to go? Do I want to start off living at home and commuting to school? Should I even apply to an expensive school? What about the community college option? You can t really know about a school until you visit.

18 Visiting Colleges BHS College Day Policy for Seniors We highly recommend that seniors visit the college(s) they plan to apply to! Go to the college website register online or call To take a college day, simply bring back a letter on college letterhead stating that you were there that day to visit the letter needs to have your name and date, and be signed by a school official. Show the letter to Mrs. Stith in the front office the day you return to class. You are responsible for any schoolwork you miss because of a college day. Seniors can take up to two college days per year.

19 Student Athletes Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse by the end of the junior year. Go to to register. Send a high school transcript to the NCAA Clearinghouse. Make sure that every time you take a SAT or ACT you send a score using the code #9999. Make frequent visits to the college websites go to the athletics link coaches. Find out about try-outs. Use your high school coaches for ideas and connections.

20 How to apply for College

21 QUESTION: WHAT DO I NEED IN ORDER TO APPLY? ANSWER: USUALLY FOUR THINGS ARE REQUIRED: COMPLETED APPLICATION OFFICIAL HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT (our school registrar will electronically send this at your request) SAT and/or ACT SCORES (must be sent from Collegeboard or ACT directly to the college you are applying to). APPLICATION FEE PAYMENT QUESTION: WHERE DO I GET THE APPLICATION? ANSWER: THIS DEPENDS ON THE COLLEGE YOU CHOOSE. COMMUNITY / JUNIOR COLLEGES 1.Download application or apply online 2.Request application by mail TEXAS PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES 1.Use the Texas Common Application (counselor s office) 2.Apply online at INDEPENDENT INSTITUTIONS 1.Apply online from te college website 2.Request application by mail or in counselor s office

22 QUESTION: WHEN SHOULD I APPLY? ANSWER: PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO APPLICATION DEADLINES! THESE DATES ARE POSTED ON THE COLLEGE WEBSITES OR YOU CAN CHECK WITH THE COUNSELOR. THE BEST TIME TO APPLY IS THE FALL OF YOUR SENIOR YEAR.

23 SOME SAMPLE COLLEGES AND DEADLINES: University of Texas at Austin Admission December 1, Scholarships December 1 University of Texas at San Antonio Admission March 1, Scholarships December 1 Texas A&M Admission December 1, Scholarships December 1 Texas A&M at Corpus Christi Admission March 1, Scholarships December 1 Schreiner University Admissions May 1, Scholarships April 30 Texas State Univ. at San Marcos Admissions March 1, Scholarships Dec. 1 Tarleton State Univ. Admissions March 1, Scholarships February 15 Sam Houston State Admissions August 1, Scholarships February 15 Angelo State Univ. Admissions August 1, Scholarships March 1 Baylor - Admissions March 1, Scholarship deadlines vary N.W. Vista College Admissions May 1, Scholarship March 31

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25 We are still in a bad economy financial aid is competitive Students need to bring more to the table now than in recent years: Good ACT / SAT scores. The best GPA and Rank you can muster. Community Service. Leadership positions. Extracurricular involvement. Things that can really help: Financial need Plan to major in certain high need areas Ethnic background

26 OK then, what can we do right now? Use free scholarship search engines apply for anything that your student can qualify for and go to our scholarship link on the left. Get some scholarship essays going - use the essay topics from the Applytexas application for starters. Polish a good 250 and also a 500 word essay, save them, and plan to use them next year, over and over again. Remember, the goal is to stand out from all the others what have you done that can distinguish you from every body else?

27 Topics to write your essay on? Topic A. Write an essay in which you tell us about someone who has made an impact on your life and explain how and why this person is important to you. Topic B. Choose an issue of importance to you the issue could be personal, school related, political, or international in scope and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation. Topic C. There may be personal information that you want considered as part of your admissions application. You might include exceptional hardships, challenges, or opportunities that have shaped or impacted your abilities or academic credential, personal responsibilities, exceptional achievements or talents, educational goals, or ways in which you might contribute to an institution committed to creating a diverse learning environment.

28 Merit Based Based on what your kid can do: Academics, Grades, Test Scores, Rank, GPA. Sports Performance Portfolio Audition Specialty High Need/High Demand Fields

29 Need Based Based on the financial need of the family Need is determined by the Federal Government FAFSA form. The website is (not fafsa.com). This is completed in the middle of the senior year, and done online. You can run a FAFSA forecaster right now to see how you will do. The FAFSA accounts for around 70% of all the financial aid available each year. The types of aid available through the FAFSA are: ogrants owork-study ostudent Loans

30 Final Thoughts on Financial Aid Never pay for scholarship applications or services that guarantee results! There are so many scams out there! When in doubt, stall and ask me to look into it. Deadlines will really sneak up on you try to stay organized and always beat the deadline by at least a week or two. Be very careful to dot every i and cross every t. They will be looking for every excuse to eliminate applications. Follow all instructions carefully. Read the criterion for each scholarship and only apply to the ones that you are sure he/she will qualify for don t waste your time on the others.

31 Think of every way to distinguish your kid from the crowd. The scholarship winner is a person that catches the eye of the scholarship committee. Community service is a field that I notice on a lot of applications make sure that your kid has something to write about there. Your main sources of money for college will come from the following five sources don t miss any of these! FAFSA use the FAFSA website Institutional Scholarships on the college website Local Scholarships scholarship link on the BHS site Parent s employers check with Human Resources Dept. Private scholarship programs use free websearch engines