Guide for Preparing Your Students

Transcription

1 Guide for Preparing Your Students

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS WELCOME TO THE GUIDE FOR PREPARING YOUR STUDENTS. 3 ACTIVITY 1: CREATING A GACOLLEGE411 ACCOUNT. 4 ACTIVITY 2: ACCESSING THE APPLY TO COLLEGE GUIDEWAY 9 ACTIVITY 3: CHOOSE A COLLEGE ARTICLES 12 ACTIVITY 4: COLLEGE MATCHING ASSISTANT. 16 ACTIVITY 5: SCHOOL FINDER.. 20 ACTIVITY 6: SAVED SCHOOLS.. 26 ACTIVITY 7: COMPLETING THE STUDENT PREP SHEET. 30 ACTIVITY 8: PRACTICE A COLLEGE APPLICATION.. 31 APPENDIX A: STUDENT PREP SHEET.. 33 Any opinions or positions expressed in this document are the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions and positions of the U.S. Department of Education. Any references within the document to specific education products are illustrative and do not imply endorsement of these products or the exclusion of other products that are not referenced. To reproduce or utilize any portion of this document, including but not limited to, graphs, pictures, logos, permission must be obtained from the Office of Student Affairs, Board of Regents, 270 Washington Street, Atlanta, GA 30334, student-affairs@usg.edu. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 2

3 WELCOME TO THE GUIDE FOR PREPARING YOUR STUDENTS Greetings Georgia Apply to College Site Coordinator! Student preparation is key to ensuring your school s Georgia Apply to College event is a success. By spending a little time researching colleges and gathering the information typically requested on a college admission application beforehand, students can make the most of their time spent participating in their school s event. This Guide for Preparing Your Students has been developed to help participating schools ensure their students are not only ready to successfully apply to college, but ready to apply to a college that will be a good match for them. Most activities in this Guide have been designed to correspond with the newly revamped Georgia Apply to College Guideway found on the GAcollege411.org website. As with all of the Georgia Apply to College materials, this Guide has been developed to help make planning and holding a successful Georgia Apply to College event as easy as possible. We encourage you to select the activities included in this Guide that will meet the needs of your school and your students. It is not necessary for all activities to be completed prior to your event if they do not work for your school. If you have any questions about the activities found in this Guide or have any suggestions on how we can improve our materials, please don t hesitate to let us know by ing gacw@usg.edu or calling The Georgia Apply to College Committee 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 3

4 ACTIVITY 1: CREATING A GACOLLEGE411 ACCOUNT OVERVIEW: The GAcollege411.org website is Georgia s online portal for planning, applying and paying for college. A number of tools and resources designed to help students research colleges and to get prepared to apply to college can be found on the GAcollege411 website. As a first step, we recommend that students create a GAcollege411 account so they can start taking advantage of all the great resources on the site. The Student Prep Sheet is designed to be complete by students prior to their school s Georgia Apply to College event and will be begun in this activity. By completing the Prep Sheet beforehand and bringing it with them to their school s event, students can be sure they have the information they need to successfully complete a college admission application. OBJECTIVES: In this activity, students will: Create a GAcollege411 account. Begin a Georgia Apply to College Student Prep Sheet (Appendix A of this Guide). MATERIALS: For this activity, the following are needed: Each student will need to be seated at a computer with internet access. Each student will need to be provided a blank Student Prep Sheet (Appendix A of this Guide) TIME TO COMPLETE: Approximately minutes INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Begin by providing each student with a blank Student Prep Sheet. Students will begin work on the prep sheet in this activity. The prep sheet will also be utilized in other activities and it is recommended that students bring the sheet with them to their Georgia Apply to College event, so it is important that they keep it in a safe place or you may wish to collect the sheets at the conclusion of your session with the students. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 4

5 2. Instruct students to open a web browser such as Internet Explorer, Safari or Firefox. 3. They should then navigate to the GAcollege411 website ( 4. Then click on Create an Account. Click Create an Account. 5. Then click on the Go button next to High School Student. Click on the Go button next to High School Student. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 5

6 6. Students should then enter their date of birth and search for their high school by clicking on the Find button. They should then click Next to continue to the next step. Enter date of birth Then search for high school name. And then click Next to continue to the next step. 7. Students should enter their account information, including their name and year of high school graduation. They will also have the option to create their account using an account they already have, or they may let the GAcollege411 site create one for them. For those students that already have an account, we recommend that they consider whether their address is appropriate for applying to college. If not, students should be encouraged to let the site create a new account for them. Enter their name and year of high school graduation. Students may either create their account using an existing account or let the GAcollege411 system create one for them. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 6

7 8. Next, students should enter their account name and password according to the guidelines provided on the site. The system will let them know if their account name is not available and they will have to select another. They must also provide a secret question and the answer to that question. If they ever need to reset their password, this is the question they will need to answer so they should be sure to select and question and answer that they will remember. Students should enter their account name. They should be sure to select something that they will remember. They should also enter their password. They should also enter a secret question and answer. 9. Instruct students to make a note of the GAcollege411 username and password (optional) on their Student Prep Sheet. This will allow them to easily access their account at a later time. Students should be directed to be very careful with their sheet if they note both their username and password on it. 10. On the same screen, students should enter their address, phone number and other personal information. Students should then enter their additional information such as address and phone numbers. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 7

8 11. Also on the same screen, students should indicate whether they would like to receive student loan and financial aid information from the Georgia Student Finance Commission. Once students have read the privacy policy and terms of use, students should indicate whether they agree with those two items. Finally, students should click Create Your Account. Finally, students should read the privacy policy and terms of use and indicate if they agree with each. They should then click Create Your Account. 12. Once their account is successfully created, students will be presented a Done screen which informs them that they have successful created their account. Students should then click Click here to continue to continue. Students should click Click here to continue. 13. Conclude this activity by congratulating students on creating their GAcollege411 account and encouraging them to explore the College Planning section of the site. Remind them to keep their Student Prep Sheet in a safe place, particularly if they have noted both their account name and password on it. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 8

9 ACTIVITY 2: ACCESSING THE APPLY TO COLLEGE GUIDEWAY OVERVIEW: The Apply to College Guideway within GAcollege411 takes students through the various tools and resources on the website that can help them research colleges and identify those that may be the best match for them. The Guideway is divided into 5 steps, each covering a different aspect of college exploration and research. In this activity, students will learn how to access the Apply to College Guideway. OBJECTIVES: In this activity, students will: Learn how to access the Apply to College Guideway Learn how to exit the Apply to College Guideway Learn how to resume the Apply to College Guideway MATERIALS: For this activity, the following are needed: Each student will need to be seated at a computer with internet access. TIME TO COMPLETE: Approximately 5-10 minutes INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Once students are seated at a computer, instruct them to open a web browser, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari. 2. They should then navigate to the GAcollege411 website ( 3. They should logon to their already created GAcollege411 account by clicking Sign In and then entering their account name and password. Students should click Sign In. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 9

10 4. Once logged on, students should click on the College Planning tab. Students should click on the College Planning tab. 5. Then, click on Begin Guideways found on the right side of the screen. Students should then click Begin Guideways. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 10

11 6. Students should then click Start this Guideway in the Apply to College Guideway box. Students should then click Start this Guideway. If students are restarting the Guideway, they should select Start Again. 7. Once on the Guideway screen, student may navigate to the step where they last left off by clicking on the appropriate step on the Guideway menu bar. They should then click Continue to begin the step. Students may resume the Guideway by clicking on the step where they last left off. Then, students should click Continue. Notes: Students may exit the Guideway at anytime by navigating to another section of the site or by logging off their GAcollege411 account. Students may resume the Guideway at anytime by logging back onto GAcollege411 and navigating back to the Guideway from the College Planning tab. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 11

12 ACTIVITY 3: CHOOSE A COLLEGE ARTICLES OVERVIEW: There are a lot of things for students to consider when choosing a college. The articles included in this activity introduce students to some of the factors they should consider when determining which college might be the best fit for them. This activity corresponds with Step 1 of the Apply to College Guideway. In this activity, students must read two of the four available articles in order to move on to the next step of the Guideway. OBJECTIVES: In this activity, students will: Read two online articles that provide information on the factors students should consider when choosing a college. Write an online journal article to reflect upon what they learned in each of the two articles. MATERIALS: For this activity, the following are needed: Each student will need to be seated at a computer with internet access. TIME TO COMPLETE: Approximately minutes INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Students should logon to their GAcollege411 account and access the Apply to College Guideway as outlined in Activity 2 of this Guide. From the Apply to College Guideway Introduction screen, students should click Continue. Students may begin the Guideway by clicking Continue. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 12

13 2. The first step of the Apply to College Guideway is Choose a College Articles. This step of the Guideway presents students with four articles covering important factors related to the college selection process. Students may select the two articles of the most interest to them to read. The articles are accessed by clicking on the article title. Students will be unable to move to the next step of the Guideway until two of the four articles have been accessed. Students access articles by clicking on the article name. 3. Once a first article has been read, students may proceed to the next article by clicking Review Next Article. Students access a second article by clicking Review Next Article. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 13

14 4. Once the second article has been read, students may proceed to the next step of the Guideway by clicking Continue. It is important to note that the Continue link will only become available once two articles have been accessed. Once two articles have been accessed, students may move on to the next Guideway step by clicking Continue. 5. Students can be encouraged to enter a journal entry to reflect upon what they learned by reading the articles. Their online journal can be accessed by clicking on Your Portfolio from the top menu bar and then clicking on Your Journal.. The Journal feature can be accessed by clicking on Your Portfolio. And then clicking on Your Journal. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 14

15 6. To create a new journal entry, students click on Add a new journal entry. Click Add a new journal entry. 7. Students can then type their entry directly into their online journal which will then be saved as part of their GAcollege411 student portfolio. Students can enter their journal article and then click Save. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 15

16 ACTIVITY 4: COLLEGE MATCHING ASSISTANT OVERVIEW: By using the College Matching Assistant tool within the GAcollege411 Apply to College Guideway, students can easily research colleges based on a number of key criteria, such as school location, size, and majors offered, among other things. In this activity, students will utilize the College Matching Assistant to find three colleges that are of interest to them. This activity corresponds with Step 2 of the Apply to College Guideway. OBJECTIVES: In this activity, students will: Identify at least three colleges that are of interest. MATERIALS: For this activity, the following are needed: Each student will need to be seated at a computer with internet access. TIME TO COMPLETE: Approximately minutes INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Students should logon to their GAcollege411 account and access the Apply to College Guideway as outlined in Activity 2 of this Guide. If they have already completed Step 1 of the Guideway, they should navigate to the College Matching Assistant step by clicking on College Matching Assistant on the left menu bar. Students can begin the College Matching Assistant by clicking on College Matching Assistant. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 16

17 2. Students can begin the College Matching Assistant by clicking Continue on the College Matching Assistant screen. Students can begin the College Matching Assistant by clicking Continue on the College Matching Assistant screen. 3. Students can utilize the available criteria to identify colleges that are a good match for them; however, students should be cautioned against selecting too many criteria or criteria that are of minimal importance to them as they may eliminate a school that may actually be of interest. Once the desired criteria have been entered, students should click View Matching Colleges. Students can select the criteria that are of interest to them. Once the desired criteria have been entered, students can view a list of matching colleges by clicking View Matching Colleges. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 17

18 4. Students will then be presented with a list of colleges matching the criteria that they entered. If too few or too many colleges are retrieved, the criteria can be adjusted. 5. Students can learn more about the college by accessing the college s Campus Tour. The Campus Tour can be accessed by clicking on the college s name. Students can access the college s Campus Tour by clicking on the college s name. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 18

19 6. A college s Campus Tour gives a lot of helpful information such as the amount of their application fee, admission requirements and tuition. From the Campus Tour, students can save the college to their GAcollege411 portfolio by clicking Save to Your Portfolio. Students can learn more about the college by clicking on the various sections of the campus tour, such as Admissions and Cost and Financial Aid. Students add the college to their Portfolio by clicking Save to Your Portfolio. 7. At any time students can explore other schools by clicking on Explore Other Schools at the top of the screen. They can also continue to the next step of the Guideway by clicking Continue. Students can explore other colleges by clicking Explore Other Schools. Students can move on to the next step of the Guideway by clicking Continue. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 19

20 ACTIVITY 5: SCHOOL FINDER OVERVIEW: The School Finder tool within GAcollege411 allows students to search colleges using an expanded list of criteria, including admissions requirements and cost. This allows students to further refine their list of saved schools or to identify schools of potential interest that were not found using the College Matching Assistant. This activity corresponds with Step 3 of the Apply to College Guideway. OBJECTIVES: In this activity, students will: Further refine their list of saved schools originally identified using the School Finder. MATERIALS: For this activity, the following are needed: Each student will need to be seated at a computer with internet access. TIME TO COMPLETE: Approximately 15 minutes INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Students should logon to their GAcollege411 account and access the Apply to College Guideway as outlined in Activity 2 of this Guide. If they have already completed Step 1 of the Guideway, they should navigate to the College Matching Assistant step by clicking on School Finder on the left menu bar. Students can access the School Finder by clicking on School Finder. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 20

21 2. Students can begin the School Finder by clicking Continue on the School Finder screen. Students can begin the School Finder by clicking Continue on the School Finder screen. 3. Students can select any number of criteria to identify colleges that are a good match for them; however, students should be cautioned against selecting too many criteria or criteria that are of minimal importance to them as they may eliminate a school that may actually be of interest. Students should follow the instructions on the screen to add school characteristics. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 21

22 4. Once a characteristic is selected, students can narrow down their criteria by selecting specific traits that they are looking for in a school. In this example, a student has selected GPA as a characteristic and indicated that they are interested in those colleges that require a 2.5 to a 3.0 GPA for admission. 5. Using the School Finder it is possible to search on multiple characteristics. In this example, the student has further narrowed down the search to include only public colleges. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 22

23 6. Once all criteria have been entered, students can see their matching colleges by clicking See Your Matching Schools. Once all criteria have been entered, students should click See Your Matching Schools. 7. Students will then be presented with a list of schools matching their selected criteria. At any time, students can add or remove criteria by clicking on the characteristic on the left side of the screen. Students can change their selected criteria by clicking on the characteristic on the left side of the screen. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 23

24 8. At any time, a student can learn more about a particular college by clicking on the college s name to access their Campus Tour. Students can access the college s Campus Tour by clicking on the college s name. 9. A college can be saved to a student My Saved Schools by clicking on Save to Your Portfolio. Students add the college to their Portfolio by clicking Save to Your Portfolio. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 24

25 10. At any time students can explore other schools by clicking on Review Other Schools at the top of the screen. Students can explore other schools by clicking Review Other Schools. 11. Students should continue these steps until they have saved at least three colleges to their portfolio. Students will be unable to proceed to the next step of the Guideway until three colleges have been saved. 12. Once students have saved three colleges, they should click Continue to proceed to the next step of the Guideway. Students can move on to the next step of the Guideway by clicking Continue once they have saved three colleges of interest. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 25

26 ACTIVITY 6: SAVED SCHOOLS OVERVIEW: In this activity, students will review the colleges that they have saved in the previous steps. In this activity, students will sort their saved schools to identify the schools that most meet their interests and then to select 1-3 to which they would like to apply. They will then note their top three schools on their Student Prep Sheet. Finally, they will research the application fee for each of the school s they have listed. This activity corresponds with Step 4 of the Apply to College Guideway. OBJECTIVES: In this activity, students will: Review their list of saved schools. Sort their list of saved schools to identify their top three college selections. Enter their top three college selections onto their Student Prep Sheet (Appendix A). Research the application fee for each of their top three college selections and enter that information onto their Student Prep Sheet. MATERIALS: For this activity, the following are needed: Each student will need to be seated at a computer with internet access. Each student should have their already started Student Prep Sheet. TIME TO COMPLETE: Approximately 20 minutes INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Students should come to this activity with their Student Prep Sheet that they began in Activity 1 of this Guide. Otherwise, provide students with a blank copy of the Prep Sheet found in Appendix A of this Guide. 2. Students should logon to their GAcollege411 account and access the Apply to College Guideway as outlined in Activity 2 of this Guide. If they have already completed Step 1 of the Guideway, they should navigate to the Saved Schools step by clicking on Saved Schools on the left menu bar. Students can proceed to the Saved Schools step by clicking on Saved Schools. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 26

27 2. Students can begin the Saved Schools step by clicking Continue on the Saved Schools screen. Students can begin the Saved Schools step by clicking Continue on the Saved Schools screen. 3. Students will then be presented with their list of colleges they saved in the previous steps. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 27

28 4. At this time, students can remove any colleges that are no longer of interest by clicking on Remove for the institution. Students can remove colleges from their list by clicking Remove. 5. At any time, students can access a college s Campus Tour by clicking on the college s name. Students can view the Campus Tour by clicking on the college name. 6. Students should be encouraged to sort their list so that their top selections are moved to the top of their list by clicking Change the order of my saved schools. Students can sort their list by clicking Change the order of my saved schools. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 28

29 7. Once students have determined their top three college choices, they should enter these onto their Student Prep Sheet. Once their top three college choices have been identified, students should enter them on the Student Prep Sheet. 8. Now that students have selected three colleges that they think they may be interested in attending, now is a great time for them to begin thinking about application fees. Students can explore the application fee charged by the institution by going to the institution s Campus Tour. Once the application fee is located, students should make a note of it on their Student Prep Sheet. Now is also a good time to encourage students who may be eligible for a fee waiver, such as an College Board or ACT fee waiver, to meet with their counselor to determine eligibility and to obtain the necessary paperwork. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 29

30 ACTIVITY 7: COMPLETING THE STUDENT PREP SHEET OVERVIEW: In this activity students will gather information needed to successfully complete an admission application. For example students may be asked to provide information such as test scores, residency, extra-curricular activities and other information that may require the help of a high school counselor, parent/guardian, or test score information online/from a testing agency. OBJECTIVES: In this activity, students will: Gather information typically needed to successfully complete a college admission application. Complete the remaining sections of the Student Prep Sheet. MATERIALS: For this activity, the following are needed: Each student should have their already started Student Prep Sheet. TIME TO COMPLETE: Approximately 15 minutes plus additional time at home with their parent/guardian and/or time meeting with their high school counselor. INSTRUCTIONS: 1. We recommend that schools utilize the Sample Parent/Guardian Communication found in the Site Coordinator Handbook before using this activity to inform parents that their child may need their assistance completing the Student Prep Sheet and preparing to apply to college. 2. Begin by giving students an overview of the types of information is typically requested on a college admission application, such as residency, test score and extra-curricular information. Let them know that while this information may vary from college to college, it is helpful to gather the information beforehand so they can be sure they can successfully apply during their school s Georgia Apply to College event. 3. Review the types of information requested on the Student Prep Sheet and let them know who may be able to help them obtain the information. For example, to obtain test score information, it may be helpful for them to meet with their high school counselor or to look their scores up on the testing agency website. 4. Conclude this activity by reminding students of the date of your school s Georgia Apply to College event. Inform them that they must have their Student Prep Sheet completed prior to the event in order to ensure they are able to successfully apply to college. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 30

31 ACTIVITY 8: PRACTICE A COLLEGE APPLICATION OVERVIEW: Completing a college admission application can be overwhelming but with a little preparation and some practice the process can be made simple. In this step, students will complete a practice application available online through GAcollege411 so they can become familiar with the online college application process. While the practice application won t prepare students to answer every question asked on a real admission application, it can help give students a good idea of what to expect. OBJECTIVES: In this activity, students will: Complete a practice admission application. MATERIALS: For this activity, the following are needed: Each student will need to be seated at a computer with internet access. Each student should have their completed Student Prep Sheet. TIME TO COMPLETE: Approximately minutes INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Students should logon to their GAcollege411 account and access the Apply to College Guideway as outlined in Activity 2 of this Guide. From the Apply to College Guideway Introduction screen, students should click Continue and then navigate to the Practice a College Application step of the Guideway. 2. Students should read the How to Use the Practice Application instructions and then click Begin. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 31

32 3. Students should then click Begin the Practice Application. 4. Students should then work on each section of the application and use the online navigation to move between pages of the application. 5. If students find they are missing a piece of information requested on the application, they should make a note of the needed information. This way they can be sure they get the information before it is time to participate in their Georgia Apply to College event. 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 32

33 APPENDIX A THE STUDENT PREP SHEET 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 33

34 Name: Student Prep Sheet I plan to apply to 1 st Choice: Application fee: 2 nd Choice Application fee: 3 rd Choice Application fee: Test Score Information Most applications for admission request information related to the tests that you have taken. If you have already taken the SAT, ACT or TOEFL enter your test information below. SAT Test Date and Scores: Test Date and Scores: Test Date and Scores: Test Date and Scores: GAcollege411 Account Name: GAcollege411 Password (Optional): Instructions: Complete this prep sheet and bring it with you to your school s Georgia Apply to College event. Be sure to keep this sheet in a safe place, especially if you provide your password above. ACT Test Date and Scores: Test Date and Scores: Test Date and Scores: Test Date and Scores: TOEFL Test Date and Scores: Test Date and Scores: Test Date and Scores: Test Date and Scores: 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 34

35 Extra-Curricular Activities Some applications request information related to the activities that you participate in outside of your high school classes. This could include clubs, organizations or any other activity that you want to share with the college. List your activities below, including the year completed and if you held a position related to the activity. Attach an additional sheet of paper if additional activities need to be listed. Activity 1: Activity 2: Activity 3: Activity 4: Activity 5: Personal Information Many colleges will need for you to provide information related to your residency and citizenship. The following are some of the information you may need to provide when completing your application. If you are uncertain about any question, your parent or guardian may be able to help. Place of Birth: City: State: Country: County of Residency: Have you ever lived outside of Georgia? Yes No If yes: How many years have you lived in Georgia? When did you move to Georgia? (mm/dd/yyyy) Why did you move to Georgia? Citizenship Status US citizen Permanent Resident Alien Nonresident Alien Other Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) pay state income taxes last year? Yes No If Yes, in which state? Do you have a parent or guardian who is currently on active duty in the military? Yes No Employment Information List any employment you have held for the last two years, including dates: List any employment held by your parent(s) or guardian for the last two years, including dates: 10/23/13 Encouraging Georgia s High School Seniors to Apply to College 35