Building a College Application Shady Side Academy College Counseling Workshop for Freshmen and Sophomores and their parents
Building a College Application What makes up your application? Course Selection Extracurricular Activities Standardized Testing The college search process What should I do NOW?
Building vs. Packaging Substance vs. Fluff College admission is a goal of your high school education, but it is not THE goal! Being honest and genuine with yourself and the college to which you will eventually apply and attend will actually result in the best result for YOU!
What makes up a College Application? Material prepared by student Application Form Demographic Information Essay Activities Résumé Standardized test scores Material prepared by the school (prepared indirectly by the student) Transcript Counselor letter of recommendation 2 Teacher letters of recommendation School Profile
Building a college application EVERYTHING YOU DO (OR DON T DO) COUNTS!
What Do Colleges Consider When Making Admissions Decisions? According to the NACAC State of College Admission, 2010 Grades in college prep courses Strength of curriculum Admission test scores (SAT, ACT) Grades in all courses Essay or writing sample Teacher recommendation Student s demonstrated interest Counselor recommendation Class rank, if reported Interview Extracurricular activities
Course selection Challenging yourself Stress Depth/Breadth of Curriculum Achievement Good Health Grades/QPA Balance Challenge and Achievement Healthy level of stress Learning involves stretching yourself, pushing your boundaries Work Discomfort Getting a C in an AP course is still a C
Extracurricular choices Not a checklist to be completed Opportunity to explore your interests Find your passions and pursue them Should reflect who you are, NOT what you think any college wants you to be. The worst reason to do something is because it will look good for college.
Standardized Testing PSAT SAT SAT Subject tests ACT AP Warm up for SAT National Merit Scholarship Not used for admission Critical Reading, Math and Writing Used for admission 1 3 tests required at some schools for admission Reading, English, Math and Science Writing option Used for admission Subject knowledge Used for placement only 2 times October of Soph and Jr year 1-3 times Dec/Jan of Jr year Mar/May of Jr year Oct/Nov of Sr year June of Jr year Oct/Nov of Sr. year 1-3 times Oct/Dec of Jr year June of Jr year Sept/Oct of Sr year May of Jr/Sr year
Making the Most of Your PSAT Score Report All Form IV and V students will take the PSAT on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 Score reports from the PSAT are available in early December Score reports include: Your Skills Your Answers Next Steps Along with score reports, original test booklets are also returned to the student!
The SAT Tests general reasoning and problem solving. Critical Reading & Verbal sections emphasize vocabulary and understanding meaning in context and literal and inferential reading in context. Math sections have both multiple choice questions and questions for which you need to provide the answer, rather than pick among choices. It tests numbers and operations, algebra and functions, plane and coordinate geometry, statistics, probability and data analysis. Writing section is one essay (25 minutes) and then multiple choice questions testing sentence and paragraph improvement, identifying sentence errors. It tests the ability to organize, express and develop ideas, grammar, usage, diction, sentence structure and idiomatic expressions. 10 short sections, shifting between Critical Reading, Math, Writing sections. It offers five answer choices. Questions move through the ranges of easy, medium & hard. The test is 200 minutes long, 225 with the written essay. Per question time is 62 seconds. Each section is worth 800 points; the composite score is the sum, with points deducted for wrong answers. Colleges may request to see all test scores, but often only consider your best score. Test dates seven times a year. The ACT Designed to test what a student knows. English section emphasizes punctuation and usage, sentence structure, word choice in terms of style, tone, clarity, and economy; organization, unity, coherence, and topic development. Reading section test knowledge of main ideas, significant details, sequence of events, comparative relations, cause and effect relationships, meaning of words, generalizations, author s voice and method. Reading aptitude tested for prose fiction, social science, humanities, and natural science passages. Math questions are all multiple choice and questions get progressively more difficult. Tests basic operations and applications, probability, statistics and data analysis; number concepts and properties; algebraic expressions, equations and inequalities, graphical representations, properties of plane figures, functions. Science section tests interpretation of data, scientific investigation, evaluation of experiments, models and assertions. Five sections, one section at a time. Test is 175 minutes long, 205 with the essay. Per question time is 49 seconds. Each section is scaled on a score from 1-36 and the final score is the average. No points are deducted for wrong answers. You choose whether to send your scores, and may elect to send just your best test-date score. Test dates six times per year. SAT vs. ACT Both accepted by all colleges in the US, but there are differences, which is why we recommend trying both, without review or study, first. Sources: workman.com; Academic Approach.com
Test Prep READ Timing Source Class One-on-one Tutoring Self-help
What You Can Do Now 9 th Graders Goal setting What does your current picture look like? Make connections Focus on academics Plan your curriculum and academic choices Learn your teacher
What You Can Do Now 10 th Graders Goal setting Reflection What goals did you set last year? Do you need to sharpen your current focus, or re-focus all together? Think back to summer how did it help you, or not? Leadership Extracurricular involvement Quality not quantity
College Search Process The process begins formally in the second term of the junior year Decision-making process based on data gathered through research The goal of the process is to find a group of right fit colleges
More things you can do NOW Work hard and do well in class Read, read, read! Get involved in life outside the classroom Visit colleges as the occasion presents itself While on vacation With the understanding that teenagers grow and change (sometimes dramatically!) Contact one of the college counselors if you have any questions at any time
Please also keep in mind Athletics/Coaches Athletic recruiting process moves up college admissions process Earlier testing timeline Accelerated decision-making Social Media What are you putting out there? Be thoughtful about your internet presence, whether on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. You may be monitored By admissions, or by coaches at the college level.
What s next? Class meetings with College Counseling Stay informed Like us on Facebook College Counseling for Sophomores or Freshmen on Student/Parent Portal SSA College Counseling Website Parents e-newsletter Direct emails from College Counselors
Class Meetings with the College Counselors Form IV (Sophomore) Meetings Form III (Freshman) Meetings September 26 January 9 February 27 April 17 October 2 January 23 April 3
Thank you for coming tonight! Marty Elkins melkins@shadysideacademy.org 412-968-3099 Tom Colt tcolt@shadysideacademy.org 412-968-3129 Julie Hertz jhertz@shadysideacademy.org 412-968-3220