Class of 2016 Senior Parent Night Presentation

Class of 2016
Senior Parent Night
For all the latest information (rep visits, scholarships, deadlines, etc.) please follow us
(and tell your students too) on social media
Facebook Page: “RLHS Counseling”
Twitter: @RLHSCounseling
Instagram: @rlhscounseling
Post-High School Options
• 4-year College or University (Bachelor degree
program)
• 2-year Community College (Associate
certification program)
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Vocational/Technical School
Apprenticeship
Military
Workforce
degree or
Why College?
Senior Year Timeline
SEPTEMBER:
• Work on ACT Prep and register for October 24th test by September 18th –
ACT Retake Sign-Up ALL DAY tomorrow in the Library
• Begin your college search (if you haven’t already!)
• Attend a College Rep visit and visit campuses
• Explore college websites and majors
• Attend CollegePalooza on September 25th 3:30-10 PM and start filling out
college applications!
• Attend the NACAC College Fair at Navy Pier on September 26th. Over 400
schools (and Mr. C and Ms. Shanahan) will be in attendance!
OCTOBER:
• Attend the Illinois Regional College Fair on October 22nd at CLC 6-8pm.
• RETAKE the ACT on October 24th
• Finalize the list of colleges you will apply to and keep working on applications
• Review each college’s application requirements and deadlines
• Create a chart/write down this information
Senior Year Timeline
NOVEMBER (College and Career Month!):
• Continue working on applications, WATCH for deadlines!
• Attend College Application Day November 12th 1st-9th in library
• Attend the College Bound Assembly November 13th 8th period
• Begin researching scholarship options, requirements, and deadlines
• Register for the December ACT (if necessary) by November 6
DECEMBER:
• Finish applications, watch for deadlines of December 1, 15, or 31!
• Continue working on scholarship applications
• Attend the FAFSA workshop with your parents on December 10
4-5:30pm(E)/5:30-7pm(Sp) OR December 12 from 11am12:30pm(E)/12:30-2pm(Sp)
Senior Year Timeline
JANUARY :
• COMPLETE and SUBMIT the FAFSA beginning January 1st!
•You will use last year’s tax information and update with
this year’s taxes at a later date.
• Attend the FAFSA Fest on January 8 from 3:30-10 PM (no
excuses!)
• Continue to work on scholarships
FEBRUARY:
• SUBMIT the FAFSA by February 15th or you will LOSE $$$
• Attend Scholarship MANIA on February 25th during 4th-7th
periods
Senior Year Timeline
MARCH:
• Admissions decisions from colleges
• Keep track of any requirements colleges have in order to accept
admission
• Apply to CLC if you haven’t already
• Continue to apply for Scholarships
APRIL:
• Verify you have officially confirmed that you will attend your
chosen college
• Review your Financial Aid Award letter- DO NOT FORGET THIS!!!
• The UNIVERSAL DEADLINE is MAY 1st!
• Continue to apply for Scholarships
Senior Year Timeline
MAY:
• Notify your chosen college of your intent to attend by MAY 1st!
• Attend Decision Day!
• Senior Checkout- make sure all fees are paid, you have your final
transcript sent to the college of your choice!
• GRADUATE!
Senior Year Timeline Summary
College Search
There are about 4,000
colleges and universities in
the United States.
How is my
son/daughter ever
going to choose
(and choose well)??
College Search
A college search
is the process of
finding the
“RIGHT
FIT”
College Search
The 5 “P’s” of College Search Planning
• Person
• People
• Place
• Program
• Price
College Search
The 5 “P’s” of College Search Planning
• Person – You (the student)
• People – Who will you be going to school with?
• Place – Size and type of school, geographic
location, size of community
• Program – Academic major(s)/minor(s)
• Price – Actual cost of attendance
College Search: Price
• Don’t rule out a school initially because of
price
• Sticker price vs. Net cost
– Total cost of attendance (tuition, room/board,
books, fees, transportation, etc.)
• Financial aid and Scholarships
– What is your eligibility? (Non-US citizens are not
eligible for any federal or state money, but can still get
institution or private grants/
scholarships.)
College Search: Price
• There are four basic types of Financial aid:
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–
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Grants (free money!)
Scholarships (free money!)
Federal Work Study (have to work for it)
Loans (have to pay it back – with interest)
• All are competitive and will require applications
• Estimate Federal aid now with fafsa4caster at
www.fafsa.gov or net price calculators on college
websites (these are required by law!)
College Search: Price
• Example: DePaul University
– Cost of Attendance per year:
– Federal (Pell)/State (MAP) Grants:
– College Grants/Scholarships:
– Other local scholarships:
– Net Price:
$37,264 (commuting)
$10,450
$13,000
$5,000
$8,814
• NOTE: Families are considered the FIRST
source of financing an education.
College Search: Price
• How do we pay for the rest?
– Savings
– Work
– Loans (various types – depends
on eligibility)
– Work Study Program(if eligible)
– Additional scholarships
– Generous relatives
College Search
• Other things to consider:
– Learning disabilities (CHOICES planning event October 21, 2015
at Niles North)
– College athletics
• If Division I or II athlete, should register with the NCAA
Clearinghouse NOW
– Honors programs
– DACA/Undocumented Students
• Many jobs require state licensure
that non-Us citizens are not eligible for.
College Search
• How many? (5-8)
• A final list should include:
– Safety school (CLC)
– Match school
– Reach school
• The STUDENT must be happy
with all of the options!
College of Lake County (CLC)
• Cons:
• Pros:
– Limited curriculum
– Cost of tuition
– Lighter workload
– Flexible schedule
– Uninvolved students
– Opportunity to explore
– Campus life
options
– Located in hometown/same
– Partnerships with 4-year
area
schools (ex.- Engineering & U – May not take school as
of I)
seriously
– Smaller classes
– Transferring credits
– Transitional
– Graduation rate <20%
– Transfer rate < 30%
College of Lake County (CLC)
• If the plan is to attend CLC for 2 years and
then transfer to a 4-year school, it is
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to work with an
advisor to make sure all classes taken will
transfer.
• Familiarize yourself with the 4-year school’s
transfer requirements (GPA, credit limits,
eligible term, etc.).
Application Information
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Types of Applications
Personal Statements
Letters of Recommendations
Application Fee Waivers
Transcript Requests
Test Scores
Applications
Non-Restrictive Application Plans Restrictive Application Plans
Regular Decision
Students submit an application by a
specified date and receive a decision in a
clearly stated period of time.
Rolling Admission
Institutions review applications as they
are submitted and render admission
decisions throughout the admission cycle.
Early Action (EA)
Students apply early and receive a
decision well in advance of the
institution’s regular response date.
Early Decision (ED)
Definition: Students make a commitment to a
first-choice institution where, if admitted they
definitely will enroll.
= 1 application that is accepted
at over 600 different schools
Personal Statements/Essays
• Questions will vary widely from college to college (plan to
spend some time brainstorming!)
• Use the written assignment to express your uniqueness.
• Follow the directions! Answer the question that is asked
or write about what they are looking for.
• Stick to word limit! (usually 150-650 words)
• Use correct grammar, punctuation, and HAVE
SOMEONE PROOFREAD (multiple times)!
Letters of Recommendation
• Not all schools require one.
• Select a teacher of a core
academic subject or class related
to your career/major interest.
• Colleges prefer junior or senior
year teachers.
• It is best if the teacher knows you
very well as a student.
• Ask the teacher in person if they
can honestly give you a positive
rec.
Letters of Recommendations
• You can ask one teacher to provide
recommendations to multiple schools. Make sure
to give the teacher a list all your colleges that
need recommendations, their due dates and
whether they are Common Application Schools.
• If your teacher prefers to send recommendations
by mail, provide them with a stamped envelope
addressed to each school where you would like a
letter sent.
Letters of Recommendation
• Students should ask the teacher what they
need to write you a letter of recommendation.
• Colleges look most favorably on
recommendations students have
waived the right to review.
• Allow at least 15 school days for a
teacher/counselor to write the letter.
• Send a thank you note to the teacher when
the application process is over.
Application Fee Waivers
• All Round Lake students qualify for a fee
waiver.
• Students must see their counselor or Mr.
Chiakulas to complete the waiver form.
• NEVER pay the application fee! See counselor
first!
Transcript Requests
• Most college applications require a student’s
official transcript sent directly from the high
school.
• Some colleges will send transcript requests
directly to the counselor electronically.
• If not, students will need to request the
transcript through Career Cruising.
Test Scores
• RLHS does not send test scores or include them on
the transcript. For the ACT, SAT, or SAT Subject Tests,
you may specify up to four colleges to receive your
scores as part of your test registration fee.
• You can also request to send ACT or SAT score
reports to additional schools at a cost of $11-$12
per school. There are no fee waivers available for
test scores. Request scores at:
– ACT: www.actstudent.org
– SAT/SAT Subject Tests:
www.collegeboard.com
Test Scores
• You can choose to submit test scores from a
specific testing date or submit all your test
scores. Students often prefer to send only their
tests with the highest composite scores.
• Some selective schools require ALL scores to be
sent.
• Other colleges combine the highest sub scores
from multiple tests to compute a higher
composite score, known as a “superscore”.
Meeting with your Counselor/Mr. Chiakulas
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Registering for the ACT/SAT
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Assisting with your college search
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Completing applications
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Writing a personal statement or essay
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Obtaining letters of recommendation
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Signing up to meet with college representatives in the Library
Getting fee waivers for SAT/ACT registration and college
applications
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Accessing your transcript
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Finding scholarships
Where and How to Get Info
School Counseling Department Menu on RLHS
website:
Where and How to Get Info
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Remind 101 text message reminders
Facebook page – “RLHS Counseling”
Twitter - @RLHS Counseling
Instagram - @rlhscounseling
• Bulletin Boards in the main foyer
Parents’ Role
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Encourage the timeline
Talk about finances (early and honestly)
Set parameters up front
Let the college search be student driven
Provide transportation to college fairs and
campus visits (if necessary)
• Model positive attitude
Contact Info
• Mrs. Sarah Schaefer, Counselor (A-CARM):
Facebook Page –
sschaefer@rlas-116.org, 847-270-9300 x5193
“RLHS Counseling
• Mrs. Alison Schusteff, Counselor (CARN-GOE):
aschusteff@rlas-116.org, 847-270-9300 x5393
• Mrs. Amanda Smith, Counselor (GOF-LOF),
asmith@rlas-116.org, 847-270-9300 x 5171
Twitter –
@RLHSCounseling
• Mrs. Renee McCall, Counselor (LOG-PAG):
rmccall@rlas-116.org, 847-270-9300 x5170
Instagram • Mrs. Penina Noonan, Counselor (PAH-SEA):
@rlhscounseling
pnoonan@rlas-116.org, 847-270-9300 x 5386
• Mrs. Kelli Snyder (SEB-Z)
ksnyder@rlas-116.org, 847-270-9300 x 5385
• Ms. Stephanie Shanahan (ENL)
sshanahan@rlas-116.org, 847-270-9300 x 5384
• Mr. Christopher Chiakulas, College/Career Counselor
cchiakulas@rlas-116.org, 847-270-9300 x 5410