Regis Jesuit Counseling Staff Senior Meeting

Discussion Items Student Meetings Finding Fit Applying to a Range of Schools Application Process All seniors should have attended a Naviance tutorial Financial Aid – Scholarships Visits – Interviews Special Needs

Scheduling Student Meetings Student meetings help to clarify goals, set deadlines, and assist students in organization Seniors who meet with counselors on a regular basis tend to experience less stress and find a stronger range of schools that meet their needs Mornings before school, Office Hours, Lunch, and Elective period work best. Periodic stops to your counselor with updates about applications, due dates, scholarships info, is recommended contact is preferred over voic

Discernment & Finding Fit With over 3,000 colleges and universities, many will be the ‘fit’ Do your research to find a group of schools that will meet your needs academically, socially, and spiritually. Make sure you visit multiple times, including Open Houses What do you want to gain from your college experience? A rigorous academic challenge Career Training - STEM – science, technology, engineering, math The opportunity to discover who you are What type of educational and social environment do you want? Pray and ask God for guidance and to lead you.

If the following schools are this selective what’s happening at other schools?

Apply to a range of schools With the nation’s most selective universities admitting fewer than 10% of their applicants, many other universities are becoming extremely selective in response, creating a trickle- down effect Ie. Stanford > Boston College > Santa Clara > CU To assure student success, apply to a range of school’s with varying selectivity – reach, likely, foundation schools With your counselor and the use of Naviance apply to a range of schools, with an ideal range of 5-7 applications. Check your numeric stats to those of your colleges, where do you fit on scattergrams?

Application Process – Common Application or School Application In Order of Importance High School Transcript Difficulty of classes, grades, academic interests Many schools recalculate GPA’s by removing elective courses Test Scores ACT/SAT viewed equally Strong AP - SAT Subject Tests Essays Essays play a CRITICAL factor at selective universities Resume What skills, talents, experiences will you bring to campus Recommendations -Teacher/Counselor Must notify recommenders 14 school days in advance Parent Brag Sheet is required for Counselor Rec

Application Types Application Types Early Decision Apply early, hear back early, binding agreement Can only apply to one school ED Early Action Apply early, hear back early, non-binding agreement Can apply to multiple schools early, contact each school to be sure Single Choice Early Action Apply early, hear back early, can only apply to one school early Rolling Apply early, hear back within one or two months Regular Apply at any time, all students notified at the same time in the Spring

Scattergram – CU Boulder numbers aren’t everything

Visits – on the campus and at Regis Best way to assess whether or not a school is a good fit. Attend Open Houses for your top choice schools Over a hundred admission representatives visit RJ each year, this is a great way to make a personal connection with the person reading your application Announced on Naviance – Red/White -Announcements The most selective universities visit Denver annually. Information is posted in the Red/White and Naviance ‘Demonstrated Interest’ can play a large factor in admission decisions. Denver College Fairs during the week of October 10-15

Interviews Many selective universities use interviews for admission purposes A strong interview can have strong influence, a weak interview will not hurt your application. Being prepared is the best way to ensure for a good interview As a Jesuit high school student, interviewers will expect well constructed responses and insightful questions Have 3 -5 detailed questions to ask each university Common Questions posted on Naviance Mock Interviews will be conducted during Lunch Workshops Along with Early Applications, Scholarships, and others

Scholarships & Financial Aid School specific merit and talent based scholarships Merit - GPA and Test Scores Talent Awards – community service, leadership, etc Jesuit high school scholarships National – Local Scholarships – FAFSA – Need-based financial aid CSS Profile - geboard.com geboard.com Required at many selective universities, especially if you are applying Early Action or Early Decision CollegeinColorado.org – information for COF and WUE CollegeinColorado.org

An optional Scholarship and Financial Aid meeting will be held on Tuesday December 13 th. We will discuss the following items in depth Federal Financial Aid – FAFSA CSS Profile Merit and Talent Based Scholarships Fastweb.com Scholarships.com Student/Family Loan Process Western Undergraduate Exchange CollegeinColorado.org Financial Aid – Scholarship Night

Special Needs Be sure to connect with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities for each university/college you are considering to make sure they offer the services/accommodations you need. Please see Ms. Hogan, our Special Needs Coordinator, for more information. You may want to attend one of her breakout sessions on transitioning to college for special needs students tonight.

A word about effort You are the one attending college Colleges take note of demonstrated interest from the student. Admission Counselors can tell the difference between a well planned application and a poorly thought out application. This is a factor on admission outcomes. You have the most control over the essay. Be mindful of what you include. Do your research on schools

A bad Jesuit joke What’s the definition of the word ‘Jesuit’ An order of priests known for their ability to found colleges with good basketball teams