1617 PSAT/ Junior Information Night Your High School Counseling Team: Patti McTaggart: A-Fe Tristan Zelinka: Fi-L Kelly Shumaker: M-Sa Lindsay Capoferri: Sc-Z 1617 PSAT/ Junior Information Night

Agenda PSAT Test Scores SAT vs ACT The Application Process Transcript Requests Letters of Recommendation Question and Answer Time

What are the Benefits of Taking the PSAT/NMSQT®? Prepare for the new SAT®, Get free, personalized, and focused practice through Khan Academy® Start getting ready for college with college and career planning tools Enter the National Merit® Scholarship Program See which AP® courses you might be ready for Get admission and financial aid information from colleges

How Do I Access My PSAT/NMSQT® Scores and Reports? Review your Online reports Review Your Paper Score Report 4

How Do I Access My Online PSAT/NMSQT® Scores and Reports? Log in to an existing College Board account or create a new one at studentscores.collegeboard.org 5

How Do I Access My Online PSAT/NMSQT® Scores and Reports? (cont.) 1. Log in to Your Account 2. Select PSAT/NMSQT Scores *Or* 3. Use “Missing Scores” to locate scores 6

What Are My Scores? 7

How Do I See My Detailed Scores? 8

How Will I Do on the SAT®? 9

How Did My Score Measure Against College Readiness Benchmarks? Section, test, and subscores all report scores in performance zones which indicate whether you are on track for success in the first year of college. For section scores Need to Strengthen Skills = below grade- level benchmark by more than one year Approaching Benchmark = below grade- level benchmark by one year or less Meets or exceeds Benchmark = at or above grade-level benchmark For test scores and subscores, Red, yellow, and green ranges reflect areas of strengths and weaknesses compared to the typical performance of students 10

How Can I Improve My Academic Skills? 11

What Can I Learn From My Answers? Look at my online score report Identify the questions I answered incorrectly Find the correct answer and read the answer explanation Explain why the error was made Ask questions about answer explanations that are not clear 12

What is the National Merit® Scholarship Program? 13

What Are My Next Steps? Continue to take challenging courses in high school Link scores with Khan Academy Set up a practice plan and stick to it Register for the SAT Utilize other resources to research and prepare for college 14

Official SAT Practice with Khan Academy® – It’s FREE! Sign up for Official SAT Practice for free satpractice.org Complete practice problems and diagnostic quizzes Link your College Board and Khan Academy accounts. All SAT Suite results will be sent to further customize practice on Khan Academy using actual results. 15

How Can I Practice with Khan Academy®? Saul Khan explains Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy

What steps will I follow to link my College Board account to Khan Academy®? Step 1: Log in or create a Khan Academy Account Step 2: When prompted; agree to link your Khan Academy and College Board account. You will then be directed to collegeboard.org. Step 3: Sign in or create a College Board Account Step 4: When prompted; hit “Send” to authorize the account linking Step 5: Start practicing on Official SAT practice on Khan Academy! 17

How can I Link my College Board and Khan Academy® Accounts? After successfully logging in to your College Board account, you will be asked to authorize the account linking. After clicking “Send,” you will be redirected to SAT practice on the Khan Academy site. You can remove the link at any time, by clicking on “Revoke” which is found in College Board account settings. 18

When Should I Take the SAT®? Most students take the SAT in the spring of their junior year. .The first administration of the new SAT was March 5, 2016. Many students choose to take the SAT more than one time. Additional SAT dates include: May 6, 2017 June 3, 2017 October 19

How Do I Register for the SAT®? SAT Registration link from Popular Tools menu or www.sat.org/register 20

What Additional Resources Will Help Me Prepare for My Future? BigFuture™ College Action Plan College Search Scholarships Financial Aid MyRoad™ Personality explorer Student Search Service® 21

BigFuture™ – Search Colleges, Scholarships, and Careers 22

MyRoad™ Personality Explorer Once students are logged in, they are taken to their My Plan page. In My Plan, students can develop their own portfolios and resumes. They can assemble information they' will need for college applications, brainstorm ideas for application essays, and record their interests and accomplishments for both college and career planning. 23

College Entrance Exams SAT ACT The SAT tests your knowledge of critical reading, writing that includes a short essay and MC questions, and math that includes algebra, geometry, statistics, and probability. It is a standardized way of communicating to colleges what you know and how you can apply what you know. It is widely accepted by most colleges in the US and PA. The Writing portion is optional but encouraged especially if colleges specifically ask for it. Offered at Solanco HS in May. Be sure to register early! The ACT tests the same areas as the SAT, but it also includes Science. The Writing portion is optional but encouraged especially if colleges specifically ask for it. The ACT is scored based on the number of correct answers. Also includes an Interest Inventory that shows where professionals who scored similar to your scores work. To register Register Here!!! www.collegeboard.org www.actstudent.org

The Application Process Your counselor wants you to be sure you understand your requirements for admission to each school you apply in your senior year. Part of going to college means taking responsibility and owning your situation. Use your counselor as a resource or research tool. You own the application process. Understand your college’s requirements. Know your GPA and Rank. Know when specific parts of applications are due (not every college will share the same due date). Understand Early Decision / Early Acceptance programs. Tip of the Day: We recommend you apply to three to five schools including a dream school and a safety school. We do not weight GPA, but we do weight rank. Please realize the difference.

Words of Advice… Colleges want to see independent and responsible students. Keep in mind your counselor is working with every other senior on his or her caseload. Do NOT wait until the last minute to communicate that you need letters or application materials. You should start thinking about a junior or senior teacher who knows you well enough to provide a letter of recommendation. Stick to the core subject area teachers. This is GO TIME! Your counselor is a resource to help guide along the way, but the student owns the College Application process. Stop in or schedule an appointment for help. LOR: Does your school want them? If you need three, best practice is to ask for five teachers. Give teachers and counselors plenty of notice and a BRAG SHEET – located in Guidance. (if you need one, please raise your hand).

Common Application More than 600 Colleges/Universities use Common Application (CA). Been around for 30 years. Nearly 1 million students use the Common Application each year to submit over 3.5 million applications via the Common App Online Efficient & Effective. <www.commonapp.org> L

Finally… It’s time to start your application to a school! Being prepared will help alleviate all the anxiety surrounding the application. This is a chance to illustrate and demonstrate who you are as an individual. Be specific, use examples, and be honest. Talk about your accomplishments, but do not be embellish things you have done. Integrity means everything! GPA and Rank discussion during integrity bullet.

PASSHE Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Comprised of 14 Universities throughout PA. Provides a variety of majors and programs to choose from. Public state schools generally offer students comparable programs at a cheaper cost of tuition. Typically less expensive than private schools, but have fewer scholarship opportunities. It’s best to weigh your options, and consider both private and state schools. Do your research, attend open houses, and private tours. www.passhe.edu

The Coalition 90 Schools including Penn State, the University of Pennsylvania, and F&M University. Similar to the Common Application if you have students who applied via Common Application in the past. Most likely will not impact the 16-17 Graduating Class, but students may hear college representatives talking about it. http://www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org/ P

Scholarship Information Types: National – Information in the Career Center. Local – Not available until the Spring. Come out in March and are due in April. Additional information will follow. Tips Be careful of scams. Paid Scholarship services and “Who’s Who” are some examples. Resources are available, but the student is responsible for searching and reviewing what is available. Be sure to pick up a tip sheet on your way out! This is different from Financial Aid which we will discuss later in the year.

The Reality By the end of the fall, you should have completed the following tasks: Register to complete the SAT at least 1 time. Visit through private tours or open houses at least one college, but ideally, all colleges you are considering. www.campustours.com – Virtual Campus Tours Complete applications with all requirements. Check the scholarship newsletter. Attend Financial Aid nights. Dates are at the end of the PowerPoint. Complete the FASFA after October 1st . Know your school’s completion due date. Continue to monitor your GPA. If you now know where your student should be and will work diligently to get him/her there in the next couple months…

Take a Guidance Tour http://solancoguidance.weebly.com/

Open Forum: Important Dates: A-Fa: Mrs. McTaggart; patricia_mctaggart@solanco.k12.pa.us Fi-L: Mr. Zelinka; tristan_zelinka@solanco.k12.pa.us M-Sa: Mrs. Shumaker; kelly_shumaker@solanco.k12.pa.us Sc-Z: Mrs. Capoferri; lindsay_capoferri@solanco.k12.pa.us Open Forum: Important Dates: Financial Aid Night: October/November during the 16/17 School Year. Fall College Visits: Familiarize yourself with what colleges come to the high school now, and be prepared for next year when they will return to talk to you. College Applications: Use the summer to go on tours and visits to colleges so you can start applying by the end of October. Reminder: Check out the Junior Timeline from the CollegeBoard for a good understanding of where your student should be! Don’t forget about REMIND 101. Pick up your instruction sheet before you leave! Junior Athletes should be sure to register to the NCAA by the end of their Junior Year. Office: (717) 786-2151 Fax: (717) 786-1808