Welcome to the College Application Process! SEPTEMBER 19th, 2016

No College-Bound Student Is Behind At This Point! Tonight is about differentiating what you can do to help your child and what they should be doing to own this process.

How to Help Them Own the Process Have your child develop a timeline to map out when they will realistically complete this process. If they have a difficult time getting underway, be patient, it is common, we can help. When they become stressed, give them reassurance, support, and perspective. Be cognizant of their deadlines. Continue to be realistic about their college choices. Use Naviance to see how their GPA and Test Scores compare. Keep communication open with their counselor.

How You Can Help As a Parent Help your child finalize the list of schools they are sending applications to and make a strategy for the different applications based on due dates. Talk with your child about both the main & supplemental essays. If supplemental essays are required, read through to see how many they really need to write.

Keep in Mind… This can be a stressful process for your child, help to limit their stress by supporting them, reassuring them, and not completing the applications for them. Students need to continue to think about the good match (Academic, Social, Location, & Budget). Colleges can take up to two weeks to process an application that was submitted by the deadline, have them be patient. In order to truly take ownership of this process, students should be the only one contacting colleges and/or admissions representatives.

A Complete Application The Application (Essay & Supplements) Financial Aid (Financial Aid Night at JJHS Wed. Sept. 28th @7PM ACT / SAT Test Scores College Recommendations Transcript

FERPA and Common App FERPA- As a staff, we recommend students waive their rights. We have just finished meeting with our seniors to complete the FERPA form, link Common App with Naviance, and review how to request a transcript and a letter of recommendation.

Types of Applications Early Decision- Binding Early Action- Non-Binding Restrictive Early Action (Single Choice) Rolling Priority (Typically large state schools) Early Decision II Fast Track / Free Applications Please Note: Merit-Based Scholarships may have a specific application deadline.

Teacher Recommendations Identify/Confirm (2) academic teachers from Junior Year. If a recommending teacher does not send electronically, students will need to give them stamped, addressed envelopes for each undergraduate admissions office at least 2-weeks prior to due dates as well as a printed copy of the Teacher Evaluation form from the Common App. Students should not invite teachers or counselors through the Common App Recommenders section. They have been shown how to invite teachers through their Naviance account. Have your child check the policy at each college or university regarding additional letters of recommendation. Additional recommenders can be invited to submit their recommendations through the Common App. (Employers, Coaches, Religious Leaders, etc.)

Transcript Requests Before requesting transcripts, students need to have submitted their ID ME and Parent Brag Letter through Naviance or handed in a paper copy. All transcript requests must be done online through Naviance. The corresponding application type (ED, EA, etc.) is also inputted at the time of request. Any student who is not using the Common Application must complete and submit a hard copy of the FERPA, which can be found in Naviance under “document library” or in the counseling center.

What happens after the transcript request? The counseling department will meet all deadlines. It is critical that you provide the department at least 10 school days to meet an application deadline. Once a transcript request is made through Naviance, the counselor will be informed of the request and will begin the process of preparing a letter of recommendation and secondary school report. The student’s transcript, secondary school report, JJHS Profile, and counselor’s recommendation will be sent electronically to all colleges that accept electronic materials. All others will be mailed. Once the materials have been submitted, students can track their transcript request through Naviance.

Standardized Tests It is the responsibility of the student to send their scores to each college receiving an application. If a college requires testing scores, the scores must be official from the testing service. Please be mindful of deadlines as these scores take time (up to 3 weeks) to get to the colleges. The counseling center does not submit SAT/ACT scores to colleges. Test Optional– check college policy regarding testing. Senior Year Testing – Have students check the websites, call or email colleges if a test date is close to, or after the application deadline.

Understand the Cost, Understand the Debt 2016-2017 Tuition + Room & Board Binghamton U. $24,000.00 U. of Vermont $56,000.00 Fairfield Univ. $61,000.00 NYU $70,400.00 All Colleges and Universities are required to have a NET PRICE CALCULATOR on their financial aid website.

Before & After Students Hit “APPLY” Students can track their applications, transcripts, and letters of recommendation through Naviance. Once students have applied, colleges may provide them with an individual application account. This is separate from the Common App & Naviance. Students should be mindful of any email correspondence they receive from college admissions regarding the status of their application; including, but not limited to, missing materials, first quarter grades as well as midyear reports. Surveys and other contact from admissions offices may be tracked, so have your child be diligent about checking and reading emails.

Upcoming & Ongoing Approximately 125 Colleges will be visiting John Jay High School This Fall – Students can see when colleges are coming and register on Naviance. Beginning this week, and running through October, the Counselors will be offering a series of college application workshops during and after school.

College Athletes For DI or DII athletes, students must create an account and sign up with the NCAA Clearinghouse. Students can then request a transcript to be sent electronically to the NCAA Clearinghouse through Naviance.

The Most Forgotten Step STUDENTS SENDING TEST SCORES Logging into collegeboard.org and/or actstudent.org to SEND OFFICIAL ACT & SAT SCORES to each college. This is something tangible you can help your child with during the college application process.

May 1st Universal deadline for your deposit

Sources of Information Naviance: https://connection.naviance.com/family-connection/auth/login?hsid=jjhs JJHS Counseling Center Website: http://jjhs.klschools.org/groups/4743/counseling/Home Common App: http://www.commonapp.org Test-Optional College List: http://fairtest.org/university/optional FAFSA: Check Financial Aid Deadlines for each College https://fafsa.ed.gov CSS Profile: Check CSS Profile Deadlines, especially for Early Applications https://www.collegeboard.org Individual College Undergraduate Admissions Websites