Fall College Information Night for Seniors and Parents Briar Woods High School Counseling Department

Agenda The college application “folder” and Briar Woods High School application procedures Finding/selecting colleges to apply to is NOT on this agenda – that was covered at last year’s Junior night and will be again on October 1, 2014

College Information Night This presentation is online – BWHS Counseling >>> “Presentations” Counselors will review material with seniors next week: and follow with Senior Interviews – E-Index NACAC Guide Transcript Release Form Senior Information Packet Additional forms & resources

The Application “Folder” –The Seven Essentials 1. Application 2. Essay 3. Student Resume 4. Secondary School Report 5. Test Scores 6. Transcript 7. Letter/s of Recommendation

The Application Applications are submitted online Print and review before submitting it! Seniors are responsible for completing and submitting their own applications (not mom & dad!) Seniors should make copies of all applications they submit Many colleges use the “Common Application”

The Application Seniors are responsible for being aware of application deadlines (see NACAC Guide) – Regular Admission – traditional deadline – Early Decision – binding – Early Action – non-binding – Rolling Admission – applications accepted based on space availability until the institution is “full”

The Application Early Decision & Early Action – Is it binding? – Dates? – Can I get out of it? – Is the competition tougher or easier? – If I am not accepted, will I be considered for regular admissions? – Can I afford it without financial aid?

The Application “Folder” 1. Application 2. Essay 3. Student Resume 4. Secondary School Report 5. Test Scores 6. Transcript 7. Letter/s of Recommendation

The Essay Not all colleges require an essay Essays are submitted online along with the application Seniors should make sure they are understand the essay topic Seniors are advised to print out and review (with help!) their essays before sending them

The Essay English teachers are more than happy to help students with essays; teachers incorporate this into their curriculum Seniors should save all essays because they may be modified and reused – but be careful! Essay resources – BWHS library, BWHS Career Center, public library, book store, internet resources

The Application “Folder” 1. Application 2. Essay 3. Student Resume 4. Secondary School Report 5. Test Scores 6. Transcript 7. Letter/s of Recommendation

Student Resume Many colleges accept student resumes Resumes can highlight your accomplishment both in and outside of school Resumes can be submitted online along with the application and essay An effective resume is EASY TO READ!

Student Resume Use resume templates and samples to format your own Information on resumes must be 100% accurate Use and social media appropriately (if you wouldn’t put it on a resume…)

The Application “Folder” 1. Application 2. Essay 3. Student Resume 4. Secondary School Report 5. Test Scores 6. Transcript 7. Letter/s of Recommendation

Secondary School Report (SSR) Some colleges provide the student with a Secondary School Report form for the counselor to complete and send in We will automatically send a comprehensive “universal” Secondary School Report for all seniors with their transcripts. This is now common practice

The Application “Folder” 1. Application 2. Essay 3. Student Resume 4. Secondary School Report 5. Test Scores 6. Transcript 7. Letter/s of Recommendation

Test Scores Seniors are responsible for having their test scores sent to the colleges they are applying to. LCPS does not send scores! Seniors can request that their scores be sent when they take the tests; or they can have their scores sent after the test date by contacting the CollegeBoard ( for SAT) or ACT

The Application “Folder” 1. Application 2. Essay 3. Student Resume 4. Secondary School Report 5. Test Scores 6. Transcript 7. Letter/s of Recommendation

The Transcript Seniors must submit a Transcript Release Form signed by a parent. Forms can be obtained in guidance and are online Seniors must submit the form in person to the counselor, every time they apply to a college

The Transcript We ask that seniors submit transcript requests a minimum of two weeks before the college application deadline (last year we sent over 9000 transcripts!) LCPS plans to use the Parchment transcript exchange service to “send” transcripts (VADOE sponsored) We track the process date and send date – posted on Family Connection

The Transcript We include a school profile with transcript We send the SSR with each transcript We send the counselor letter of recommendation with each transcript, if needed – more on this in a moment

The Transcript Transcript requests must be made before December 5 th in order to be sent before winter break All LCPS students are charged $3.00 per transcript

The Transcript Please only request transcripts to be sent to colleges you are actually applying to Mid-year and end-of-year transcripts are sent automatically at no cost

The Application “Folder” 1. Application 2. Essay 3. Student Resume 4. Secondary School Report 5. Test Scores 6. Transcript 7. Letter/s of Recommendation

Letters of Recommendation Counselor Letter – If a senior needs a letter of recommendation from the counselor, he/she can request it when he/she requests the transcript – Every senior will be provided with a Senior Information Packet to be turned into the counselor – The Senior Information Packet is posted online and contains a parent “brag” section – The counselor will “send” the letter with the transcript

Letters of Recommendation Teacher Letter: – If a letter of recommendation is requested from a teacher, the senior should make the request directly to the teacher and provide the teacher with an envelope addressed to the college – Notable exceptions: JMU and UVA – the counselor will collect these from the teacher

Letters of Recommendation Seniors should allow counselors and teachers a minimum of two weeks to write a letter Please only request letters to be sent to schools you are actually applying to If you send more letters than the college requests, you can’t control which ones they choose to read

The Application “Folder” - Summary 1. Senior submits application online to the college 2. Senior submits the essay online to the college (if there is one) 3. Senior may submit a resume online to the college 4. Senior has test scores sent directly to the college by the CollegeBoard (for SAT) or the ACT 5. Senior meets with counselor directly to request a transcript by submitting a Transcript Release Form 6. BWHS will automatically send a universal Secondary School Report to the college with the transcript 7. Senior may request letter of recommendation (if needed) from their counselor and/or teachers

Keeping Sane!!! Complete one college application “folder” at a time Trying to work on several applications at once = confusion for all! Use a checklist for each application

Keeping Sane!!! Complete applications one at a time – One by Halloween – One by Thanksgiving – The rest by Winter Break Pay attention to deadlines!

Interviews Some colleges interview applicants Process, procedures, and guidelines vary Resources can be found on the E-Index

Communication/Follow-Up Your senior will hear everything we talked about tonight through classroom presentations Every senior will meet with his/her counselor individually throughout the process Please review the NACAC Guide – includes rights and responsibilities in the college admissions process. This is a fantastic source of information!

Communication/Follow-Up Every senior will receive an e-index: – Planning calendar – Student information packet – Sample resumes – Transcript release form – College visit worksheet – College application checklist – and more…

Communication/Follow-Up Students and parents can log onto Family Connection to view transcript send dates We automatically send mid-year transcripts to the colleges our students apply to (no cost) Final transcripts are sent to the colleges our students plan to attend (no cost)

Some Advice HAVE FUN!

Upcoming Dates Senior presentations – Next week Senior Interviews – Late September LCPS College Fair – September 28 at 4:00pm- 5:30pm & 6:30pm-8:00pm, RRHS Junior College Information Night – October 1 at 7:00pm Financial Aid Night – November 19 at 7:00pm

HAVE A GREAT SENIOR YEAR!!