R each H igh S cholars

The Reach High Scholars Program  Formed to help RHS students apply for and attend the best colleges and universities in the country.  Our mission is to:  Show RHS students why these colleges are so valuable  Provide assistance to help them successfully apply for a spot at a top school!  We are parents, teachers, students and RHS alumni.

Tonight’s Meeting Part I. (6:00 – 7:00 )  What are highly competitive colleges  Advantages of attending  Financial aid Part II. (7:00 – 8:00)  Student visits to highly competitive colleges  Preparing students for admissions process

RHS Alumni Student RHS Class College Grad School Student RHS Class College Grad School. Charlotte R. Christian1950 Tufts/Jackson John McDaniels1952 Brown Yale Law School Arthur Proulx1964 Tufts James Dannis1974 Dartmouth Harvard Law School Eugene Stockel1978 West Point Alan Iverson1985 Bowdoin Univ. of VT/ Medicine Deborah O'Donnell1990 Bates Yale M.S., M. Phil., PHD Eric Austrew1995 Yale BU MBA, MIS Rich Jesmer1997 Univ. of So. Cal. Hannah Lee2000 Wellesley Joshua French2001 Duke BC Law School Amy Silverstein2002 Brandeis Justin Smulski2005 George Washington Dominique White2006 Boston College Layne Flower2007 Wesleyan

Highly Competitive Colleges  Large Private Universities - Brown, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale  Large State Universities - Univ. of Cal. - Berkeley, Univ. of Michigan  Small Private Liberal Arts Colleges - Amherst, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Williams  Technical and Engineering Colleges/Universities - Cal.Tech, M.I.T.  Military Academies - Annapolis, West Point

Why Attend a Highly Competitive College? Greater intellectual stimulation from faculty and fellow students Availability of more academic facilities (classrooms, libraries, labs, etc.) More small, seminar-type classes Better job opportunities after graduation Better chance of acceptance in top graduate schools (business, law, medicine) Better long-term support system among alumni and faculty

Endowment per Student at Selected Colleges Endowment ($million)# of Students Endowment/Student ($000) Princeton 15,7876,8982, Yale 22,53011,3901, Harvard 34,63519,1391, Stanford 17,16514,8901, Amherst 1,6621,6481, Williams 1,8992, Dartmouth 3,7605, Duke 5,91012, Hamilton 7801, Brown 2,7818, Wesleyan 7112, St. Anselm 902, UNH 11613,

Great Schools, Great Prices % receivingave. costave. discount% of grads ave. need-basedafter grantfrom total costwith debt amount grants of debt Averages of 34 top colleges 45%$19, 53656%44% $11,250 Univ of NH $25,000 St. Anselm % $27,300

Trends in Financial Aid at Colleges Where RHS Alumni Have Been Accepted Brown  Eliminated loans for students whose annual family incomes are less than $100,000  Reduced loans for all students receiving financial aid  No parental contribution from most families with incomes up to $60,000 Dartmouth  Free tuition for students whose annual family incomes are less than $75,000  Eliminated loans for all students Duke  Free tuition for students whose annual family incomes are less than $60,000  Eliminated loans for students whose annual family incomes are less than $40,000  Students whose annual family incomes are between $60,000 and $100,000 will have loans reduced on a graduated basis and above that line, loans will be capped at $5,000 per year. Williams  Eliminated loans from all aid packages Yale  Families earning less than $60,000 annually pay nothing  Families earning $60,000 to $120,000 pay 1% to 10% of income  Contribution of aided families earning above $120,000 will average 10% of income.

Part II. (7:00 – 8:00)  Student visits to highly competitive colleges  Preparing students for admissions process

Highly Competitive Colleges Near Raymond Within Two Hours Bates College Boston College Bowdoin College Brandeis University Brown University Dartmouth College Harvard University Holy Cross Mass. Institute of Technology Tufts University Wellesley Within Three Hours Amherst College Colby College Connecticut College Middlebury College Mount Holyoke College Smith College Trinity College U.S. Coast Guard Academy Wesleyan University Williams College Yale University

Transportation Contribution  To encourage visits to the highly-competitive colleges and universities reachable in a day from Raymond.  Parents, faculty or friends taking at least two students for organized visits will be reimbursed $0.25 per mile.  Typical Contributions: Brown$62.50Middlebury$77.50 Colby$76.50Holy Cross$45.00 Dartmouth$45.00Yale$95.00

How to Get Into a Top College Things you should be working on starting in grade 9  High school courses and grades  Activities  Standardized tests  Athletics Application specific topics – Not covered today  Application Essay  Recommendations

Courses and Grades  Rule 1: Take the most challenging courses Raymond offers  Rule 2: Get A’s

Courses and Grades  Most top schools will require:  Math: 4 years  English: 4 years  Science (including Chemistry, Physics, and Biology): 4 years  Foreign Language: 4 years  History: 2 years

Courses and Grades  Plan out your course schedule in advance  Course planning worksheets available as handouts

Courses and Grades Art HistoryArt History BiologyBiology Calculus ABCalculus AB Calculus BCCalculus BC ChemistryChemistry Chinese Language and CultureChinese Language and Culture Computer Science AComputer Science A Computer Science ABComputer Science AB MacroeconomicsMacroeconomics MicroeconomicsMicroeconomics English LanguageEnglish Language English LiteratureEnglish Literature Environmental ScienceEnvironmental Science European HistoryEuropean History French LanguageFrench Language French LiteratureFrench Literature German LanguageGerman Language Comp Government & PoliticsComp Government & Politics U.S. Government & PoliticsU.S. Government & Politics Human GeographyHuman Geography Italian Language and CultureItalian Language and Culture Japanese Language and CultureJapanese Language and Culture Latin LiteratureLatin Literature Latin: VergilLatin: Vergil Music TheoryMusic Theory Physics BPhysics B Physics CPhysics C PsychologyPsychology Spanish LanguageSpanish Language Spanish LiteratureSpanish Literature StatisticsStatistics Studio ArtStudio Art U.S. HistoryU.S. History World HistoryWorld History Study for and take an AP test on your own:

Courses and Grades  Residential summer programs:  Saint Paul’s Advanced Studies Program  Boston University’s Tanglewood program  MIT & Caltech Research and Science Institute (RSI)  Harvard Summer School

Activities Activities let you stand out from the pack  21,000 high schools (and valedictorians!) each year in the U.S  400,000 students graduate each year in the top 10% of their class  75% of the valedictorians who apply to Harvard are rejected

Activities  The Writer  Won multiple state and national essay contests  Wrote youth oriented articles for the local paper  Edited the yearbook  Wrote in the school literary magazine  Received very good recommendation from an English teacher  Showed other interests by: Taking Astronomy at Saint Paul’s, playing on the soccer team, youth mentoring, math club, student rep on school board, and others  The Future President  Worked at the Senate as a page during the summer  State speech champion  President of his class all four years  Student representative to the school board  4 th of July Parade committee  Showed other interests by: Editing sections of the year book, managing the soccer team, refereeing soccer games, volunteering at community television and others

Activities  Sports  Art  Music  Theatre  School clubs  Community service  Start something new!

Activities If you have an interest and don’t know how to take it further we want to help!  Be sure to fill out your interests and contact info before you leave!

Preparing for Standardized Tests  SAT I  Kaplan and the Princeton Review – Expensive but effective  Books and web sites for individual study  PSATs – Good practice and a chance for a scholarship  Student led study groups – sign up tonight!

Preparing for Standardized Tests Sophomore Year - Summer Study for SATs Junior Year – Fall PSAT Junior Year – Winter SAT Junior Year – Spring Re-take SAT if desired Junior Year – Summer Last chance to re- take the SAT

Preparing for Standardized Tests  How well do you need to do?  Look up the range of scores for the schools you want to attend BrownDukeYale Critical Reading Math

Preparing for Standardized Tests  SAT II Subject Tests LiteratureFrench with Listening U.S. HistoryGerman World HistoryGerman with Listening Mathematics Level 1Spanish Mathematics Level 2Spanish with Listening BiologyModern Hebrew ChemistryItalian PhysicsLatin Chinese with ListeningJapanese with Listening FrenchKorean with Listening

Athletics  Coaches get slots in Admissions Offices. At top schools being a recruited athlete can increase your chances of getting in from 1 in 10 to 1 in 2!  How do you get yourself noticed and recruited by college coaches?

Athletics – Getting Recruited  coaches at schools in which you have an interest (or send a completed questionnaire for this purpose on the website).  By the end of your sophomore year or beginning of your junior year  Express your interest in the team and the school  Send detailed information on your sports accomplishments to date  Play on a competitive club or AAU team that competes in “Showcase Tournaments.”  Attend summer camps or clinics run by those coaches (or known to attract coaches for scouting)

Athletics – Final Notes  Academic eligibility is a major concern for coaches at colleges with high academic standards.  They will want your grades and PSAT and SAT scores.  Athletes get a preference in early admissions.  There is an advantage in knowing which school is your first choice.