College Application Night September 16, 2015 Graduation is right around the corner!

College Application Night Agenda Final to do list and timelines Student, Counselor, Parent Responsibilities Reminders: What goes into the college application? Naviance Family Connection Question and Answer

Senior Fall To-Do List We are on Twitter- please add

Senior Fall to-do list  Graduation Requirements  Ensure schedule carries enough credits and all graduation requirements are met  Student responsibility  Make an appointment with your School Counselor  Discuss final list of schools and deadlines  Come prepared with questions or concerns, take notes  If student is not applying to college, that’s OK too, please set up an appointment with your counselor to discuss your plans and how we can help!  Early Action/Early Decision deadlines require an earlier meeting  If you haven’t already, students should make an appt NOW please  Make sure you SIGN the Early Decision Agreement, a parent/guardian, and counselor also have to sign.

Senior Fall to-do list  Share essay with School Counselor and English teacher (ask nicely)  Visit Schools, take tours (Demonstrated interest)  Schedule interviews with colleges/universities (if required)  Or auditions for certain programs!  Participate in our College Visits!!!!!!  If a student has a school on their Naviance list, they automatically get reminders about upcoming visits  Take SATs/ ACTs again in fall if student needs or wants  STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY: Send official SAT/ACT scores to colleges  This process can take up to 6 weeks  Be aware of early deadlines  Subject Tests: School/Major requirements differ (student responsibility)

Senior Fall to-do list  Request transcripts online through Naviance  Stay on top of your application deadlines! Be aware of priority deadlines for scholarships and certain majors/programs NOTE: YOU MUST REQUEST TRANSCRIPTS 3 WEEKS PRIOR TO DEADLINES  The reason is because we write letters of recommendation to be sent to the colleges for each and every one of you!

Senior Fall To-Do List RECOMMENDATION Letters:  Students complete COUNSELOR QUESTIONNAIRE  Students should also have completed resume for counselor  The more specific and thorough the student completes questionnaire, the better the letter will be  Remind parents to do parent response form  Request TEACHER RECOMMENDATIONS through Naviance  Provide copy of resume-sit down to chat about your hopes, dreams, goals, favorite schools, what you are looking for in an academic program, what extracurricular activities you plan to be active in on campus, etc  Complete teacher questionnaire on Naviance  Provide teachers with the list of schools and deadline (max number of recs)  Coach/Other Recommendations  Give these outside recommenders a stamped and addressed envelope to mail separately (they do not use Naviance) OR you can assign them as recommenders in Common App (not in Naviance!!)

The actual application

What is in a college application? STUDENT Sends In: ◦ Common Application or individual school application  The bulk of the application  Lists all of biographical info, school history, classes, activities, short and long essays  Supplements  Additional materials – e.g. portfolio for Art programs, auditions, etc  When your app is complete, send it. You don’t need to wait for School Counselor. ◦ Standardized Tests: SAT I, SAT II, ACT  Students go to collegeboard.org or actstudent.org and send their scores to EACH school. This is not automatic and can take up to 6 weeks.  Schools have different requirements- student responsibility  Not necessary to take test more than 3 times

Common App Supplements

What is in a college application? COUNSELOR Sends In: ◦ School Profile  A snapshot of our school and community ◦ Your transcript  All final average grades from every class: 9 th grade-current senior year grades and courses  Your GPA and class rank on your transcript ◦ Secondary School Report  Lists all senior year classes, GPA, rank, asks counselor about your academic history, integrity, motivation, etc ◦ School Counselor Recommendation  We talk about academics, extra curricular activities, and character

What is in a college application? TEACHER Sends In: ◦ Teacher Report  Tells the school how long the teacher has known the student and in what capacity. Asks teacher to evaluate you on everything from academic potential to your motivation to your character ◦ Teacher Recommendation  Best teacher to represent student  Teachers often address strengths in class as well as positive qualities they have noticed outside of class

School Counselor Responsibilities Be available by appointment to students and parents Submit initial materials: Requested transcripts (Q1 grades included for regular decision deadlines but not for early action) If you want or need these sent if applied Early Action, please give your counselor a stamped and addressed envelope with your name on the bottom left-hand corner. School profile Letter of recommendation Secondary School Report Form Send Mid-Yr. Grades (not Midyear exam grades) Send Midyear Explanation of Change form Send Final Transcripts

PARENT RESPONSIBILITIES Review Naviance- help child finalize a list of prospective schools Guide son/daughter in the application process (DO NOT DO THE APPLICATIONS FOR THEM!) Complete FAFSA and CSS Profile Be careful of deadlines for CSS profile for each school Can’t submit FAFSA until Janary 1 st MEFA Night in November…..date TBD Be aware of Financial Aid deadlines/Scholarship deadlines Accompany son/daughter on college campus visits College Fair at Peabody High School: October 8 th pm Complete Parent Response form on Naviance If student is on an IEP be sure the plan and the required tests are all current within three years of application date - It is the student and parent responsibility to see that these tests are current.

Requesting Transcripts & Teacher Recommendations through Family Connection on Naviance **Copies will be handed out at the end of the presentation

Before you can request transcripts and recommendations you MUST… First, complete the FERPA waiver on commonapp.org Next, match your Common App and Naviance / Family Connection accounts on Naviance

How to Request Transcripts & Teacher Recommendations on Naviance You MUST add Common App schools to your Common App list before requesting transcripts on Naviance! You MUST add all schools to your “colleges I’m applying to” list in Naviance before requesting transcripts.

Requesting Transcripts from “Colleges I’m Applying To” list in Naviance

Requesting Transcripts for applications that are NOT on your list

Requesting Teachers For Letters of Recommendation

Other reminders…. If a school is NOT on Common App: ◦ You will need to go to their website directly and apply online. ◦ Please still put these schools in your Naviance account & request transcripts, teacher recommendations, etc. through Naviance. ◦ If the school has a specific secondary school report, please bring it to your counselor (filled out with your name and info). Or a filled out copy to your counselor ◦ NOTE: If you choose an option to apply through a school specific application and NOT use Common App, you MUST alert your School Counselor. ◦ If you add more schools to your list down the road, always remember to request transcripts and to remind your teacher to send their letters.