Senior Assembly October 15, Clark Magnet High School

Handouts  Transcripts  Senior Timeline (online)  CSU Mentor  Annual GUSD College-Career Fair  Personal Statement Guidelines for University of California  Financial Aid Timeline/Financial Aid Workshop at Clark  Parent Authorization for Cal Grant GPA Verification 2

College Application Process University of California California State University October 1, 2013 Application Opens November 1-30, 2013 Application Submission Period for Fall 2014 January 1, 2014 Filing period for FAFSA and Cal Grant Verification March 1-30, 2014 Notification of Fall 2014 Admission Decisions March 2, 2014 Deadline for FAFSA and Cal Grant GPA Verification May 1, 2014Deadline to submit the Statement of Intent to Register July 1, 2014 Final transcripts due for UC campuses July 15, 2014 AP scores due for UC campuses Final transcripts due for Cal State campuses 3

College Entrance Exams  SAT  SAT II Subject Test (optional)  ACT with Writing  Last chance to take exam is December of senior year  Don’t forget to ask the College Board to send your SAT scores to the colleges of your choice 4

UC: The Personal Statement  2 Prompts, students must address both  1,000 words total or less  View as personal interview on paper Click on the “Tips” box statement/index.html 5

Statement #1: Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations. Statement #2: Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are? The Personal Statement Additional Comments: Use this space to tell us anything else you want us to know about you and your academic record that you have not had the opportunity to describe elsewhere in the application. Limit your response to 550 words or less. This section can be bullet points, it does not need to be in sentence format. 6

What is ELC?  The Local Context (ELC) program is designed to recognize the academic accomplishment of students in light of their high school environment. How is ELC Determined?  ELC identifies qualified students from among the top 9% of each participating California high school using the student’s self-reported academic record.  Applicants who meet the minimum course requirements and have a GPA that meets or exceeds the benchmark GPA for their high school are ELC. 7

How ELC Status is Conveyed ELC Status is Displayed: In the “Application Status” section after submission of the admission application Directions on how a student learns his or her status: See questions in application tool prior to or after submission In confirmation after submission 8

College Application Process Private Colleges Obtain a Green Folder from Mrs. Bondy Snack/Lunch/Enrichment/After School Most Private Colleges Use Common Application  Check for Application Submission Deadlines (vary by college)  Thoroughly complete student part of the application  Send an Invitation to your counselor to submit your school report  Send an invitation to two teachers to submit a letter of recommendation  FAFSA and Cal Grant deadline is March 2 (some colleges may have their own deadline for FAFSA for scholarship purpose).  Meet all deadlines!!! 9

Letter of Recommendation  Scholarship organizations and private colleges/universities ask for a letter of recommendation from your counselor/teachers. To better assist you with a letter you must:  Complete Student Information Sheet aka Brag Sheet. Available at ClarkMagnet.net (counselor corner)  Provide the completed Brag Sheet to your counselor/teacher with plenty of time to prepare your letter of recommendation (that means more than 2-3 days). 10

Scholarships/Financial Aid  If you haven’t already started researching, you need to start now!!!! Get information.  Fafsa.org  Calgrant.org  Studentaid.ed.gov  Fastweb.com  Webgrants4students.org Never pay money to apply for a scholarship NOTE: Frequently visit ClarkMagnet.net “Counselor Corner” for scholarship opportunities 11 Look out for scams

Paying for College Financial Aid F ree A pplication for F ederal S tudent A id FAFSA November 7, 2013Financial Aid Workshop at Clark January 1, 2014Filing period opens for FAFSA March 2, 2014Deadline for FAFSA to be eligible for Cal Grant State - Cal Grant December, 2013 Students’ GPA will be electronically submitted by Clark counselors March 2, 2014Deadline for Cal Grant application 12

Paying for College Student Loans  Things to consider  Interest rate, APR  Fixed vs. variable  Co-signer  Fees  Enrollment Requirements  Payments, during school or after graduation  Shop around for loans, i.e. from schools vs. banks  Approximately 70% of students get some form of financial aid 13

14 What Can Students Do?  Take a challenging course schedule and do well  Take advantage of other academic opportunities  Take initiative in pursuing their passions and interests  Get involved in activities at school and in their communities  Explore leadership opportunities at school, in activities, in the family, and in the community  Students should strive to do their best in all things 14

15 Q & A 15