1. C O L L E G E P L A N N I N G S E M I N A R
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Presented by the Tolland High School
Counseling Staff

2. Program Agenda
PART I: COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PANEL PART II: THE COLLEGE SEARCH PROCESS *INFORMATION AND PLANNING*

3. ADMISSIONS PANEL
We welcome: Raena Beetham– Eastern CT State Univ. Michael Plourd– College of the Holy Cross Elijah Oliver– Manchester CC Jami Barile– Springfield College Jomaira Rincon– UCONN

4. Resources In Your Folder
Planning Calendar for Junior-Senior Year
SAT & ACT Test Dates & Registration Information
Naviance Student Information
New England Regional Tuition Break Program
Paying for College
Tips for Parents
NCAA Eligibility
Program Evaluation

5. Part II: College Search Process *Information and Planning*

6. Planning
Graduation, 2020

7. Winter, Junior Year
Review PSAT scores (on-line in early December). Use results to determine how to best prepare for the SAT in the spring.
Think carefully about course selections for senior year. Colleges expect that you will continue to challenge yourself.
Begin to think about what type of college is best for you. Consider factors such as academic programs, size, location, activities, cost.
VISIT

8. A Good Decision Requires Information
Gather information about yourself
Strengths, weaknesses, abilities, interests
Gather information about colleges
Admission statistics
Location
Size
Majors/programs
Financial aid
Retention and graduation rate
Student to faculty ratio
Clubs/organizations
Internship opportunities
Etc.

9. Junior Registration Meeting ( Counselor and Student)
Review transcript and graduation requirements.
Review course selections for senior year.
Individual planning regarding post THS plans.
Upcoming College Fairs
Testing
Visiting
Potential schools
Thoughts about a major

10. SAT – APRIL 2019
CONNECTICUT SAT SCHOOL DAY The test date will be Tuesday, April 9, 2019, during the school day. This SAT will NOT include the Writing component. FOR THIS TEST DATE ONLY – students will be registered by THS. Students will have the opportunity to send their scores from this test date to up to four colleges at no cost.

11. Standardized Test Scores
Tolland High does NOT include SAT or ACT scores on official transcripts.
Students must have their standardized test scores sent directly from the testing agency (College Board, ACT) to the colleges they are applying to as well as other organizations as needed (NCAA, scholarships, etc.)
Juniors will have the option to send their April scores to up to 4 colleges for free.
THS SCHOOL CODE:

12. KHAN ACADEMY
The College Board is partnered with Khan Academy to provide free, personalized, focused practice resources for all students. Students who took the PSAT will be directed to Khan Academy when they receive their score reports. Visit the Khan Academy website at

13. Spring, 2019 Begin your college search. Use search engines in Naviance
VISIT colleges – April break is a great time, as college students are in class
College Fairs –
Hartford, CT – 4/2 and 4/3/19 – CT Convention Center
Springfield, MA – 4/8/2019- Big E
Complete your RESUME in Family Connection.

14. Spring, 2019 cont.
Pursuing Division I or II athletics? Become familiar with the requirements by going to the NCAA Eligibility Center web site.
Register for the SAT or ACT (or both). All registrations for these tests are done on-line, and have strict deadlines.
Investigate requirements for SAT Subject Tests or AP tests

15. Summer 2019 Register for the fall SAT/ACT/SAT Subject Tests.
Continue to research and visit schools.
Update your list of schools.
Update your resume.
Begin to brainstorm and draft your college essays.

16. Fall 2019- Senior Planning Opportunities
Senior Advisory regarding college/THS process overview
College Application Workshop for Parents
Individual planning sessions for each senior with their counselor
College Representative Visits
Financial Aid Seminar

17. Creating Accounts
Students must create their own accounts for many of the sites that they will use in the college application process, including:
The Common Application
The College Board (SAT)
The ACT (a different, but widely accepted test)
Khan Academy
Students must remember their own user names and passwords --- school counselors do not have access to this information, so cannot assist students who do not know how to log-in.

18. Types of College Applications
In general, students will use one of three types of applications:
The Common Application
An Institution’s Application
The Coalition for Access, Affordability & Success Application
All of these are ON-LINE applications.
Very, very few institutions still use paper applications.

19. FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
The FAFSA now uses “prior-prior year” (PPY) tax data, which means students and parents of the Class of 2020 will use tax data from the 2018 calendar year on the FAFSA.
Be sure to attend our Financial Aid Seminar next fall for more information on the financial aid process.

20. Admissions Terminology
Early Decision- Binding if admitted
Early Action – Early deadline, early notification. Not binding.
Rolling Admission- Applications are read and decisions are made continuously throughout the fall, spring.
Regular admission- Deadlines will vary. Response usually receive in Spring.
Priority Deadline – Considers priority application in advance of regular admissions. ( ex. UCONN- Dec.1)
Deferred
Waitlisted

21. THS Counseling Webpage
Contains links to :
Naviance Student
College Board (SAT) and ACT
Common Application
Presentations to students and parents
Updated with current news & information
For more on Naviance Student
see the handout in your folder

22. THS Webpage

23. THS Counseling Webpage

24. Video Tutorials

25. Naviance Student

26. COUNSELOR ASSIGNMENTS Class of 2020

27. Working as a Team
Students, Parents and Counselors all have a role to play in the college search and application process!!!! Communication is the key!

28. Program Evaluation
Please return the evaluation form to the box in the back of the auditorium. We gain valuable information from parents that allow our programs to evolve and better meet the needs of our students and parents .

29. Thank you for sharing your evening with us.