College Planning II

Walnut Hills High School

Ohio/WHHS Graduation Requirements

Standardized Testing

Todays College Landscape

Naviance

High School Counselors

Adrian Cabrera, Tanya Ficklin, Linda Sawan

Providing services to all students in the areas of

Academic Planning Personal and Social Concerns College and Career Planning

College search and application process College selection process College and career counseling

Martha Geller, Amanda Siler, Sandy Uhrig

Providing services for

Standardized test preparation/interpretation

Preparation of applications, essay brainstorming and review, interview skills development, resume creation

College Admissions Today

When I went to college …

Colleges are either “good” or “bad”

If I haven’t heard of a college it can’t be very good

There is a better chance of getting into professional or graduate school if you attend a university that offers these graduate programs

Colleges need students so it is easier to be admitted

• Number of high school students peaked in 2009

• College enrollment continues at an all-time high (since recession of 2008)

• More focus on the cost of college as a factor on where to apply and enroll

• Should focus on “fit.” There are many good fits and choices for every student!

• Grades in advanced/college prep classes

• Strength of curriculum (has the student taken advantage of the curriculum offered?)

• Standardized test scores

• Grades in all classes

• Extra-curricular involvement

• Letters of recommendation

• Student writing

• Demonstrated interest

*Source: The National Association for College Admission Counseling

Academic excellence • Intellectual curiosity

Extracurricular impact • Involvement for a number years, commitment at a

deep level

• Community service involvement

Leadership ability • Recognition in academics/extracurriculars

• Local, state, national distinction

Develop your “soft skills.”

• Speaking in public

• Writing well

• Working on a team

• Thinking creatively

• More…………

WHHS requires students to take

and complete a minimum of 22

required credits.

Minimum

English language arts 4 units

Health ½ unit

Mathematics (alg. I, geometry, alg. II) 4 units

Physical education ½ unit

Science (biology, chemistry) 3 units

Social studies (mod. world history, U.S.

history, Amer. gov’t, economics) 3 units

Modern foreign language (2 consecutive years)

2 units

Fine art 1 unit

Electives 4 units

3 levels of classes:

• College Prep – 1.0

• AA/Honors – 1.25

• Advanced Placement (AP)/CCP – 1.50

Unweighted vs Weighted GPA

1. Earn a cumulative passing score of 18 points, using seven end-of-course state tests • Algebra I, Geometry, American Government, American

History, English 1 and English II, Biology

2. College admission tests • Students must earn “remediation free” scores in English

language arts and mathematics on the ACT or SAT ACT: English 18 Math 22 Reading 22 SAT: Writing 430 Math 520 Reading 450

3. Industry credential and workforce readiness • Work Keys assessment

ACT

• Consider December 2018 test when “Test Information Release” is offered • State of Ohio will pay for test in Spring of 2019 (given at Walnut Hills) All juniors will automatically be registered for this test.

PSAT • Affiliation with NMSQT

SAT

SAT Subject Tests • 2 minimum if required by institution; schedule after completing relevant AP courses

PSAT review • Wednesday, February 13

• All sophomores are invited

• 2:45pm–4:15

Lunch Bunch for PSAT • Wednesdays beginning in Spring 2018

On the College Board website, follow the link to Khan Academy for free test prep 1. satpractice.org – login or create a Khan

Academy account

2. Link accounts when prompted

3. Send test results from collegeboard.org

Naviance is a comprehensive college and career readiness solution for middle and high schools that helps align student strengths and interests to post-secondary goals, and improve student outcomes

Students complete tasks each year which address career

interests, learning styles, and college information gathering

We highly recommend that parents create an account

Naviance is our most widely used tool for communication among students, parents, and counselors!

Benefits: • Students learn more about themselves • Families research careers, investigate potential colleges, and make an informed decision on which colleges they intend to apply •Teachers submit letters of recommendation •Counselors inform students and their parents about visiting colleges, scholarship opportunities, and most importantly, submit the documents required to complete the student’s college application

Under the Colleges tab:

Prospective schools can be added to the “Colleges I’m thinking about” section allowing students and parents to research and investigate potential colleges

Access “Supermatch” to filter colleges based on your interests, such as prospective major, size, location, etc.

By August of their senior year, students should narrow their selection of schools, be familiar with each college’s admission requirements, and know application deadlines

Under the About Me tab:

Sophomores are asked to complete several surveys including the career interest profiler which matches them with occupations and corresponding majors based on their interests and personality

• A detailed description is given for each occupation, what major students might select when pursuing that career, and which colleges/universities offer that particular major

Three types of scholarships: Institutional – offered by the college, may be academic or departmental “Generic” – may be taken to any college. Offered by corporations, businesses, groups, or employers (P&G, Staples, etc.) Performance – write an essay, build a model, engage in competition, be a star athlete, etc.

Fastweb – www.fastweb.com College Board – www.collegeboard.org Raise.me

Take advantage of vacations and family visits to tour campuses nearby (formally or informally)

Greater Cincinnati area has a wide

variety of colleges to visit: UC, XU, NKU, UD, Miami, Wright State, Thomas More, Mount St. Joseph, Cincinnati State

Begin a dialogue in which parents and students share their thoughts and feels about the process, but limit the amount of time it dominates the conversation at home.

Always keep in mind that it is the student who will ultimately make the decision to leave home to attend college.

Watch your pronoun confusion: “WE need to register for our SATs.”

“WE are still working on our essays.”

The college process is larger-than-life, and something that will make or break a child’s future

Reality: it’s what you do, where you are!

Parents have their own! They see media images of what college should be!

There is a need to justify the large financial investment they are making.

Peer pressure

Concern that they don’t know where they want to go or what they want their major field of study to be

Fear of letting their parents down

The college search and planning process is a product of years of build up to find the perfect school and make the college myth a reality.

It’s all about FIT!! Of the 3,000 post-secondary institutions that exist, many of them will be good fits for a student.

Focus on what you can control:

Continue to challenge yourself academically and earn the best possible grades your sophomore year

Ensure schedule contains all courses needed to graduate from WHHS and satisfy college entrance requirements

Begin to research college options

Prepare for standardized tests

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!

Eat, sleep, and be merry!

• Questions?