SOPHOMORE DISCOVERY CLASS OF 2022

CREATING YOUR PATHWAY

………BEYOND BARRINGTON

•TOOLS•RESOURCES

•REPRESENTING YOURSELF WELL

Spring of Sophomore year – Begin gathering information

FIRST STEP IN ANY DECISION PROCESS

•SELF-AWARENESS

•WHAT YOU WANT

•WHAT YOU NEED

•YOUR GOALS

•WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU

What is the dog doing?

Learn more about YOU•Naviance (“About Me” tab)

•“Do What You Are”

•If you completed this last year in Advisory, review your results.

•If you didn’t complete it last year, you definitely want to complete it this year.

•Your preferences

•How you make decisions

•Align who you are with meaningful careers

“DO WHAT YOU ARE”•Your “Do What You Are” results also give you very helpful insights on possible careers you might find fulfilling.

•This helps you determine possible college majors.•The list of careers could be something that requires no college degree or one that requires an advanced college degree.

•So, there is a broad range of careers listed in your results.

ACCURACY OF YOUR NAME

•IMPORTANT when creating accounts on College Board (SAT), AP testing, ACT, emails to college reps, etc.

USE YOUR

SAME NAME CONSISTENTLY….

•When creating accounts

•When registering for an SAT, ACT or AP tests

•When applying to colleges

•When sending test scores to colleges

USE YOUR NAME CONSISTENTLY

•Every time you register for a PSAT, SAT, ACT, SAT Subject test, etc. use your same LEGAL name CONSISTENTLY

•NO NICKNAMES!!

•When you apply to college, fall of your senior year, all your documents must be aligned with the same consistent name.

DISCOVERING A POST-HIGH SCHOOL PLAN

FOR YOU•COLLEGE

•GAP YEAR

•WORK AND COLLEGE

•WORK

•MILITARY

THERE IS NO RIGHT - OR WRONG - OR “BETTER” DIRECTION

•IT’S RIGHT IF IT WORKS FOR YOU AND HELPS YOU

MEET YOUR GOALS

GAP YEAR INFORMATION FAIRS•Just like College Fairs, there are many Gap Year Fairs regionally.

•New Trier High School always hosts a huge Gap Year Fair in January.

WORK AND COLLEGE•It is not unusual for many students to

work and attend college at the same time. •This helps with college costs for less debt

when you graduate.

WORK•Many students decide to go right to work full-time. They

may not be ready to continue their education and may also want to save more

money to help pay for college in the future.

MILITARY•Some students have a calling to serve our country.

•You don’t enter the military just because you want $$ for college.

•This is a multi-year commitment that takes dedication, discipline and courage.

A LARGE # (96%) OF BHS STUDENTS CHOOSE TO ATTEND

COLLEGE RIGHT AFTER HIGH SCHOOL.

WE WILL FOCUS NOW ON THAT PROCESS.

NAVIGATING COLLEGE WEBSITES

•Virtual tours

•Application requirements

Let’s take a look.

USING NAVIANCE TO START CREATING YOUR COLLEGE LIST

ADVANCED COLLEGE SEARCH

COLLEGES I’M THINKING ABOUT

COLLEGE REP VISITS IN THE CRCDURING 1ST SEMESTER

•List on BHS Counseling page

•When you list a college on your Naviance account under “College’s I’m Thinking About”, you will receive an email reminder when that rep will be at BHS this fall of 2020.

•The “orange” pass excuses you from class.

SCATTERGRAMS

WHAT SKILLS DO COLLEGES

AND FUTURE EMPLOYERS

WANT TO SEE YOU

DEMONSTRATE?

Team work Digital Awareness Curiosity Verbal / written communication Contextual thinking – seeing connections Time management Integrity Humility Problem Solving Planning / Organization

What would a teacher or your counselor write

about you in arecommendation letter?

TEACHER AND COUNSELOR RECOMMENDATION LETTERS

•As more colleges go “test optional” other aspects of your high school profile become increasingly more important.

•If you had to write a recommendation letter for yourself, describing you as a

student and a school/community citizen – what would you write?

THE IMPORTANCE OF APPROPRIATE EMAIL COMMUNICATION

•Many teenagers are clueless when it comes to emailing college admissions officers.

• If you’re a college-bound high school student, you need to master the intricacies of email etiquette—or risk offending

the wrong people.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

THE “SUBJECT” • Don’t leave the subject field blank.

• Suggests a degree of informality or carelessness that’s completely inappropriate.

• Keep the subject line brief but communicative.

• “Question” is far too broad.

• More appropriate = “Question – application/Fall of 2021”

• Avoid overly long subject lines. “My question is regarding my college application materials and when they arrived at your college.”

•As a general rule, keep things brief, specific and formal.

ADDRESSING THE PERSON RECEIVING THE EMAIL

• Make sure to begin every email you write with a greeting.

• “Dear Ms. Smith,” this is a safe and effective formula.

• Never, under any circumstance, begin an email to a college representative with “Hi,” “Hello,” or “Hey,” by itself.

• If you develop a rapport with the recipient, you can safely begin with “Hi Ms. Smith,” for instance, but never simply “Hi,” without a name attached.

• Always include the recipient’s name. You can find the BHS college rep name and email address on Naviance.

APPROPRIATE AND PROFESSIONAL WAY TO SEND AN EMAIL

•An email is NOT a text message• In an email, you need to enter a “greeting”

• “Hi Mrs. Jones,” - “Good Morning Mr. Smith,”

• Be respectful and thorough in the body of the email• Sign with “Thank you.” “I appreciate your help.”• Also sign with your full name if this is a professional relationship.• For someone you know better, you only need to “sign” with your

first name.

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS REPRESENTATIVES FOR BHS

•You can find the name and email of the College Admissions Representatives for BHS on Naviance and the specific college website

link.

IN AN EMAIL•Type the content as if the person is in front of you. What would “say” if the person was with you?

WRITE IN YOUR REAL VOICE• This means not addressing the admissions professional in the same manner in which you

would text your best friend.• “Hey Paul, I was wondering if ur engineering school lets u dble major. LMK.

• You also don’t want be overly expansive using words that make you sound pretentious.

• “It is my assentation that this correspondence will not leave you in a state of sheer lassitude…”

•Aim to be a slightly-polished version of yourself. Your email should sound like it comes

from a teenager.

EXAMPLES:

• 1. “My college application account says that my transcript hasn’t arrived to your college. I sent it a week ago. Do you have it?”

• 2. “Dear Mr. Jones,• I am a senior at Barrington High School and am applying to

University of Missouri as a freshman for fall of 2022. I’m reviewing my online application and it lists that my official transcript has not been received. I requested that to be sent to Missouri two weeks ago. Has my official transcript arrived yet?

• Thank you very much.• Sally Bronco”

NO

YES

DON’T FORGET TO PROOFREAD!!!!

DON’T ASK QUESTIONS THAT CAN BE EASILY FOUND ONLINE

• Before you commit your question to email, take a moment to flip through a college guidebook/webpage or at least google your question. Questions like these can definitely be answered by viewing the college website.

• What majors do you offer?

• How many students attend your school?

• Do you have intramural sports?

• What is the student-faculty ratio?

• Do most freshmen live in dorms?

• Instead, ask questions that will actually give you a greater understanding of whether or not a given school is the right fit for you. For example:

• I’m interested in majoring in Accounting. Which accounting firms recruit on campus?

• What percentage of students participate in undergraduate research?

• I would like to double major in Mechanical Engineering and German. Is this possible to complete in four years?

ENSURE THAT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS/SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

ARE APPROPRIATE

• The second that you send an email, you are officially on the college’s radar. First and foremost, you want to make sure that your email address itself is appropriate.

• Further, you want to make sure that all of your social media accounts contain only appropriate material or are at least set to private. The best email in the world isn’t going to mean anything if the first search result under your name demonstrates poor decision making or behavior.

DEMONSTRATED INTEREST• No matter the reason you send an email, you must ensure that your email to the admissions officer is both

professional and authentic.

• Most college admissions officers consider emails from students a form of demonstrated interest.

• In fact, a study found that demonstrated interest is one of the most important factors in the college admissions decision process. As such, it is important that your email presents your best self.

• Other ways to demonstrate your interest:

• Attending College Night your junior year• Meeting with the college rep in our CRC in the fall• Doing an official visit or virtual tour of the campus• Follow up “Thank you” emails

KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER

•Write in your normal voice and edit before sending.•Don’t overshare or brag about accomplishments—this isn’t the right time.

• If emailing multiple schools, resist the urge to use a template.

•Avoid asking questions that a cat could find on Google in three seconds.

•Don’t pester the admissions officer.•Ensure that your email/social media accounts are appropriate before you hit send.

BHS COUNSELING HOME PAGE

•All the information you need is there to help you develop a strong

academic plan and create your post-high school path.

THIS IS A STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS•You have many resources to help you.

•Your counselor is here to help you, stop in, send an email.

•This isn’t a decision you make in one day.

•Try to enjoy the process.

•Yes, a little stress is normal.