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Prior Lake High School Junior Meetings PLHS Counseling Department
Prior Lake High School Junior Meetings
PLHS Counseling Department
PLHS Counselors
Mr. Larsen A-CMs. Hager D-Ha Ms. Nelson He-La Ms. Nagle Le-Pa Ms. Super Pe-SkMr. Gutshall Sl-Z
Overview
● Getting to Graduation● Using Naviance● Researching a Plan● Timeline for Applying & Making a decision● What’s Next?
Getting to Graduation
Goal: Graduation
● English: 12 Credits ○ (English 9, English 10, English 11/AP, English 12/CPC + English Electives or AP)
● Social Studies: 10.5 credits○ (Geography, World History, US History, Gov, Econ)
● Math: 9 credits● Science: 9 credits
○ (Science 9, Biology, Chemistry or Physics)
● Art: 3 credits● Health: 1.5 credits● PE: 1.5 credits ● 63 total credits needed to graduate● By the end of Junior Year students should have 45 credits
63
What counts as an Art credit?
● Art: All courses● Business: Desktop Publishing● English: Intro to Theater, Advanced Theater, Creative Writing I & II● FACS: Interior Design I & II, Fashion Design● Industrial Tech: Intro to Engineering Design I, II, III, IV, Architecture I & II, Cad
I & II, Metals II & III, Woods II – IV, Fab lab I & II● Music: All courses
● Art credits will not show up under Art classes on transcript credit summary if not offered by the Art department, but they will still count as art credit.
Am I behind in Credits?
● Credit Recovery options:○ Independent Study○ Summer School
■ Registration is now open!○ Online options
PLEASE MEET WITH YOUR COUNSELOR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
When Do Grades Really Matter?
● Often, transcripts will be sent to colleges during Q1 of senior year… Junior year grades are the last thing they see!
● Senior year grades are sent to the college you plan on attending- “Unsuccessful completion of senior year coursework
and/or a significant decline in academic performance during senior year may result in the cancellation of admission.”
- University of MN, TC
Naviance
Using Naviance
- College and Career planning tool free for all PLHS students- Account closes upon graduation!
- Go to “Rapid Identity” Portal and find the Naviance icon- Log in via Prior Lake website under “student”
- Log in using Clever- Use gmail and PLSAS email address
Look for opportunities throughout the presentation to use Naviance
When you log in...
Messages from Guidance
Researching a Plan for Life After
PLHS
No Plan = Bad Plan!
● Get a job?● Join the military?● Gap Year?● Vocational/Technical Training?● Two Year College?● Four Year College?
Not sure where to start?
Start in Naviance Career Section!
- Find what job might be right for you and what training you need to get there
- Also includes salaries by state and places to study
- Take any of the assessments to generate options for you
- Save them under Careers/Clusters I’m thinking about to review later
Types of Colleges
● Community College: 1 and 2 year programs, precisely designed to prepare you for a specific occupation or the first 2 years of a 4 year program to transfer into a 4 year college/university. Automatic acceptance with a high school diploma.
● Technical College: Programs specifically designed to prepare you for specific occupations/career fields. Take 6 months – 2 years to complete. Automatic acceptance with a high school diploma.
● Bachelor Degree: Degree is usually designed to be completed in four years at a college or university
● Masters & Doctorate Degree: Require a Bachelor Degree
How do I narrow down colleges?Location Public/Private Admissions College Visits Logistics
Distance Tuition GPA Talk to current students Deadlines
Type of environment Financial Aid ACT/SAT Explore Academic depts Official Transcripts
City/small town Degree Offerings Class Rank Dining Hall Letter of Rec(s)
Campus Life Class size Course Req. Ask questions Scholarships
Housing Demographics Essays Student services/Fin. Aid FAFSA
Naviance SuperMatch College Search
Research CollegesSave the colleges you are “thinking about”
Look at past PLHS admissions info
Find under any school on their “Admissions” tab.
Look at Scatterplots
Also under “admissions” tab
** Only accessible once your ACT score is loaded in
Timeline for Applying
How and when should I start planning?
● Spring of Junior year/Summer going into Senior year○ Explore and Research
■ Add to “Colleges I’m Thinking About” on Naviance■ Start to create your list
● Recommended 5-7 colleges with a varying difficulty of who will accept you■ Look at requirements for joining military, applying to gap year program or workforce
○ Sign up for ACT/SAT tests■ Act.org and/or collegeboard.org■ Recommended that you take ACT or SAT 2-3 times
○ Register for NCAA Clearinghouse if planning on playing sports in college■ DI and DII athletes need to register through the NCAA Clearinghouse■ Ms. Kes in the Career Center
○ Create a resume so you know what activities/jobs/volunteering you did and when■ Use Resume tool in Naviance
○ Ask teachers IN PERSON to be recommenders
Colleges Tab
Creating A Resume
Formatting a resume can be tedious!
Use the formatting option specifically for high school students.
Letters of Recommendation
- Ask a teacher IN PERSON for a request- Do not ask for more letters than you need!
- Colleges will note on their website how many letters they will accept
- Students should fill out the Biography Sheet- Found in Guidance or in Document Library on
Naviance- Think about who knows you best as a whole person
& student- Please note: Counselors only write letters on request- Consider writing a thank you note-- good letters take
lots of time.
Naviance Document Library
How & When to Apply
- Applications open at different times of the year- You may apply over the summer but transcripts will not be sent from PLHS until the end of
September after the Senior Meeting which explains the Naviance process
- Be aware of deadlines and what they mean- Early decision: You must sign a contract saying you will attend if you are accepted- Early action: You have the option to apply for an earlier deadline (usually November) and
hear back earlier (usually December/January)- Regular decision: You apply by January and hear back in March/April- Rolling Admissions: You apply whenever you want and hear back within a few weeks
- Check the school’s website to see how to apply and what materials you need- Many schools are on the Common Application which means that you can apply to many
schools with one application
Making a decision!
- May 1st is National College Decision Day - Celebrated with Guidance Office
- This is when you request your final transcript
- Talk with Financial Aid offices at schools to make sure you are maximizing your chances at receiving aid
- Look for Senior Scholarship opportunities in the spring of your senior year via the PLHS guidance office and on Naviance
What comes next?
● Now:○ Think about what your post-secondary plans are○ USE NAVIANCE○ Continue or start taking college visits
● Soon: ○ Attend Fall PLHS Senior Group Guidance○ Identify and monitor deadlines○ Line up teacher recommendations (ASK TEACHERS IN PERSON)○ Submit all application materials○ Complete Senior Survey on Decision Day (late May/early June) in order for final transcripts
to be sent to appropriate schools or agency
Communicate with your Guidance Counselor!!
Questions?
- Reach out to your counselor- Check out the Guidance Website
