Sophomore Success!

Promotion

To be promoted to the next grade level…To be a Junior=13 creditsTo be a Senior=19 credits

Athletic Eligibility/Driver’s License…You must pass 3 out of 4 classes during the previous

semester to play a sport and keep your driver’s license/permit

New Grading Scale Remember there is a new grading scale

starting this school year:

Alpha Grade

Numeric Grade

GPA

A 90-100 4.0B 80-89 3.0C 70-79 2.0D 60-69 1.0F 0-59 0

Honors and AP Courses….Honors= 1 additional quality point

Regular Civics – if you made an 88, you would get a 3.0

Honors Civics – if you made an 88, you would get a 4.0

AP= 2 additional quality pointsAP US History – if you made an 88, you would

get a 5.0

Transcripts A transcript is a four-year report card that includes

EVERY final course grade for EVERY class you take in high school

It also contains: transcript Student Information Credit History Grade History GPA (it is cumulative and is the average of quality points earned)

Class Rank (a number that tells you where you stand in

relation to your peers in your grade level)

EOC scores Attendance

Career Clusters… It is required that every student have a career cluster by the

time they graduate

A career cluster has 4 classes in a specific area of interest

17 different career clusters:

Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Hospitality and Tourism Arts, Audio/Video Tech and Communication Business Management and Administration Science, Tech, Engineering, and Mathematics Health Sciences Finance Human Services Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics Architecture and Construction Marketing Fine Arts-Chorus, Drama, Visual Arts, Broadcasting, Band World Languages

CFNC CFNC is a great resource to use throughout

high school and everyone should have an account. If you do not have an account, visit www.cfnc.org and click on “Create New Account”

This is the same account that you created in middle school. Just make sure you are now linked to Hickory Ridge High School

You can use CFNC to help you organize your activities as well as find a college/career that best matches your interests

SAT and ACT

Fall of sophomore year:PSAT (October 14th)-practice test for SAT for invited students

(based on GPA) *Must bring back signed permission formPLAN (late October)-practice test for ACT for ALL sophomores

Colleges in this area accept both the SAT and the ACT You must register online to take either test on a Saturday

during your junior year (ACT will be given at school to all juniors-no registration necessary)

Go to the test website (or CFNC) for practice tests: www.collegeboard.org (SAT) www.actstudent.org (ACT)

You can each test more than once. Colleges will look at your highest scores when considering admission

Three Main Factors Colleges Use in Determining Acceptance:

GPA and class rank (2.5 minimum to go to a public 4-year university NC)

SAT/ACT ScoresApplication/extracurricular activities

A glimpse of some collegesUNC Chapel Hill9 of our seniors went to Carolina last year

Student GPA Class Rank ACT Score1 5.05 2nd out of 332 35

2 4.68 21st out of 332 24

Colleges (Continued)UNC Charlotte62 of our seniors went to UNCC

Student GPA Class Rank ACT Score1 4.27 66th out of 332 22

2 3.80 125th out of 332 20

3 3.43 175th out of 332 21

Colleges (Continued)Western Carolina15 of our seniors went to Western

Student GPA Class Rank ACT Score

1 3.92 108 19

2 3.10 212 23

Community CollegeCommunity colleges require an application

and transcript to apply. You can choose a degree-seeking pathway or a college transfer pathway.

Some community colleges in our area include:

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (RCCC) Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) Stanly Community College (SCC)

What you can work on this year… Refine study habits (study for at least a ½ an hour for each class every

day, type or rewrite notes, flashcards, etc)

Improve time management (use agenda, break down assignments, etc)

Continue extracurricular activities (both in school and the community)

Find a summer job or participate in a summer program (will help you for college)

Academic achievement (sign up for appropriate courses for you and your goals)

Remember your teachers are here to help so make sure you ask!