College Admissions Process

1
College Admissions Process

• What should I be doing during my Junior and
  Senior Years of
• High School?

2
Fall of Junior Year

• Take the PSAT in October
• Research colleges on Naviance, collegeboard.com,
  princetonreview.com
• Keep your resume on Naviance updated with
  extra-curricular activities (clubs, sports,
  employment, volunteer activities, honors, awards,
  etc.)

3
Fall of Junior Year

• Keep your grades up, improvement counts!
• Maintain a good rapport with your junior year
  teachers, most likely these will be the teachers
  who will write letters of recommendation for you.
  
• Sign up for the SAT question of the day at
  CollegeBoard.com and practice!

4
Winter of Junior Year

• Study Hard! Remember how important Junior grades
  are for your GPA and college apps!
• Read over break!
• Continue with extra-curricular activities
• Plan a challenging Senior Year curriculum

5
SAT/ACT Testing

• Considering applying to a college Early Action or
  Early Decision? Take SATs twice in Junior Year
• February register for SAT if you would like to
  take it in March
• March register for the SAT if you would like to
  take it at WHS in May
• April register for the June SAT a good time to
  take SAT Subject tests
• Prepare for the SAT or ACT!

6
SAT II's (Subject Tests) - More Info    

• Check Admissions Requirements to see if College
  requires 
• SAT II's
• check for a list http//www.compassprep.com/admis
  sions_req_subjects.aspx
• Colleges that require SAT II's
• Columbia, Cornell, Duke, MIT, UPenn, etc.
• Colleges that Recommend SAT II's
• Emory, Lafayette, Lehigh, UDel, etc.
• Anytime something is "Recommended", be sure to
  complete it.

7
Spring of Junior Year

• Attend College Fairs
• Write letter of intent to Military Academy if
  interested
• Refine your college list
• Study for finals!

8
Summer between Junior and Senior Year

• Arrange college tours for the summer
• Athletes register with NCAA Clearinghouse after
  July 15th
• Keep extracurricular activity and community
  service efforts going

9
Fall of Senior Year

• Your college list should be narrowed to about 5
  or 6 schools with a good spread
• View on-line college apps for those schools
• List colleges on Naviance
• Request letters of recommendation if your
  colleges want them
• Take SAT/ACT as needed (PREP!)

10
Fall of Senior Year

• Dont procrastinate with your apps! The earlier
  the better
• Complete all college apps by December 1st
• Once you have completed apps, request that your
  transcript be sent to the college by your HS
  counselor
• Send Thank you notes to anyone who helped you

11
Winter of Senior Year

• January 1st first day to apply for financial
  aid using the FAFSA
• February 14th finish FAFSA your gift to
  yourself!
• Mid February Mid-year grades will be sent keep
  your grades up!

12
Dont Catch Senioritis!

• Sen-ior-it-is seen-yer-eye-tis
• -noun Slacking off in the Spring or after being
  accepted
• Every year colleges rescind offers of admission
  or alter financial aid packages as a result of
  Seniortis!
• Because colleges do not receive final grades
  until July, students often dont learn of revoked
  admission until August
• Dont be a victim!

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A Good List of Colleges

• 1 Safety School Little chance of rejection
• 2-4 Good Matches Schools that match your needs
  and wishes and that you could happily attend
• 1-2 Reach Schools Your top choices but schools
  at which you are less likely to be accepted
• Keep a financially Safe school on your list

14
Early Decision vs. Early Action

• Early Decision applicants
• Apply early (usually in November) to first-choice
  college
• Receive an admission decision from the college
  well in advance of the usual notification date
  (usually by December)
• Agree to attend the college if accepted and
  offered a financial aid package that is
  considered adequate by the family
• May only apply to one college for early decision
• May apply to other colleges under regular
  admission
• Must withdraw all other applications when
  accepted by ED
• Usually must give a nonrefundable deposit well in
  advance of May 1

15
Early Decision vs. Early Action

• Early Action applicants
• Apply early
• Receive an admission decision early in the
  admission cycle (usually in January or February)
• Do not have to commit to an EA college
• May apply to other colleges under regular
  admission plans
• Must give the college a decision no later than
  the May 1 national response
• How do I remember the difference?
• db Early decision is binding

16
Rolling and Regular Admissions

• Rolling Admission colleges review your app and
  notify the you of their decision within a few
  weeks from submission.
• Regular Admission traditional admission process.
  Colleges notify you of acceptance in the Spring
  of Senior year.

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When Should I Apply to College?

• If applying to a four-year college 
•     Strong students apply early in the Fall
• If applying to a two-year college or technical
  school
•     Apply for Fall admission during the prior
  Spring semester

18
What Really Matters to Colleges?

• There is no magic formula
• There are no rules
• Small Schools pay greater attention to the person
• Large Schools often use a mathematical formula
  based on GPA, ACT/SAT and favor in-state
  applicants

19
What Really Matters to Colleges?

• Courses Taken colleges want to see academic
  discipline and a challenge
• Grades Received
• Rank
• SAT/ACT Scores
• Essays
• Recommendations
• Extracurricular Activities
• truly commit to 2-3 activities
• Interviews

20
Most Significant Factor in Admission

• Grades Earned in ACADEMIC Courses! 
• Transcript is the BIGGEST DRIVER in the whole
  process!!
• Admissions counselors report that 
• colleges recalculate GPA, using 
• only academic courses

21
Other Trends in College Admissions

• Admissions counselors reveal 
• Rigor comes up often looking at caliber of
  courses
• Through the SSR and HS Profiles, colleges can
  discern how many AP and Honors level courses were
  offered.
• Did the student take advantage of available
  courses?

22
Letters of Recommendation

• How many letters are required?
• Standard is TWO Letters of recommendation from
  ACADEMIC sources (teachers)
• Look at application instructions for each school
• Make a positive impression by having students ask
  for letters from teachers with whom they have a
  good rapport and in whose classes they worked
  very diligently.

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Senior Year Reference College Application
Process in 14 Easy STeps 1.  Narrow College
choices to 5-8 schools.2.  Put choices in
Naviance.3.  Visit School Counselor and list
schools to which you are applying.  (Be sure to
tell your School Counselor if you are using the
Commonapp for any colleges).4.  Check College
application Deadlines.5.  Complete Teacher
Letter of Recommendation request forms and ask
two teachers for letters.6.  Go to colleges
websites, click on Admissions/Undergraduate
Admissions and complete applications on-line.7.
 Request official scores from Collegeboard and/or
ACTstudent.8.  When you have finished
applications, tell your School Counselor to send
your transcript and letters of rec.9.  Go to
FAFSA.ed.gov and create a PIN number. 10.   Go
back after Jan 1 and complete your FAFSA.11.
 Wait for notification from colleges. 12.  If
colleges send emails or letters saying items are
missing, call the admissions offices to double
check.13.  Receive admission or denial letters
from colleges.14.  Send in Intent to Register
notification to colleges by May 1 along with
housing deposit.    
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 SAT/ACT Testing Schedule1.  October Junior
Year - take PSAT (about 13, scores not reported
to colleges).2.  Fall or Winter Junior Year -
Take SAT/ACT practice test (about (10, scores
not reported to colleges).3.  Winter of Junior
Year - begin SAT and/or ACT prep.4.  March
and/or May of Junior Year - take SAT.5.  April
of Junior Year - take ACT.6.  May or June of
Junior Year/Fall and/or Winter of Senior Year-
take SAT IIs if needed (look at the colleges
admissions websites to see if they require SAT
IIs).7.  Fall and/or Winter of Senior Year -
re-take SAT and/or ACT to improve scores if
necessary.when registering for SAT and/or
ACT be sure to take advantage of the FREE score
reports and send scores to colleges to which you
might apply. if re-taking the SAT/ACT, be sure
to PREP!
25
Senior Year Reference Two-Year College or Tech
School Application Process Applications are
completed after the first of the year for fall
admission. 1.  Visit college/Tech school website
and go to Admissions. 2.  Download paper
application (or complete on-line application and
then notify your school counselor). 3.  Complete
paper application. 4.  Submit paper application
along with application fee to your school
counselor.  Your counselor will mail your
application, fee and transcript to the
College/Technical School.5.  Schedule the
Accuplacer (placement exam) a.  SCC take the
Accuplacer at WHS, meet with a college advisor to
choose courses b.  All other community colleges
and Tech Schools you will receive communication
from the school indicating when you can take the
accuplacer/placement test and meet with an
advisor to choose courses. c.  Explore specialty
programs (Nursing, Nuclear Medicine, Diagnostic
Medical Sonography, Sustainable Energy
Technology, etc) to determine admission
requirements   You may need SAT or ACT scores