College Information for Juniors

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• College Information for Juniors

College and Career Resource Center (CCRC)
571-5922 ext 7533 Melinda Stephan
College Career Programming and Resources
Coordinator (mstephan_at_ccs.k12.in.us)
Ann Boldt College Advisor (aboldt_at_ccs.k12.in.us)
Harry Pettibone College Advisor
(hpettibo_at_ccs.k12.in.us)
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College and Career Resource Center (CCRC)

• Melinda Stephan, College Career Programming and
  Resources Coordinator
• Harry Pettibone and Ann Boldt, College Advisors
• part-time (Gold T/Th, 8am3pm Gold M/W/F,
  8am1230pm)
• Located within the Counseling Department
• Available to assist students at all grade levels
  (9-12)

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CCRC What We Do!

• Schedule Individual Appointments for Students
  and/or Parents
• Conduct Workshops
• Finding Your College Fit (Spring)
• College Application Boot Camp (Summer)
• Application Open Labs (fall)
• FAFSA completion (winter)
• Selective Schools Panel (spring)
• Parent/Family Programming
• College Information Night (Fall)
• Financial Aid Night (Winter)
• Build Relationships with College Representatives
• Share Updated College Information/Resources with
  the Counselors
• Maintain up-to-date College Files, Summer
  Opportunities, and Scholarship Information
• Resources Acceptance Book, college guides,
  publications, and more!

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Upcoming Events!

• Greater Indianapolis Northside College Fair
• March 11th at the Ritz Charles from 630-800 pm
• Over 100 colleges/universities will be there!
• Finding Your College Fit Workshops
• March 16th, March 30th, and April 27th during
  SRTpick one and sign up in Counseling!
• Admission to Selective Schools Panel Discussion
• April 15th during SRT in the Auditorium
• Northeast College Tour
• July 19-26 visit Harvard, Yale, NYU, Columbia,
  Brown U, Boston U, and more!
• Spots still available!
• College Application Boot Camp (registration
  coming soon!)
• June 1st 2nd (morning or afternoon sessions)
• August 3rd 4th (morning or afternoon sessions)

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Searching for Colleges
and Finding a Fit!
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Self Assessment Comes First!

• You need to know what you are looking for BEFORE
  you can look for it!
• What is most important to you in selecting a
  college/university? Take into account your
  interests, skills, goals, future plans.
• This requires you to ask yourself some questions
  about your search criteria
• Location of School?
• Size of School? Public? Private?
• Majors? Minors?
• Extracurricular Opportunities?
• School Culture?
• Cost/Affordability?
• Selectivity
• Once you can answer these questions, then you can
  search for colleges that match your criteriaand
  find a good fit!

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Choosing a Major

• Evaluate your interests, passions, and talents
• Understand the current/projected job market
  (www.HoosierHot50.com)
• How have your courses helped you in determining a
  field of study?
• Career Assessments
• www.indianacareerexplorer.org
• CHS Counseling Department (Career Assessment
  Testing -50)
• Private Testing (costs vary)
• Hands on Experience
• Internship or Co-op Courses at CHS
• Job Shadowing
• Summer Jobs or Summer Programs

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Learning About Colleges on the Web

• College/University Websites are your BEST
  resource!
• College Board - www.collegeboard.org
• ACT - www.act.org
• Indiana Career Explorer www.indianacareerexplore
  r.org
• Learn More Indiana www.learnmoreindiana.org
• College Xpress www.collegexpress.com
• Petersons www.petersons.com
• MyPlan www.myplan.com
• Cappex www.cappex.com
• College Timelines/Articles - www.inlikeme.com
• College Forums - www.collegeconfidential.com

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Big Future - College Search Toolwww.bigfuture.co
llegeboard.org
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Explore College Options in Person

• Meet with College Admission Representatives at
  CHS
• Fall and Spring
• Sign up in Counseling
• Attend College Fairs
• National College Fair
• Usually held in Fall at Indiana Convention Center
• Local College Fairs (many in the fall)
• Greater Indianapolis Northside College Fair
• Wednesday, March 11th at Ritz Charles from
  630-800 pm
• Campus Visits
• Experience the campus environment in person!

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Making Campus Visits Productive

• Plan your visit and make an appointment with
  admissions office
• Take an official campus tour
• Meet with the admissions and/or financial aid
  office
• Meet with major department of interest
• Observe a classroom setting in your intended
  major
• Bring an unofficial transcript and CHS Profile
• Meet coaches if you are an athlete
• Take advantage of open houses for Juniors
• Sample the food, chat with current students, take
  pictures of campus
• Schedule an overnight visit when possible
• Must be called in as a prearranged absence and
  will count against the skip-a-final program

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Applying to Colleges
and Getting In!
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Where do CHS Students Go?

• There are over 4,000 colleges/universities in the
  United Statesthere is a post-secondary option
  for everyone!
• Approximately 70 of CHS graduates attend college
  in-state.
• Many quality options in-state with 7 Public
  Universities, 5 IU regional campuses, 2 IUPU
  regional campuses, 2 Purdue regional campuses,
  and Ivy Tech Community College (23 campuses
  state-wide)
• Indiana has 31 Independent Colleges/Universities
  (private)

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CHS Well-Represented Across the US

• American University
• Boston University
• Brown University
• Carnegie Mellon
• Case Western University
• Columbia University
• Cornell University
• Dartmouth
• Duke
• Emory
• Georgetown
• Harvard
• Johns Hopkins
• Kenyon College
• Loyola-Chicago
• MIT
• Naval Academy

• New York University (NYU)
• Northwestern
• Notre Dame
• Princeton
• Stanford
• Tufts
• UC Berkeley
• University of Chicago
• University of Michigan
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Southern California
• Vanderbilt
• Washington Univ. St. Louis
• West Point
• Yale

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What Colleges Consider

• Grades
• Cumulative GPA
• Upward Trend
• Importance of Junior Year Grades
• Senior Grades Count
• Standardized Test Scores
• Course Selection
• Solid Core Subjects Solid preparation for
  college-level work
• AP, IB, Honors, Dual Credit (Realistic Rigor)

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What Colleges Consider

• College Essays/Personal Statements
• Letters of Recommendation
• Extracurricular Activities
• Length of Commitment
• Leadership
• Community Service/Volunteerism
• Resume
• Demonstrated Interest
• Interviews

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Carmel High School Code 150445
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SAT/ACT

• Take both to see which is a better test for you
• Take at least twice
• Winter and Spring Junior Year
• Fall of Senior Year if necessary
• Scores are sent to CHS and we add them to your
  transcript
• Check with each school to see if they will accept
  scores on a transcript. MANY require students to
  send scores directly from the testing agencies
• Most colleges Super Score
• SAT Subject Tests
• Register at www.collegeboard.org
• Register at www.actstudent.org

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Test Prep Opportunities

• Use the College Board and ACT test prep resources
  online!!
• CHS SAT Prep Course (April 22nd or 23rd AND April
  29th or 30th)
• Registration forms available in Counseling
  Department
• Check out the test prep resources on the CHS
  Counseling Website
• Professional Programs (i.e. Princeton Review)
• Self-Study
• Summer is a great time to prep if
• you are hoping to improve scores!

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Application Options for Admission

• Early Decision
• Single Choice Early Action
• Early Action/Notification
• Regular Admissions
• Rolling Admissions
• National Reply Date - May 1
• Be Mindful of Deadlines!

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Apply to a Range of Schools

• Recommend applying to 3-6 Schools
• Target Schools schools where your grades, test
  scores, and profile match the admission profile.
• Reach Schools schools where your grades, test
  scores, and profile fall short of their admission
  profile OR very selective schools that are
  difficult to get into no matter who you are.
• Safety Schools schools where your profile
  exceeds the admission requirements and profile.
  High confidence that you will get in.
• Dont apply just to apply! Make sure the college
  has what you are looking for, i.e. is a good FIT!

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Extracurricular Resume

• Create your extracurricular resume if you havent
  already done so. It will help you when you
  complete applications!
• Include athletics, clubs/organizations, service,
  part-time and summer employment, honors/awards.
• Creating your resume early and taking stock of
  your experiences will help you make connections
  between what you have done and what you want to
  doand it will likely assist you in identifying
  possible essay responses.
• Indiana Career Explorer has a resume builder. You
  can also use templates in Microsoft Word to
  create your resume.

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Essays

• Be original, but be YOU!
• Grab/hook the reader with a great opening
  sentence
• Write something that only you could write but be
  sure to answer the prompt!
• Your chance to show them who you are beyond
  grades and scores tell them something they
  couldnt find out from reading the rest of your
  application.
• Use your resources to proof your essay carefully
  (i.e. have parents, teachers, counselors check
  for grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc.)
• Save a copy of each essay
• Common Application (www.commonapp.org)
• Common app essay prompts usually posted in late
  spring
• Work on these over the summer!

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Letters of Recommendation

• NEW! Complete Counselor Recommendation Packet and
  Teacher Recommendation Questionnaire by September
  14th, 2015. The earlier the better! (Available on
  Counseling Website)
• At least one letter should be from a core
  academic teacher.
• Ask for letters early to give recommenders plenty
  of time to write a great letter for you!
  Last-minute requests last minute letters.
• Letters dont always have to come from classes
  where you got the highest grades. Get letters
  from teachers who can speak to your
  participation/contributions and your improvement,
  as well as your performance.

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Passion Factor/Demonstrated Interest

• Show colleges that you are genuinely interested
  by
• Attending Community Event hosted by College
• Campus Visits!!
• Make connections at College Fairs
• Establish Email Communication
• Interview and/or Network with Alumni
• Meet with College Representatives at CHS, who
  often sit on the admission committees
• Not all schools consider demonstrated interest in
  the admissions processbut it certainly cant
  hurt!

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Summer Activities to Strengthen Your College
Application

• Use your summer to your advantage by exploring
  your interests and gaining experience!
• Take courses at colleges OR attend university
  summer programs.
• Conduct research, complete an internship, get a
  part-time job, or volunteer.
• NOW is the time to identify your summer options.
• See the Summer Program database on the Counseling
  Website, checkout programs on university
  websites, talk to your parents, neighbors,
  family, and friends to find opportunities.

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Paying for College
Financial Aid Scholarships
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Financial Aid Scholarships

• Be sure to complete the Free Application for
  Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) after January 1st
  2016 to be fully considered for all available
  aidNEED and MERIT!
• Be sure to visit the universitys financial aid
  and scholarship website to learn about possible
• Automatic Merit-Based Scholarships
• Additional Scholarships
• Pay Attention to
• Application deadlines!

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Money Savers

• Combined Degrees (i.e. Bachelors Masters)
• AP, Dual Credit /ACP and IB courses
• Summer School at Community College
• Community College (i.e. Ivy Tech)
• ROTC or National Guard
• Military Academies
• West Point
• Naval Academy
• Air Force Academy
• Coast Guard
• Merchant Marine Academy

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Resources for Scholarship Searches

• Counseling Office/Website
• Scholarship Wall
• Scholarship Database
• Carmel Education Foundation (CEF)
  www1.ccs.k12.in.us/foundation/scholarships
• Local Organizations your job, your parents job,
  church, etc.
• Online Search Tools
• Fastweb www.fastweb.com
• College Board www.collegeboard.org
• There are even some scholarships for current
  juniors!

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What Now?
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Things you should be doing this spring and
summer

• Get organized! Create a folder or file for your
  college search and application information.
• Continue to research and narrow down your college
  options, keeping in mind that you are looking for
  a good fit for YOU!
• Take the SAT and/or ACT this spring.
• Attend CHS spring and summer workshops.
• Identify teachers or other adults from whom you
  wish get a letter of recommendation, and ask them
  early.
• Complete your Counselor Recommendation Packet AND
  Teacher Recommendation Questionnaire.
• Visit college campuses, attend college fairs,
  talk to admission reps.
• Start drafting your essay responses and personal
  statements.

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Online and Social Media Resources

• Carmel High
  School College Counseling
  
  
• _at_CHSCollege411
• Use the CHS Counseling Website!
• Coming soonNaviance! You will use this program
  to send your transcripts next year. More
  information to come.

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Were Here to Help!

• Use all of your resources counselor, parents,
  CCRC, teachers, workshops, services, etc.
• Own this process! Do not have your parents do
  this for you, but definitely use them as a
  resource.
• Do not assume that what everyone is saying is
  truego to a reputable source. Your stress levels
  will go up if you believe what everyone is
  saying.
• Ask Questions!