welcome to reach!

WELCOME TO REACH!

What is New Haven REACH?• A Yale student-run mentoring program whose goal is to

provide resources, information, and guidance on applying to college

• Founded by Wilbur Cross graduates from class of 2011• About access to higher education• Also cover financial aid, scholarships, and transitioning to

college• Launching new College Prep Program for high school

juniors

The College Prep Program• What is it?

• New program to help high school juniors prepare standardized tests, resumes, and all other components for college applications

• Getting a head start on applications• Skill-building in preparation for senior year

• Structure:• Similar to College Application Program for seniors• Meet every week at Saturday Sessions• But, no one-on-one mentors much more group-work and

collaboration based

• Who is it geared towards?• Juniors in high school who want to build up their scores, grades,

extracurricular activities, and skills before applying to college.

College Prep Curriculum• Immediate agenda: standardized exams (SAT, ACT,

subject tests)• Summer plans• Resume-building and organizing extracurricular activities• Teacher recommendations• Managing senior year

• Choosing classes

• This is the first official cycle of the junior mentoring program

• Still developing curriculum and materials so you will get the chance to directly shape our junior agenda!

For our Seniors!

• Mentor check-in• Saturday Sessions curriculum plans:

• Geared towards juniors but…

• Exciting highlights for YOU:• Guest English Professor to teach college writing skills• Resume and extra-curricular organization• Choosing THE college (after decision letters)• College forms and registering for courses• The transition into college

• Financial aid and scholarships check-in• Be especially careful to check emails for upcoming

Saturday Session topics!

How to “Summer”• Summer is a great opportunity to try something new

(different from the academic year) or to delve deeply into a passion

• Colleges love to see students being active and challenging themselves during breaks

• But college applications aside, your break is a chance for you to grow as a person, an employee, or as a student!

• Start planning and applying for programs/opportunities now because deadlines are fast approaching!

• Junior summer vs. senior summer

Internships• What are internships?

• Temporary positions at companies or organization (in any industry)• Often unpaid• Between the positions of volunteer and employee

• Career discernment• Gain experience in a work setting• Try something new or see if one of your interests is a

potential career choice• Many companies and groups have formal internship

programs• How to find these opportunities

Jobs• Earn some money before going to college, seniors!• Great way to gain experience

• Future employers love to hire people with past work experience

• Meet new people and develop people skills• How to find these jobs:

• http://jobs.nhregister.com/• http://newhaven.craigslist.org/ *be wary*• Directly seek out the employers or companies

Volunteer/Community Service• Put your free time to good use by helping others• Build on (increase involvement in) current community

service projects• Religious groups• School-related clubs

• Libraries, soup kitchens• Local non-profit groups• Here is a website to start: Volunteer Match, based on

geographyhttp://www.volunteermatch.org/search/index.jsp?l=New+Haven%2C+CT%2C+USA

Summer Courses• Take summer classes to: try something new, get ahead

with coursework, or catch up with past courses• Summer programs through your high school (usually

remissive)• Also an take classes in college:

• Gateway Community College• Yale has Summer Session program (domestic and study abroad)• Most colleges have a special residential program for high school

students

• Check college websites for program information (college level)

New Haven and Yale Opportunities

• Aspiration for Higher Learning Pre-college Institute• 6-week Yale campus program• 35 highly motivated students• English, Mathematics, Science, and computer skills• 1.5 academic credits

• Discovery to Cure Summer Internship Program• Six week lab research program for medicine

• S.C.H.O.L.A.R. Summer Science Program• For Hill Regional Career High School students in grades 10-12• Study science and SAT/college preparation courses

• YDN Summer Journalism Program• Music and Playwright programs• Yale National Youth Sports Program• Museum Opportunities

Yale and New Haven continued…• Check out this website for more details on these

programs: http://onhsa.yale.edu/summer-programs• New Haven Mayor’s Guide to Summer (2012):• http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/CSA/pdfs/Mayor's%20Yo

uth%20Guide%202012.pdf

Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines!• Presenting these opportunities early because deadlines

are quickly approaching• Many of these programs have applications due in the first

week of March!

SAT PREPARATION

SAT Basics• A standardized national exam that measures verbal and

reasoning abilities• Lasts 3 hours and 45 minutes• When should you take it?• Usually administered on Saturdays at local high schools

or colleges• Most students take it during their junior year• Many students take it two to three times (with a few

months in between each test sitting)

Sections and Scoring• 10 sections in three subjects, Critical Reading, Math,

Writing• First section: 25 minute essay• Three sections of Math (25 minutes, 25 minutes, 20 minutes)• Three sections of Critical Reading (25 minutes, 25 minutes, 20

minutes)• Three section of Writing (25 minute essay, 25 minute grammar, 20

minute grammar)• The remaining section is an “experimental section” that doesn’t

count for scoring but that the Collegeboard uses to try out new questions. But you won’t know which section is experimental so try your best on all sections.

• Total score: 2400, each subject is out of 800• Each question correct is one point, each question wrong is -.25

points, each question unanswered is worth no points

Registering for the Exam• Make an account at collegeboard.com• Sign up through this link:

http://sat.collegeboard.org/register• The fee is $51 and then $24 extra dollars for a late fee.• Check on Collegeboard’s website to see if you qualify for

a fee waiver (don’t have to pay for fee then)

General Tips on Studying• SAT is about practicing and learning the skills and tricks

to take the test well• Take practice tests! And review all your answers, learning

why you missed certain questions• Do the SAT Question of the Day!

http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-question-of-the-day?affiliateId=default&bannerId=qotdtwitter

• Take a free practice test! http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-practice-test

• Try some sample practice questions http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-practice-questions

• Develop a strategy for each section• Know what to expect, familiarize yourself with the exam

Study Materials/Resources• Collegeboard’s “Blue Book”

http://www.amazon.com/The-Official-SAT-Study-Guide/dp/0874478529

• Princeton Review “Cracking the SAT” http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-SAT-Practice-Tests-2014/dp/0307945618/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392691492&sr=1-1&keywords=princeton+review+2014+sat

• Barron’s SAT, 26th Edition http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-SAT-26th-Book-Only/dp/1438000197/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392691524&sr=1-1&keywords=Barrons+sat+prep

• Varsity Tutors FREE website http://www.varsitytutors.com/

Section 1: Essay• Formulaic• Basic structure• Examples as body paragraphs• Sample thesis

Essay Practice

Critical Reading Strategies• Sentence completion:

• Single word vs. double• Positive/negative strategy• Process of elimination• Use word roots• Study SAT vocabulary! (Direct Hits 1 and 2, Barron’s Hot Words for

the SAT)

• Types of reading passages• Method 1: Read passage first, then questions• Method 2: Skim passage, then questions and reading• Method 3: Read questions first, mark, then read and

answer questions• Matter of preference!

Sample RC Passage

Mathematics To-Know• Covers Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II• Give you a formula sheet!• Order of easiest to hardest• Grid-in section (about 10 questions)

Sample Math Questions

Writing Tips and Tricks• Grammar review

• Barron’s SAT Writing Workbook

• Consistent grammar rules they test• Worksheet on the most common grammar rules will be online• Example: fragments, subject-verb agreement, parallelism, faulty

comparison, dangling modifiers

• Two sections• The types of questions

• Identifying sentence errors• Improving sentences• Improving paragraphs

Sample Writing Question

Coming up for Next Week…• More SAT Practice, but more in-depth• We will go through more practice questions and apply

tricks and strategies

REMINDER before you leave!• Fill out the online form to have your opinions and

suggestions about the curriculum heard!• Let us know what you want to learn about or get help on!

QUESTIONS?

WWW.NEWHAVENREACH.COMStudent Resources Section

Info@NewHavenREACH.com