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Paving the Road to College
Katie DeihlIllinois Valley Community College District
Illinois Student Assistance Commission
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Illinois Student Assistance Corpso State agency for financial aido Approximately 80 Corps members from diverse backgroundso Every community in Illinoiso Changing the conversation about higher education
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What is the ACT?o Standardized test used to measure how prepared you are for college
o Usually taken in spring of junior year
o Taken as a part of the PSAE, but you can also register to take it at other times of the year
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ACT Sections
o ACToMathoEnglishoReadingoScienceoWriting (optional)
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Structure of the ACToFour sections
•English•75 questions, 45 minutes
•Math•60 questions, 60 minutes
•Science reasoning•40 questions, 35 minutes
•Reading•40 questions, 35 minutes
•Writing•30 minutes, 1 essay
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ACT Scores
o You can take the ACT up to 12 times
o Most schools will take your highest overall score, not an average of all your ACT scores
o Check registration deadlines
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How Can I Improve My Score?
o ACT Prep Classes o Check out an ACT review book from the library
for additional practice questions and tipso Free website help www.actstudent.orgo The more familiar with the test set up and
procedures the better you will do
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Middle 50% ACT RangesSchool 2010 Middle 50%
ACT Composite Score
Chicago State University 19
Eastern Illinois University 21
Governors State University N/A
Illinois State University* 22-27
Northeastern Illinois University 19 or higher
Northern Illinois University* 20-25
Southern Illinois University- Carbondale 21-25
Southern Illinois University- Edwardsville 20-25
University of Illinois- Chicago* 21-27
University of Illinois- Springfield* 20-25
University of Illinois- Urbana-Champaign 26-31
Western Illinois University 21
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Example
25% 25% 25% 25%
21 25Middle 50%
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Post-Secondary Optionso 4 Year Public Universities
o 4 Year Private Universities
o Community Colleges
o Trade Schools
oWork
oMilitary
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Start thinking college
o Your interests Major Career
o Open savings account for college
o Get to know types of collegeso Community collegeso Public universitieso Private universitieso Vocational/trade schools
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What Features Do You Want?
o Sizeo Fuel Economyo Brando Costo Loan Optionso Entertainmento Safety options
o Sizeo Tuition and other costso Course Offeringso Financial Aido Campus LifeoReputation of program
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Making College VisitsoAsk intelligent, prepared questions.oSchedule a one-on-one appointment with an admissions representative.oTalk to students who attend that school.oConsider an overnight stay.oAttend a class.
Every school looks good on a brochure or website!
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What do colleges look for?
o Academico Grades
o GPAo Class ranko Improvement
o ACT/SAT
o Extracurricularo How many activities?o Professional skills
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Tough Classes
Subject Area Graduation Requirements
What Colleges Prefer
English 4 4Math 3 4Science 2 3-4Social Studies 2 3-4Foreign Language
1 (or art, music, or vocational)
2
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High School Activities
Types of Activitieso Sportso Clubso Part-time jobso Community service
What They Demonstrateo Time managemento Communication skillso Team worko Commitmento Initiativeo Leadershipo Organization
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WhatsNextIllinois.org Sample College Profile
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College Applicationso A college application is part of the competitive
college admissions process
o Usually consists of:o Academic Recordso Extracurricular Activitieso Personal Essayso Letters of recommendationso Possibly an interview
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True or False?
Don’t worry about freshman and sophomore grades because colleges look only at junior and senior grades.
FALSE – Those are two out of the three years of grades that you send to colleges, so they are important. On the other hand, showing gradual improvement can also impress colleges.
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Academic Recordso Transcripts
o End of fall semester of senior yearo Final transcript at end of last semester
o ACT/SAT scores
o Awards and Honorso List all academic awards/honors received since
freshman yearo List by title, description of award, and year
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Deadlines & Costs
o Deadlines varyo November 1 - March 1o Fall semester of senior year
o Application feeso $35 - 60o Fee waivers may be possible
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College is an Investment
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Know the Facts: Financial Aido The Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA)
o January
o Every year
o Tax information
o FAFSA.gov
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Types of Financial Aid
There are many types of financial aid.
These funds may be merit-based, need-based, or non need-based.
gift aid
self-helpaid
Grants
Scholarships
Work-Study
Loans
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Sources of Financial AidFinancial aid comes from a variety of
sources.
college(institutional aid)
outside/privatesources
federalgovernment
state government
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Things to keep in mind…
o Many scholarships/grants come from schoolo Most financial aid comes from federal
programs, state programs, and the institution the student is attending
o No scholarship is too small to be worth applying for
o Fill out your FAFSA every year!
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Helpful Tools
oFastweb.como Scholarship Engine
oFAFSA4CASTERo Replica of the FAFSAo Provides insight to what the real FAFSA looks like
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Additional Resourceswww.whatsnextillinois.org
www.collegechangeseverything.org
www.isac.org
www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov
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Illinois Student Assistance Commission
Katie Deihl815-681-4910
[email protected]“Like” me on FacebookKatie Deihl - ISACorps
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Works Cited
ACT. “2008 Average ACT Scores by State.” 9 May 2010. <http://www.act.org/news/data/08/states.html>.Greene, Howard and Matthew. “How Colleges Look At Your GPA Scale.” Peterson’s. 14 February 2010. <
http://www.petersons.com/common/article.asp?id=2918&path=ug.gs.advice&sponsor=1>.Illinois State Board of Education. State Graduation Requirements. December 2009. 14 February 2010. <
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/news/pdf/grad_require.pdf>.Kulla, Bridget. “The ACT: Why You Should Consider This SAT Alternative.” FastWeb. 1 March 2010. <
http://www.fastweb.com/college-search/articles/1197-the-act-why-you-should-consider-this-sat-alternative>.Morse, Jodie. “College Admissions Officers Look for More Square Pegs.” Time. 24 August 2001. 14 February
2010. < http://www.time.com/time/columnist/morse/article/0,9565,172457,00.html>.Peterson’s. “ACT vs. SAT: Which Test Should You Choose?” Peterson’s. 1 March 2010. <
http://www.petersons.com/common/article.asp?id=493&sponsor=1&path=ug.pft.advice>.Pugh, Mike. “What Are Colleges Looking For?” 14 February 2010. <
http://www.fastweb.com/college-search/articles/839-what-are-colleges-looking-for>.Springer, Sally et.al. “What Do Selective Colleges Look for in an Applicant?: Engagement Beyond the Classroom:
The Extracurricular Record.” 2009. 14 February 2010. < http://www.education.com/reference/article/selective-colleges-look-extracurricular/>.