JUNIOR/PARENT PRESENTATION

“PREPARE AT RBC”

GUIDANCE DEPARTMENT Mark DeVoe –Director Mindy Fellingham-Counselor Pat Hendricks-Counselor Kelly O’Keeffe –Howlett-Counselor Ted Jarmusz-Counselor Mary Ellin Sweeney-Learning Consultant

Debbie Hemschoot- Registrar Tina Schwartz-Guidance Secretary

Academic RecordDifficulty of Course LoadSAT Scores/ACT ScoresLetters of RecommendationCollege EssayExtra-Curricular ActivitiesPersonal InterviewNeatness of the College ApplicationCommunity ServiceSpecial TalentsDemonstrated Interest

REACH- To be admitted at this school may be possible, but it is not a definite occurrence.

TARGET- The majority of previously admitted freshman had scores, grades, and other activities slightly better or equal to your own.

QUALITY SAFETY- Admission at this college is highly likely and probable due to the strength of your application.

Early decision plans allow you to apply early (usually in November) and get an admissions decision from the college well in advance of the usual notification date. But there is a catch. Early decision plans are BINDING meaning if you apply as an early decision candidate, you agree to attend the college if you are accepted.

Although you can apply to only one college for early decision, you may apply to other colleges through the regular admissions process. If you're accepted by your first-choice college early, you must withdraw all other applications. Usually, colleges insist on a nonrefundable deposit well before May 1.

Early decision sometimes prevents you from knowing your financial aid package ahead of time.

(www.collegeboard.com)

Early action plans are similar to early decision plans in that you can learn early in the admission cycle (usually in January or February) whether a college has accepted you. But unlike early decision, most early action plans are not binding, meaning you do not have to commit to a college to which you've applied for early action. Under these plans, you may apply to other colleges. Usually, you can let the college know of your decision in the late spring or whenever you've decided.

(www.collegeboard.com)

If you wish to build in more time when weighing all of your college choice options, you may apply using our Regular Decision plan. If you want the flexibility of a traditional, non binding process, this is the plan for you.

While many colleges and universities in the United States employ a rolling admission policy, very few of the most selective colleges use it. With rolling admission, students have a large window of time during which they can apply to a college or university. The application process typically opens up in the early fall, and it may continue right through the summer.

Unlike a regular admission process with a firm application deadline, rolling admission applicants are often notified of their acceptance or rejection within a few weeks of applying. A college with rolling admission typically accepts applications for as long as spaces are available.

Software• NAVIANCE-FAMILY CONNECTION

Objective Guides• Rugg’s College Handbook

• The College Board Handbook • Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges

Subjective Guides• Fiske Guide to Colleges• The Insider’s Guide to Colleges• U.S News Best Colleges

Institutional Materials• College Fair at Brookdale Community College

1. Fact Finding

2. Reflection

3. Assessment

4. Action

What are the important factors about this college?

What majors and programs?

What are your impressions?

Could this be a good match for me?

What are the next steps?

FINANCIAL AID WEB SITESFinancial Aid Information Page www.finaid.com

Fast Web www.fastweb.com

U.S. Dept. of Education nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cool

NJ Dept. of Higher Ed www.nj.gov

NCAA Clearinghouse www.ncaaclearinghouse.net/

FAFSA www.fafsa.ed.gov

CSS Profile https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/index.jsp

COLLEGE WEB SITESAlphabetical list of all Universities in the U.S. www.utexas.edu/world/univ/state

Peterson’s Online www.petersons.com

Common Application www.commonapp.org

College Board www.collegeboard.com

ACT www.act.org

SAT/ACT Optional Schools www.fairtest.org Naviance https://connection.naviance.com/

CAREER WEB SITESDo What You Are http://connection.naviance.com/redbankcatholic.com

US Bureau of Labor http://www.bls.gov/

Career Key www.careerkey.org

KAHN Academy

SAT Question of the Day

SAT Prep Test Bank

ACT Test Prep

The Admissions App

All My Colleges

College Score Matcher

College Search

College Match

Ivy League Admissions

College Essay Techniques

Where? How big? What will I major in? Will I be admitted?

• Student Record/Transcript• Strength of Schedule• Scores (SAT/ACT/Optional)• Activities Resume• Essays• Recommendations• Interview (recommended)

Admissions Counselors Consider

• Location (Urban, Suburban, Rural)• Distance • Academic Rigor• Size• Extra-curricular (i.e. athletics)• Field of Study/Major• Financial Aid

Student Should Consider

“College is not a prize to be won, but a match to be made.”

Let’s get started…..

Naviance can help students find valuable information about colleges and careers.

To log on please go to: https://connection.naviance.com/redbankcatholic - Enter your username (e-mail and password)

College Search: This feature will help you find colleges that match your preferences, size, location, campus climate, athletics and more.

College Lookup: This tool will provide detailed information about each college, some features include web tours, average GPA and SAT scores and more.

Scattergrams: This feature will create a graph to show the GPA and SAT combination of applicants to a college from Red Bank Catholic.

Colleges I’m Thinking About: This tool will allow you to make a working list of schools that interests you. It can be modified at any time.

Personality Questionnaire: This assessment will help you learnmore about your personality and careers that are matched to your strengths. Career Interest Profiler: This includes 180 questions about activities workers do as part of their jobs. Exploring Careers and Clusters: This feature will provide career overviews, information on the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in each career.

vs.

SAT = reasoning test Type of Test ACT = content-based test

Critical Reading: 2, 25-min sections and 1, 20-min section; Math: 2, 25-min

sections and 1, 20-min section; Writing: 1, 25-min essay, 1, 25-min section, and

1, 10-min section

Test FormatEnglish: 1, 45-min section; Math: 1, 60-min section; Reading: 1, 35-min section;

Science: 1, 35-min section; Writing: 1, 30-min essay (optional)

questions can be phrased in ways that make them difficult to decipher Test Style

questions may be long but are usually less

difficult to decipher, more straighforward

Math, Critical Reading, and Writing scores will each range between a 200-800; total SAT score ranges between

600-2400

ScoringEnglish, Math, Reading, and Science

scores will each range between 1-36.  Composite ACT score is the average of

your scores on the four sections; ranges between 1-36

yes – you lose ¼ of a point for incorrect answers (except on the grid-in math

questions)

Penalty for Wrong Answers? no – you do not lose points for incorrect

answersyes – you can choose which set(s) of

SAT scores to submit to colleges Score Choice?yes – you can choose which set(s) of ACT

scores to submit to colleges

questions increase in difficulty level as you move through that question type in

a section (except reading passage questions, which progress

chronologically through the passage)

Difficulty Levelsdifficulty level of the questions is random

arithmetic, data analysis, algebra I and II, functions, geometry; formulas are

provided in the test booklet

Math Levels arithmetic, algebra I and II, functions, geometry, trigonometry; no formulas are

provided

Accepted by all colleges and universities

CollegePreference Accepted by all colleges and universities

Test Date Registration Deadline

Junior YearSAT March 14, 2015 February 27, 2015

SAT & Subject Test May 2, 2015 April 6, 2015

SAT & Subject Test June 6, 2015 May 8, 2015

Senior YearOctober 2015 September 2015

November 2015 October 2015

December 2015 November 2015

Always the first Saturday of the Month. Plan accordingly!

Test Date Registration Deadline

Junior YearACT February 7, 2015 January 9, 2015

April 18, 2015 March 13, 2015

June 13, 2015 May 8, 2015

Senior YearSeptember 12, 2015 August 2015

October 24, 2015 September 2015

December 12, 2015 November 2015

THE COLLEGE SEARCH PROCESS

Junior College Planning Night

TIMELINE

December ‘14

SeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember ‘13

June

February

March

January ‘15

April

May

July

August

Junior Lessons (3)

Junior Meetings

VISIT COLLEGES

VISIT COLLEGES

SAT/ACT

APPLY

STUDENTS CONSIDER • Location/Distance

• Size

• Extra-curricular (i.e. athletics)

• Field of Study/Major

COLLEGES CONSIDER

• Student Record/Transcript

• Strength of Schedule

• Scores (SAT/ACT/Optional?)

SCHOOLCOUNSELOR

PROSPECT LIST (10-30 SCHOOLS)

FINAL LIST (6-12 SCHOOLS)

NAVIANCE

NAVIANCE

NAVIANCE

http://connection.naviance.com

VISIT COLLEGES!

If it is recommended,consider it required.

Dress neatly. Take the interview seriously. Get to know the college. Use

Naviance to visit websites, college review books, catalogs, etc.

Be prepared to talk about yourself and to ask questions about the school.

Practice interviewing…with anyone.

Make a positive first impression. Give firm handshakes, make eye contact and introduce yourself clearly.

Elaborate…give more details than your application can display.

Be proud of your accomplishments. Do not be afraid to discuss a weakness. Pay attention to the questions. Come with prepared questions specific to

college.

• At the end, thank the interviewer for his/her time and ask for a business card.

• Remember the interviewer’s name.

• Make some notes for yourself.• Send a thank you e-mail.

What is the strongest program on campus? What is the most popular department/course on

campus? How many classes are taught by graduate

assistants? Given my proposed major, will I be able to study

abroad? How accessible are faculty? What is the most important aspect of a student’s

application? What improvements are being made on campus? What is the size of the sophomore class?

What magazines and/or newspapers do you read?

Which of your activities has given you the most satisfaction?

Tell me about Red Bank Catholic High School. Have you considered a major? Is there a weakness in your application? What is something about you, that colleges

would not find on your application? If your friend was asked to describe you, what

would he/she say?

Please don’t choose your top choice school for your 1st interview.

If unable to interview, meet with the college representatives when they visit Red Bank Catholic during your senior year.

Prepare for each college meeting as if it was a formal interview.

Tour first. Attend information session. Go while school is in session. Bring a notebook and/or a camera. Eat in cafeteria if possible. See a freshman dorm. Visit the infirmary. See the music/athletic facilities if possible. Look for anything else that will be important to you.

Send e-mail to thank the school for information and tour

Financial Aid Evening-January 6, 2015. FAFSA – should be completed after

January 1st. Early completion is preferable-if you are applying for any loans, FAFSA has to be completed.

College Scholarship Service – CSS profile. Some schools use this service. Usually due by November 15.

Must apply for a pin for one parent and student.

Application available January 1st of the year student is applying.

Look at College web-sites Use Naviance for scholarships list.

CSS Profile-some colleges require that you subscribe this service.

http://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/future/want-play-college-sports

For Students: Food Weekends Popular activities Largest class Scheduling Advisors Where else did you

apply Getting home

For Info session: Infirmary Dorm rules Living off campus Scheduling Career center Advising system Weekend activities Classes that close Cross Application Pool Need-Blind?