Welcome!

1. College Readiness for the Class of 2014 March 20, 2013 Welcome!

2. Our Program Finding the Right College Fit College application at Northwest What’s ahead for college-bound juniors AP, ACT and the SAT Upcoming events!

3. Who’s Who at Northwest… • Mrs. Lance Dempsey, Principal • Mr. Matt Niper, Assistant Principal & 9th Grade Administrator • Mr. Matt Paushter, Assistant Principal & 10th Grade Administrator • Mr. Tim Britton, Assistant Principal & 11th Grade Administrator • Mr. John Robertson, Assistant Principal & 12th Grade Administrator

4. Our counselors… • Ms. Theresa Dethlefsen, Resource Counselor (Gb to Gz) • Mr. Jeff Flach, Counselor (last name beginning with A to B) • Ms. Tamela McCarthy-Redd, Counselor(last name beginning with C to D) • Ms. Chrissy Noonan, Counselor (last name beginning with E to Ga) • Ms. Athena Cois, Counselor (last name beginning with H to K) • Ms. Audrik Bonilla, Counselor (last name beginning with L to Mop) • Ms. Ellen O’Connell, Counselor (last name beginning with Moq to Ra) • Ms. Jodi Edmunds, Counselor (last name beginning with Rb to S) • Ms. Sue Bunting, Counselor (last name beginning with T to Z)

5. Counseling Support Staff Counseling Office (301) 601-4642: Ms. Cathy Wittenberger , Counseling Secretary Ms. Laura Rawson, Counseling Secretary & Asst. Registrar Registrar’s Office (301) 601-4623: Ms. Debbie Seamone, Registrar College/Career Information Center (301) 601-4635: Ms. Rochelle Davis, College/Career Information Coordinator

6. Finding the Right College ‘Fit’ Step 1:Think about why you want to go to college or pursue a particular career. Step 2:Decide what is important to you in a school. Step 3:Gather information about the schools you are considering. Step 4:Research and compare schools. Step 5:Make your decision. Step 6:Meet your deadlines! Consider Cost Meet with counselors Tour the campus www.MDgo4it.org

7. Timeline for College-Bound juniors… • Spring: • Tour college campuses and/or vocational schools and talk with admissions representatives, professors, and students • Take and ACT and/or SAT • Update your list of potential schools using Family Connection ‘colleges I’m thinking about’ • Explore AP exam prep and register for the AP exam • Explore summer jobs, internships and pre-college programs • Summer: • Have your senior meeting with your counselor • Register for College/Career Summer Workshops • Fall Senior Year: • Narrow down college list and register for required college tests • Secure letters of recommendation (Ask teachers before leaving in June) • Use high school resources to research local and national scholarships and financial aid • College essays! • College applications!

8. How to Apply to College the Northwest High School Way Connecting online using Family Connection and eDocs • What is eDocs through Family Connection? • eDocsis an online feature linked to a student’s Naviance Family Connection account. eDocs is designed to help streamline the college application process for Northwest staff and students. eDocs will be used for the following purposes: • Application Tracking – the ability for students to keep track of colleges where they have applied • Transcript Tracking – the ability for students to view the status of transcript requests for college applications and scholarships. • College Recommendations – the ability for students to request college recommendations and view the status of those requests • Electronic transmission – the ability for school staff to transmit transcripts, recommendations and supporting college application documents electronically to colleges and universities.

9. Family Connection and Getting Connected WELCOME to the college and career FAMILY CONNECTION Program MCPS provides this unique program free of charge to all MCPS high school students, parents and staff. Students are encouraged to explore both at home and school an array of college and career related resources available in Family Connection.

10. College Destinations for NW! Alabama State  Allegany College of MD  American U  Amherst College  Berklee College of Music  Boston U  Bowie State U  Brown U  Bucknell  Carnegie Mellon U  Clemson  Columbia  Cornell  Dartmouth College  Drexel U  Duke  East Carolina U  Elon U  Emory  Fairleigh Dickinson U  Fordham U  Frostburg State  George Mason U  Georgetown U  Gettysburg College  Goucher College  Hampton  Haverford College  Hofstra U  Hood College  Howard U  Indiana U of PA  Ithaca College  ITT Technical Institute  James Madison U  Johns Hopkins Kent State  Lincoln U of PA  Marshall U  Maryland College of Art Institute  Marymount Manhattan College  MIT  McDaniel College  Montgomery College  Morehouse  Morgan State U  Mount Saint Mary’s U  NYU  Norfolk State  North Carolina State  Northeastern U  Oberlin  Old Dominion U  Penn State  Princeton U  Purdue U  Rensselaer  Rice U  Rose-Hulman  Rutgers  Salisbury U  Savannah College of Art & Design  Shenandoah  Shepherd U  Shippensburg U of PA  Slippery Rock U of PA  Spelman College  St. John’s U  St. Mary’s College of MD  Stanford U  Stevenson U  Swarthmore College  Syracuse  Temple U  Texas A & M  The Catholic U of America  The Citadel  The George Washington U  The Ohio State U  Towson U  Tuskegee U  US Air Force Academy  US Military Academy, West Point  US Naval Academy  UCLA  U of Colorado Boulder  U of Mary Washington  U of Maryland, Baltimore County  U of Maryland, College Park  U of Maryland, Eastern Shore  U of Massachusetts, Amherst  U of Michigan  U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill  U of Oklahoma  U Penn  U of South Carolina  U of Southern California  UVA  U of Wisconsin, Madison  Vanderbilt U  Villanova U  Virginia Commonwealth U  Virginia Military Institute  Virginia Tech  Virginia State U  Wake Forest U  Washington U in St. Louis  West Virginia State U  West Virginia U  Xavier U of Louisiana  Yale University 

11. The college application, recommendations and transcripts… • College Applications: • Available on the college web site • Hard copies may be available in the College/Career Information Center • The Common App @ commonapp.org • College Recommendations & the Self Evaluation Form: • Available on the school web site “Counseling” page • Hard copies available in the Counseling Office and College/Career Information Center • Transcript Requests & the Electronic College Processing Form: • Available on the Counseling web page • Hard copies available in the Counseling Office and College/Career Information Center • Fees may be required to process

12. The college essay… Remember if you take the SAT that colleges will have a sample of your writing. Be your own author! • What are colleges looking for in your essay? • Writing ability • A window into who you are • Most Common Mistakes: • Spelling & Grammar • Paragraph Problems • Not developed • Wordiness • Poor Sentence Structure No one really reads my essay I have nothing to write about I should not ask for help The Myths

13. College Readiness! www.actstudent.org Online test registration www.collegeboard.org Request scores be sent electronically to colleges and career schools! Include high school code: 210-589

14. Free Online Preparation for the ACT & SAT Go to the Northwest High School web site and click on the “Free TCA online help” badge. http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/northwesths/

15. Free Online Preparation for the ACT & SAT Log onto Triumph with your 6-digit student ID. Your user name and password are BOTH the same (6-digit student ID). To access practice tools, select “StudyGuide for ACT or SAT”

16. Check Your Scores from Practice Tests! To check your scores of a previously taken practice ACT or SAT, click on “My status for ACT or SAT” To get specific data, click on “Summary Report”

17. Focus on Areas Where You Have the Greatest Potential for Growth At this level, you can see exactly where your strengths and weaknesses are. To access a review of strategies and practice problems, click on one of the links.

18. The College Fair Northwest High School College Fair Field Trip Thursday, April 18 Buses depart at 9:30 am Cost: $4.00 Signed Permission forms should be returned to the College/Career Information Center no later than Friday, April 12 MCPS prohibits students from driving to this event during the school day. Montgomery County College Fair: Montgomery County Agricultural Center (Gaithersburg, MD)

19. Looking ahead to Senior Year… • Individual student/parent meetings in the summer with counselors • Summer workshops and college planning in the College/Career Information Center • Meetings with each counselor (All Year) • Senior Packet (Fall- College Application Process Review) • Senior Parent Meeting (Fall) • National Hispanic College Fair (Fall) • Financial Aid Workshop (Fall) • Alumni Day (December)

20. Resources at your finger tips… http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/northwesths/ Counseling Department College & Career Info

21. College Readiness Resources & Materials College Readiness Navigation Guide for Rising Seniors includes: • Applying to College at Northwest • Family Connection for Northwest Parents • College Test Prep Success at Northwest Additional Materials: • Are You Ready for College: A Guide to College Planning for Maryland High School Students • College 411 A Quick Guide to Cash • College Fair Field Trip Permission Form

22. Questions and Answers

23. Thank you for joining us. College Readiness for the Class of 2014