Senior Parent College Information Night

Senior Parent CollegeInformation Night • Overview: • College and Career Center Services • College Preparation & Options • Naviance • College Applications • Q&A

Introductions • Counselors • A-Ek: Mrs.Tiffani Gieck (tigieck@rjuhsd.us) • El-K: Mrs. Kathleen Orchard (korchard@rjuhsd.us) • L-Ra: Mr. Paul Stordahl (pstordahl@rjuhsd.us) • Re-Z: Mrs. Christina Cross (ccross@rjuhsd.us) • EL/Intervention: Carey Bussey (cbussey@rjuhsd.us) • Special Services Coordinator: Jan Lucas (jlucas@rjuhsd.us) • Learning Support Specialist: Rumi Nozue (rnozue@rjuhsd.us)

Speaker Program The College & Career Center has numerous speakers and college representatives visit throughout the school year. Some of which are as follows: • University of California • California State University • Community Colleges • Private Colleges & Universities • Representatives from all the branches of the Military • Local Business presentations regarding various careers • Technical & Vocational Schools (FIDM, UTI, Graphic Arts College, Media, etc.) Students sign-up to hear the various presentations through Naviance or in the College & Career Center.

College Fair September 22, 2014 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. At Woodcreek High School Approximately 120 Colleges Participate Military Academy Night October 21, 2014 6:30 p.m. – Roseville H.S. Financial Aid Night January 22, 2015 6:30 p.m. – Oakmont High School Evening Programs

Senior Advising: September 17th • Students will receive the following: • Transcript • UC/CSU Status Report • Review of graduation and 4-year college requirements • Information on post-secondary options • Detailed instructions for requesting letters of recommendation • Senior Status Letter will be sent home in the mail to parents • Small group Naviance lessons and advisement on college and scholarship search components will occur the week of Sept. 22nd • **Parents and students will be able to download the PowerPoint and Advising Guide the day of advising

What Seniors Should Be Doing • Utilize Naviance to research post-high school options (2-year colleges, 4-year colleges, Trade/Tech Schools, Military, etc.) • Make sure they meet the academic (course) requirements for freshman admission at 4-year institutions they plan on applying to • Take or re-take SAT or ACT + writing for 4-year college entrance (www.collegeboard.com; www.actstudent.org) • Most will accept through the December ‘14 test date but some require tests to be taken by Oct/Nov. Check with each campus • Prospective college athletes: Register with NCAA Eligibility Center now! NCAA has their own academic requirements so check with counselor if you have questions (www.eligibilitycenter.org)

What Seniors Should Be Doing If they will attend community college, make sure they meet registration deadlines in early spring Start applications ASAP! Begin working on personal statement/essay (if required by colleges) Fill out “Personal Profile” (on Naviance or download from website) if requesting letter of recommendation from counselors/teachers

UC and CSU Schools UC Comprehensive Review • GPA (minimum 3.0 weighted) • Strength of Curriculum • Test Scores • ACT w/ Writing or SAT 1 (2400) • Accept highest score from one sitting • SAT II Subject Tests: Not req’d but recommended for certain majors • Personal Statement required • Extracurricular CSU • GPA (minimum 2.0 weighted) • Test Scores • ACT or SAT 1 (1600) • Super Score: Accept highest combined score from separate sittings (Math from one date, English from a different date) Exception: Cal Poly SLO *** No Letters of Recommendations considered for either!!!

Private, Independent and Out-of-State CollegesWhat are they really looking for?

Community Colleges • No admission requirements; students MUST complete English and Math assessments • Transfer agreements • UC: Transfer Agreement Guarantee (TAG) is available online at https://uctag.universityofcalifornia.edu/index.cfm • CSU: AA-T and AS-T degree transfer options for students who earn the required 60 community college units. Students are then guaranteed transfer to a CSU and, if it is a “like” major, they complete another 60 units to earn a 4-year Bachelor’s degree • Transfer requirements – differ by major • Use www.assist.org for California colleges

Community Colleges Cont’d • Keep in contact with counselor at Community College and make sure they are aware of your plans • Apply online (Jan./Feb. of senior year) *English and Math assessments are required so register early! • www.sierra.cc.ca (Sierra) • www.arc.losrios.edu (American River)

Finding the right “fit” • Over 4,000 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. • Appeal of “name brand” schools • Keep options open • Why “fit” is so important • Do your homework!

WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange) • WUE is a reduced out of state tuition program • Reduced tuition is not automatically awarded • Check website (http://wiche.edu/wue) • Some participating schools have specific major, GPA, or other requirements • Sample participants: • Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington • Arizona State University, Portland State, Colorado State

HELP! • How do I accomplish all that? • Naviance! • Visit Colleges • Go on to college websites; virtual tours • Have students attend college representative visits on campus • Be organized! Create master list of application deadlines, letters of recommendation needed, financial aid and scholarship deadlines, etc. • Start working on applications and personal statements/essays ASAP!

College Applications • Seniors applying to CSU Schools: • Online application window opens October 1st and closes November 30th • No essays, personal statements, or letters of recommendation required • Apply online at: www.csumentor.edu • Students fill out one common application with personal, demographic, and academic information. Application fees apply for each campus you apply to.

College Applications Cont’d • Seniors applying to UC Schools: • Online application window opens November 1st and closes November 30th(application available August 1st) • Personal Statement required but not letters of recommendation • Students fill out one common application with personal, demographic, and academic information. Application fees apply for each campus you apply to. * Official transcripts ARE NOT required up front as part of the application submission! Some UC/CSU’s will contact students after applying to request mid-year transcripts. Only send transcripts if prompted to do so.

College Applications: Common Application and SEND EDU • Students fill out ONE common application that can be sent to any participating college • Separate application fee for each school • Some schools have supplementary documents in addition to the common application • Essays and letters of recommendation are required • Some schools recommend or require student interviews with local school representatives • Application deadlines vary but tend to be December – February (with the exception of early action/early decision deadlines)

College Applications Cont’d • If college application plans change, PLEASE INFORM YOUR COUNSELOR! It often saves us a lot of time and work. • Many other colleges have separate admissions requirements, applications, deadlines, etc. Make sure your student visits the admissions website of each college to ensure all requirements have been met. • *Remember official test scores (SAT Reasoning, SAT Subject Tests, ACT) must be requested and sent directly from Collegeboard or ACT, respectively, to the colleges a student applies to.

Letters of Recommendation • For students using Common App and SEND EDU: Students enter contact information for those teachers and their counselor who will be recommending them. The recommender then receives an email prompt about that student. Recommenders then submit information to colleges electronically. • **Students need to communicate directly with their recommenders (counselors included) to let us know they need letters written. It’s not enough to just receive an email from Common App./SEND EDU • Counselors request that students complete a “personal profile” to aid in our writing of letters of recommendations (available on counseling website or Naviance) • Students need to sign the FERPA acknowledgement prior to submitting recommender names

Letters of Recommendation Cont’d • When requesting letters of recommendations, allow a minimum of two weeks prior notice (remember we don’t work over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks) • We will always meet the college deadline. Our commitment is if you give us 2 weeks notice, we will submit on time. There is no need for follow up communication as long as students did their part on the front end. • Remember that letters of recommendation are sent directly from your teacher or counselor to the colleges you are applying to (for confidentiality purposes)

Early Action vs. Early Decision • Application timeline is early for both options (usually mid-October to early November) and decisions are typically rendered by December • Early Action is non-binding (you don’t have to go if you are accepted) • Restricted Early Action is non-binding but you are restricted from applying early action or early decision to other colleges • Early Decision is binding (you are committed to going if you are accepted – you should thus never apply to more than one campus under ED)

Financial Aid • FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) • All Federal, State, and most institutional aid requires completion of the FAFSA • Some institutional aid and scholarships also require the FAFSA so fill it out regardless! • Preferred deadline: March 2, 2015 • Cal Grants • FAFSA information + GPA determines eligibility • GBHS automatically submits other required information (including GPA verification) for ALL 12th grade students – no action required! • Institutional Aid • Be sure to pay attention to individual school aid deadlines – some are embedded in the admissions application while others require a separate application • Scholarships/Grants • Naviance • Local Scholarship • Parent places of employment

Scholarship List

National Scholarship Search

Helpful Websites Application Websites: University of California – www.universityofcalifornia.edu/apply California State University – www.csumentor.edu Common Application – www.commonapp.org Financial Aid & Scholarship Websites: FAFSA – http://www.fafsa.ed.gov Cal Grant – http://www.csac.ca.gov Naviance – http://connection.naviance.com/gbhs Financial Aid Information – http://www.finaid.org FastWEB Scholarship Search – http://www.fastweb.com Athletic Websites: NCAA – www.eligibilitycenter.org (Division I and II) NAIA – www.playnaia.org

Questions?

Senior Parent College Information Night