Rising Junior Parent Night Information

1. Rising Junior Parent Night Information • L&N STEM Academy • Class of 2016

2. Where do I find information? • Visit the School Counseling and College and Career pages of STEM’s website for announcements, upcoming events, college and career information, scholarships, forms, etc. • L&N Guidance Department

5. Helpful Websites • CollegeBoard • College For TN • CollegeBoard's Big Future • Fast Web (Scholarship Search Engine) • Common Application • College Net

6. Junior Year Timeline:Summer • Utilize your summers!!!! • Governor's School • Camps • Volunteer

7. Junior Year Timeline:Winter • Learn about Financial Aid and the process your child will go through senior year • Register for the ACT and/or SAT (In School ACT-No need to register, Additional vouchers for students on Free & Reduced Lunch) • Meet with School Counselor • Begin online college search and college visits when possible

8. Junior Year Timeline: Winter • Continue the college search process and begin to narrow list • Research scholarships (updated list will be on website next year) • Attend college fairs and financial aid events • Review PSAT results; comes w free SAT study plan • ACT/SAT online prep courses--FREE!!! • Grades matter so much this year! (last grades colleges see)

9. Junior Year Timeline: Spring • Continue college search (collegeboard.org, collegeforTN.org) • Attend college fairs and financial aid events (L&N will host numerous college reps); visit college campuses (in person or virtually) • Stay on top of grades (Last grades colleges see!) • Summer jobs, internships, volunteer work, etc. • Narrow down list of colleges you are interested in (safety, target, reach) • Create an evolving list of scholarships applied for and contacts at schools

10. Senior Year-Fall • Submit college applications/Common App! • Apply for scholarships (Never pay for a scholarship search!) • Retake ACT or SAT if needed, online prep courses--FREE!!! • Request Recommendations/Transcripts/Test Scores be sent to colleges • Write and submit essays • Attend Financial Aid Night

11. Senior Year-Spring • Remain focused on grades • Pay close attention to deadlines!!!! • Submit FAFSA • Continue applying for scholarships • Wait on college decisions (denied, waitlisted, accepted) • Make college decision • Apply for housing • Have your high school send final transcript to college you plan to attend

12. STR: Safety, Target, Reach • Safety School: you have above average test scores for this school and are highly likely to get in • Target School: your test scores fall within the average range and you will probably get in • Reach School: your test scores are below average for school but you are close; also elite schools (Vanderbilt, Duke, Harvard, etc.) that are highly competitive

13. Factors Affecting College Admission Decision • NACAC Admissions Trend Survey of 1,914 college admissions officers

14. HOPE Lottery Scholarship • 3.0 unweighted GPA or 21 on ACT • up to $6,000/year for 4 year colleges • up to $3,000/year for 2 year colleges • http://www.tn.gov/CollegePays/index.html

15. Tennessee Achieves • Scholarship for any student in TN wanting to attend an approved 2 year college • Apply beginning of senior year • $3,000/year for two years • NO GPA or ACT requirement

16. Where do I find other scholarships? • Private or community scholarships (see website) • Institution scholarships (from the school you plan to attend); Make sure to meet deadlines! • Departmental scholarships (from the school you plan to attend); have to dig for these!

17. College Applications • DEADLINES Matter!!! • Application, test scores, transcript, essays, recommendations • Common Application • https://www.commonapp.org/Login • Early Decision vs. Early Action • http://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/applications/early

18. Financial Aid • FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)....NEVER PAY TO COMPLETE!!! • Will do January of Senior Year • Past year’s tax information • Must do to qualify for HOPE, Federal loans/grants, most all scholarships • Everyone needs to fill it out! • FAFSA

19. College Visit Form • Won’t count as absence against you if you follow protocol (form on website) • Have principal sign off on it prior to visit • Take form with you to college visit • Have it signed by college official • Turn in to Mrs. Patterson in main office

20. AP Courses • A 2008 study found that AP students had better four-year graduation rates than those who did not take AP. • For example, graduation rates for AP English Literature students were 62 percent higher than graduation rates for those who took other English courses in high school. • 31 percent of colleges and universities look at AP experience when determining scholarships. • http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/ap-exam-promo-flyer-2009.pdf

21. Student Athletes • Please see website for important information if you plan to be a college athlete • Don’t fail classes: NCAA does NOT accept credit recovery!! • NCAA/NAIA: different requirements for different categories of colleges • Need to register as a junior with Clearinghouse • Let you counselor know your intent to play college sports

22. AP Versus DE • Transferability/Post Secondary Goals • Rigor of Courses Taken • Seek information from your list of prospective colleges to be 100% sure you are making the best choice for you!

23. Questions?? • Counselor Contacts: • Last Names A-J sarah.salerno@knoxschools.org • Last Names K-Z elishia.basner@knoxschools.org

24. What did you think?Text your code to 37607 to tell us what you think! !