College Advisement for Juniors april 2016 (rev 4-6)

2016 Spring College Application Meeting

College Information Tab - Senior Year

College and Career Center

College Reps in C6 ● College representatives

visit at 8 am/nutrition/lunch and 7th in C6

● Reps may read your

application so make sure you meet them

● Ms. Hawkins – college

and career advisor

Applying to a 4 Year College ● Over the summer complete your Naviance Task List ● Take your SAT/ACT and optional SAT Subject Tests ● Attend College Rep Visits at OPHS in C6 ● Choose roughly 7-15 colleges in your range ● Know your college deadlines ● Meet with your OPHS counselor ● Request letter(s) of recommendation ( if required) ● Submit your applications ● Submit transcripts when needed ● Submit test scores from testing web sites ● Apply for Financial aid – FAFSA/CAL Grant/CSS Profile ● Attend College Fairs (Ventura, Pasadena, Moorpark HS, VPA and CTCL)

R- SAT - total 1600 with optional writing

SAT and SAT Subject Tests

ACT - dates

Post your SAT or ACT scores

NCAA Eligibility

SuperMatch

Colleges I’m thinking about

Colleges I am applying to *

Graphs

Compare me

About me – tasks, etc.

TASKS (summer)

Summer Naviance Party I love Naviance!

Teacher/Counselor Questionnaires

Resume

Optional Parent Questionnaire

Early Action, Early Decision, etc.

Types of Applications ● University of California ● California State University ● Common Application ● Other – some Universities have their own

application on their website. If they have the Common Application use that instead.

California State University ● Student sets up a CSU portal and checks status ● Send Mid Year Transcript (only if CSU requests it) ● Send official ACT and SAT – directions on OPHS

website for $ saving tips ● Submit between Oct 1 - Nov 30 ● www.csumentor.edu

University of California ● NEW – Choose to answer 4 of 8 questions ● Send official test scores from www.collegeboard.com

for SAT and from www.actstudent.org for ACT to one UC campus. Scores are shared between campuses. ● Available August 1, 2016 ● Submission window -Nov 1-Nov 30. ● http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/

Common Application ● Variety of Colleges and Universities ● SSR – Secondary School Report – counselor will send with

their recommendation letter automatically ● Recommendations required: Counselor, # teachers, ● Other recommenders – Coaches, music teacher… ● Essays – may be more than one. ● Official Test scores must be sent to the college through the SAT and ACT websites. ● Transcripts – Initial, Midyear and Final ● DO NOT ASSIGN OPHS teachers/counselor as recommenders – Naviance does this automatically ● Do not begin until August 1, 2016- deadlines vary ● www.commonapp.org

Other Applications ● On-line application ● Variety of deadlines – Shoot for Dec. 16th ● Sometimes a paper SSR form needs to be given to

the counselor. ● Schools that use Send edu often use Naviance so you do not need to use Send edu. ● Monitor your college portals for documents received or needed.

Letters of Recommendation ● Not all colleges require letters of recommendation- check

each college website. ● November 18 – Last day to request a letter of recommendation ● WARNING DO NOT assign recommenders on the Common App for OPHS teachers/staff. ● Ask your teacher/counselor in person. Add them to Naviance. Send the OPHS staff a message through Naviance detailing deadlines and list of colleges to send to. Nearly all colleges are electronic delivery. ● If a recommendation needs to be sent by mail, you must provide an addressed/stamped envelope. ● Follow up with a Thank You note.

Be in the game!!! ● Get organized, or copy an organized friend ● Do ALL of your tasks so you can meet with your counselor ● Do your research on your schools ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Use the College Match and SuperMatch on Naviance Attend Rep visits at OPHS – they may read your application!!!

Check if you’ll get in – (do the “graphs” and “comparison” on Naviance) Know the deadlines and requirements Do you need to declare a major? If yes, are there extra requirements for your major? I the major impacted? (i.e. hard to get into) Do the students at this school seem to be similar to you?

Is there an additional honors essay?

Don’t let your mom order your transcripts or fill out your application for you - Really

What to know about Private College Counselors ● Training - College Counseling Certificate (UCLA). ● Counselors should not use phrases like “ I can get you in” and should ● ● ● ● ● ●

●

not take any credit for doing so.

Counselors should welcome following OPHS protocol. Always check with your High School Counselor about important questions.

Ask for references. Contact past clients.

Don’t be pressured to apply early.

Paying by the hour instead of entering a contract may be beneficial $.

Private Counselors cannot “out smart” financial aid/waivers.

Utilize FREE help – College Knowledge Night, College Fairs, Reps visiting OPHS, College and Career Advisor - Ms. Hawkins, OPHS counselors.

A private counselor is not necessary but should follow OPHS protocol.

More Resources to help you ● Fall 2016 – 4-year College Application Meeting II ● Fall 2016 – Parent Night for College Bound Seniors ● Fall 2016 – UC and CSU application workshop C6 ● October 2016 – College Knowledge Night ● January 2017 – Financial Aid Workshop at OPHS

Simple Facts about Finances ● FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid (fafsa.gov) ● In general, unless your family makes under $80,000 you will

not see a significant amount of Grants (free money) through the FAFSA for public colleges. If your family makes under $40,000, grant money can be enough to make an impact. ● FAFSA to expedite submitting the FAFSA you can use your 2years prior taxes. ● To save $25- $100k spend the first year or two at a community college then transfer. ● USC currently costs $63,000. Financial aid may bring the cost into the realm of a UC depending on income, family size and the number of children attending college simultaneously. ● There are estimators on-line to help with projecting costs, cost of Attendance and Expected Family Contribution.

FALL Senior College Meeting See you then.

Do your assigned tasks over the summer!!! ***** this power point is on the website and on Naviance

WUE – Western Undergraduate Exchange

Middle Class Scholarship

FERPA Waiver

Letter of Recommendation DEADLINE â—?3 weeks advanced notice is required for a letter of recommendation. The last day to request a letter of recommendation is NOVEMBER 18th ( for any colleges with deadlines prior to Jan 15).

â—? Please do not request a letter unless you are certain

you need one. Each letter requires over one hour to write.

Ordering Transcripts ● Your counselor’s initials are required on the FIRST

transcript order. This is usually done at your one on one senior meeting. ● Initial Transcript - transcript including grades 9-11 ● Mid Year or 7th semester – your grades through first semester of senior year. ● Final transcript – ordered in the last week of school, this is your complete 9-12 transcript. ● Pay for your transcripts at the Student Store. ● If your transcript is by Mail – decide if you will pick it up in the

counseling office and mail it yourself or if you will provide an addressed stamped envelope.

Sending Scores -ACT to CSU’s trick

Financial Aid ● FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid ● (available in January, Colleges set due dates) ● Cal Grant – form you fill out, give to OPHS registrar

and then YOU MAIL it to be received by March 1. ● CSS Profile – Additional on-line info required by some colleges ● College Knowledge Night - October ● OPHS Financial Aid workshop – Usually early Jan.

Communication to teachers through Naviance