College Bound

1
College Bound

• Are you prepared for your future?

2
Get Ready Now!

• A college degree helps you get a better job, earn
  more money, and gives you a good start in life.
• College is closer than you realize
• Every day of high school counts
• Being prepared opens up your options

3
The Admissions Game Key Criteria

• Excellent grades in rigorous courses
• SAT, ACT, SAT Subject Tests
• A well written and authentic college essay
• Teacher Recommendations
• Extra-curricular Activities

4
What are colleges looking for in an applicant?

• Excels in the application criteria
• Genuine interest in their school
• Someone that will help them gain a well-rounded
  campus
• Intellectual spark, academic drive, curiosity,
  purpose, vision, authenticity
• A good match

5
Big School, Big Benefits?

• Many degree program choices
• Lots of events, activities, and athletic teams
• Less selective about admissions
• Generally low tuition

6
The Small School Advantage

• Focus on undergraduate education
• Small class size
• Good students, close community
• Diverse Opportunity
• Smaller bureaucracy, fewer registration
  nightmares
• Becoming increasingly affordable

7
The Cost Is Not As Bad As You Think

• Private schools have more money to give
• They meet a bigger percentage of need
• They're more willing to consider special
  circumstances
• Your child may graduate sooner

8
Other Ways to Pay For College

• Federal Aid, Work Study
• Scholarships
• Grants
• Student Loans
• Work
• Accelerate your degree
• Work off your debt with community service

9
What should you do in middle school to get ready
for college?

• Get organized and develop good study habits
• Practice time management skills
• Start pursuing hobbies and personal interests
• Make friends with good students
• Challenge yourself personally and academically
• Parents should start saving for college if they
  havent already

10
What can you do to plan for college during 9th
grade?

• Talk to your parents about college. Discuss what
  kind of financial help they may be able to give.
• Be productive during the summer.
• Read everything you can, in a variety of styles
  local and national newspapers, essays, scientific
  and business journals, poetry, novels, short
  stories, magazines. You should be a "regular" at
  your local library.
• Get involved at school. Join a club, sport or
  activity and really work at it.
• Track all of your activities, honors,
  volunteerism and jobs on your resume. Be sure to
  include summer activities.

11
What can you do to plan for college during 9th
grade?

• Meet with your high school counselor to formulate
  your four-year academic plan.
• Earn the best grades you can in challenging
  courses. Remember that your high school
  transcript (which is a major factor in college
  admission) starts with the very first day of
  ninth grade.
• Get involved in community work or other kinds of
  volunteering. Not only is it good for others,
  it's good for you. Private universities
  especially look for well-rounded students.
• If you do not have a Social Security Number,
  apply for one.
• Save money now to pay for college. Every small
  bit helps.

12
What can you do to plan for college during 10th
grade?

• Think about what you would like in a college.
  What kind of environment would suit your
  personality?
• - Are you interested in an intense academic
  environment, such as Notre Dame, Duke or MIT?
• - Would you like a fairly large school in a
  large city, such as NYU, UCLA, U Southern
  California or Boston U.?
• - Or would you like to be at a smaller school
  within a large urban area such as Boston
  College, Northwestern, Stanford, Loyola Marymount
  (LA), Trinity College (TX) or Vanderbilt (TN)?
• - Or maybe you love those huge public
  universities such as UT Austin (largest in the
  nation), U of Michigan, Ohio State, Texas A M,
  U. of Florida, Arizona State or even U. of
  Arizona.
• - Perhaps you want the close community of a
  smaller school outside of an urban area, such as
  Carleton College (MN), Santa Clara U. (CA), or
  Whitman College (WA)?

13
What can you do to plan for college during 10th
grade?

• Continue to work on effectively communicating
  your wants and needs with parents, teachers and
  friends. Be your own person, not someone who just
  follows the crowd
• Update your four-year academic plan.
• Continue to track all of your activities, honors,
  volunteerism and jobs on your resume. Be sure to
  include summer activities.
• Attend any college fairs in town.
• Have a job shadow experience.

14
What can you do to plan for college during 10th
grade?

• Keep studying! Read as much as you can at least
  20 minutes every day!
• Plan to visit colleges and universities. When on
  vacation, tour any schools in the area.
• Prepare for the SAT by taking practice tests,
  going to the College Board website and reading a
  lot.
• Register for June SAT Subject Test if applicable.
• Take the PSAT in the fall. When you get back the
  results, carefully look up the questions you
  missed to see where you went wrong.

15
The PSAT

• Wednesday, October 15th
• Cost 13
• Practice for the SAT
• National Merit Scholarship
• More info on Preparing for the PSAT on College
  Board and Princeton Review Website

16
Preparing for the SAT and ACT

• Study
• Practice
• Take It Again

17
What To Expect Junior Year

• When registering for classes, make sure your
  credits are sufficient to meet college
  requirements. Go for a substantial and rigorous
  year.
• Take both the SAT and ACT in the Spring
• Build strong relationships with your teachers
• Begin scheduling visits to several universities,
  especially during school breaks.

18
What To Expect Junior Year

• Narrow your college list to no more than 10
  schools.
• Assemble writing samples or portfolio materials
  you may need to submit.
• Begin applying for private scholarships that you
  qualify for according to Fastweb and Finaid.
• Consider taking a summer course or doing
  something significant with your summer.
• Take SAT Subjects Tests if applicable

19
What To Expect Senior Year

• Summer before Senior Year work on several college
  essays, complete final drafts by November
• Check your course list one more time. Are you
  missing credits required by the school to which
  you are applying? Plan to work hard this
  semester, because most colleges ask for a 7th
  semester transcript.
• Ask for Teacher Recommendations
  (Note The three state universities in
  Arizona do NOT require letters of
  recommendation.)
• Narrow your college list, apply to at least six
  schools, no more than ten.

20
What To Expect Senior Year

• Apply for scholarships and financial aid (fill
  out the FAFSA)
• Take September/October ACT and SAT
• Check your transcript and make sure youve
  reported all test scores and transcripts from
  other schools
• Visit colleges that youre interested in
• Send in college applications!
• Go to college interviews

21
What To Expect Senior Year

• Receive your acceptance letters
• Congratulations Graduate!

22
Questions?