Please sign in and review the information on your chair.

1
College Planning Night
2008

• Welcome!
• Please sign in and review the information on
  your chair.

2
Agenda

• 1) College Application Process
• 2) Standardized Testing (PSAT, SAT, ACT)
• Financial Aid
• 4) Scholarships
• 5) NCAA Clearinghouse
• 6) Career Direct and Academic Common Market
• 7) Career Week (Majors and Careers)
• 8) College Bus Tour (College Visits)
• 9) Question and Answer

3
College Application Process

• Admission Decisions
• Transcripts
• G.P.A. and Rank
• Resume
• Letters of Recommendation
• What Colleges Consider
• The College Interview
• The College Visit

4
Admission Decisions

• Early Decision
• For early-bird students who already have a clear
  first-choice college.
• Its a contract between you and the college. You
  agree that if the college accepts you, you'll
  withdraw all other college applications and
  attend the early decision college. Because of
  this commitment, you can apply early decision to
  only one college.
• Early Decision may not be the best choice if you
  want to compare financial aid packages between
  colleges.
• Many colleges are doing away with this option

• Early Action
• For students who have thoroughly researched
  colleges.
• You don't have to commit to attending the
  college.
• You must send your application in earlier, and
  the college sends you its decision earlier.
• Rolling Admission
• Applications are reviewed in the order they are
  received. A notification is normally received in
  2-3 weeks
• Regular Decision
• Applications are required by a specified date
  with notification sent by a published date.

5
The Transcript

• The transcript is the most important part
• of a students application.
• A students G.P.A. in the 9th and 10th grade
  years are most important. By junior year a
  students G.P.A. is pretty much set.
• Each transcript sent to a college will have
• all final grades for each class taken from
• 9th-11th grade.
• The courses that you take are very
• important when applying for a college.

6
GPA and Class Rank

• S.C. Uniform Grading Scale
• Scale used by all public schools and a lot of
• private schools in S.C.
• Rewards honors (.5) and A.P. (1) courses
• Class rank policy
• School Profile
• Due to the small and homogenous makeup of
• each class, HHCA does not rank
• HHCA will rank for valedictorian and
  salutatorian
• purposes

7
Resume and Letters of Recommendation

• Both are tools to improve your
• application and market you more.
• Resume should be specific and one page is
  recommended
• Obtaining at least 3 letters of
• recommendation is recommended
• (pastor, coach, teacher, etc.)
• Both resume and letters should be consistent with
  rest of application
• Consider activities outside of school

8
AP Course Criteria

• Effort and commitment beyond that of regular and
  honors courses required.
• Students must maintain a minimum cumulative
  average of 90 in the prior course in order to
  enroll in an AP course.
• Students must have the recommendation of the
  teacher(s)/principal.
• Students must have the appropriate PSAT/SAT
  scores for enrollment in an AP course

9
AP Course Criteria

• Students should be enrolled in an honors course
  prior to enrolling in an AP course.
• Students must take the AP exam at the end of the
  year if enrolled in the course.
• Students taking AP courses will qualify for AP
  credit towards their GPA.

10
AP Courses Offered

• Junior Year
• Calculus AB
• English Language
• US History
• Chemistry or Biology

• Senior Year
• Calculus AB/BC
• Chemistry or Biology
• English Literature
• Spanish Language
• Statistics

11
Where Do Colleges Get All That Information?
12
What Colleges Consider
1) Grade Point Average 2) Courses that you
take 3) SAT/ACT Scores ---------------------------
---- 4) Essay(s) (if required) 5)
Recommendations 5) Extracurricular activities 7)
Self Expression 7) Leadership Skills 7) Level of
interest 7) Special talent
13
What Colleges Consider

• Clemson (see sheet)
• USC (chart)
• Highly Competitive Schools

14
What Does It Mean for Students?
SAT/ACT
15
(No Transcript)
16
(No Transcript)
17
What's New With the SAT?

• ACT/SAT Concordance Tables
• SAT Score Choice (March 2009)

18
The SAT Focuses on College Success Skills

• Critical Reading
• Mathematics
• Writing
• The SAT tests students reasoning based on
  knowledge and skills developed through their
  course work.
• It measures their ability to analyze and solve
  problems by applying what they have learned in
  school.

19
Time Specifications
20
Test Content and Question Types
21
Test Scores
22
Timetable for SAT/ACT

• Freshman
• Mini-PRA (Fall)
• Sophomore
• PSAT (Fall)
• PRA (Spring)

• Junior
• PSAT (Fall)
• SAT/ACT (Spring)
• SAT/ACT (Spring)
• Senior
• SAT/ACT (Fall)
• SAT/ACT (Fall/Winter)
• if needed

23
How Can Students Prepare?

• Students should
• Challenge themselves throughout high school by
  taking rigorous courses (if we recommend your
  child for an honors or AP course, they should
  take it)
• Read and write as much as possibleboth in and
  outside of school.
• Familiarize themselves with the SAT so they know
  what to expect on test day.
• Familiarize themselves with the different types
  of questions on the SAT, the directions for each
  type of question, and how the test is scored.
• Every 10th and 11th student will take the
  PSAT/NMSQT in Octoberthe PSAT/NMSQT is the best
  practice for the SAT.

24
How Can Students Prepare?

• Whats offered at HHCA?
• Mrs. Jones (Math) and Ms. Johnsons (Critical
  Reading) preparation classes
• Endeavor Research one-day workshops in the fall
  and spring
• Powerscore SAT preparation courses
• My Road online course and practice tests
• PSAT (10th and 11th) and PRA (10th)

25
Financial Aid Tips
26
The Definition of the Family Contribution

• cost family contribution need

27
9th and 10th Grade

• GradesGradesGrades
• Prepare for SAT/ACT
• Research colleges child is
• interested in for scholarships they
• offer
• Look over FAFSA and see what it is
• going to require of you

28
11th Grade

• GradesGradesGrades
• SAT/ACT scores (Consider preparation options)
• Obtain financial aid information from list of
  colleges your child (or you) is interested in
  attending
• Research scholarships within the community that
  your child qualifies to apply for.
• Interviews and essays are important for most
  scholarships
• Community service plays a big role (build that
  resume!)

29

12th Grade

• Obtain all financial aid/scholarship information
  from colleges your child will apply to
• Complete FAFSA
• Obtain copies of most recent 1040 for need based
  scholarships
• Prepare for interviews
• Write solid essays (have someone proofread)
• Pay attention to deadlines
• ApplyApplyApply
• Follow-up after an interview

30
Financial Aid Basics

• Loan Money that is borrowed that you will have
  
• to pay back
• Grant Money that is given to you that you do
  not
• need to pay back (need to qualify
  for)
• EFC (Expected Family Contribution) What the
• government determines you can pay after
• reviewing the FAFSA
• FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid
• SC State Funded Student Aid

31
(No Transcript)
32
South Carolina Scholarships
33
S.C. Hope Scholarship

• ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
• Earn a cumulative 3.0 GPR based on the Uniform
  Grading Scale (UGS) upon high school graduation
• Be a South Carolina resident at the time of high
  school graduation and at the time of college
  enrollment
• Must not be a recipient of a LIFE Scholarship,
  Palmetto Fellows Scholarship or Lottery Tuition
  Assistance

34
S.C. Hope Scholarship

• AWARDING PROCESS
• Full-time students attending an eligible
  four-year institution may receive up to 2,800
  (including a 300 book allowance) towards the
  cost-of-attendance during the first-year only
• Students are eligible to receive the HOPE
  Scholarship for up to two terms (fall spring)
  based on initial college enrollment

35
Life Scholarship

• ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
• Be a South Carolina resident at the time of high
  school graduation and at the time of college
  enrollment
• Must not be a recipient of the SC HOPE
  Scholarship, Palmetto Fellows Scholarship or
  Lottery Tuition Assistance

36
Life Scholarship

• INITIAL ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA - FOUR-YEAR
  INSTITUTIONS
• Two of the following three criteria
• Earn a cumulative 3.0 GPR based on the Uniform
  Grading Scale (UGS) upon high school graduation
  (no rounding at least two decimal places)
• Score an 1100 on the SAT I (must use highest Math
  score combined with highest Critical Reading
  (formerly the Verbal). Students cannot use the
  Writing subsection score to meet the minimum SAT
  criteria) or 24 on the ACT. Test scores will be
  accepted through the June national test
  administration of the senior year
• Rank in the top 30 of the graduating class
  consisting of high school diploma candidates only
  based on the UGS (no rounding). The graduating
  class cannot include any students who graduated
  during the summer
• Full-time students attending an eligible
  four-year institution may receive up to 5,000
  (including a 300 book allowance) each academic
  year

37
Palmetto Fellows Scholarship

• INITIAL ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
• For early awards, students must submit
  applications to the Commission on Higher
  Education by December 15. In order to be
  eligible to apply for the early awards, students
  must meet the following criteria
• Score at least 1200 on the SAT or 27 on the ACT
  by the November test administration, earn a
  cumulative 3.50 GPR on the Uniform Grading Scale
  at the end of the junior year.
• Rank in the top six percent of the class at the
  end of either the sophomore or the junior year
  based on the UGS. Rank can be round up to the
  student ranked 3rd in the class.

38
Palmetto Fellows Scholarship

• You may also score over 1400 on the SAT
• (Critical Reading and Math sections) or a
• 32 on the ACT, have a 4.0 on the S.C.
• Uniform Grading Scale and receive the
• Palmetto Fellows scholarship without
• regard to class rank.

39
Palmetto Fellows Scholarship

• AWARDING PROCESS
• May receive a scholarship of up to 6,700 for
  their freshman year and up to 7,500 for their
  sophomore, junior and senior years.
• May be supported for a maximum of eight full-time
  terms of study toward the first baccalaureate or
  first professional degree at an eligible senior
  institution in South Carolina
• Cannot receive the LIFE Scholarship, SC HOPE
  Scholarship or Lottery Tuition Assistance

40
Palmetto Fellows Scholarship

• RENEWAL CRITERIA
• Earn at least a cumulative 3.0 GPA on 4.0 scale
  for graduation purposes by the end of each
  academic year (fall, spring and summer terms)
  and
• Take and earn a minimum of 30 credit hours for
  graduation purposes by the end of each academic
  year (exempted credit hours, AP, CLEP and credit
  hours earned before high school graduation cannot
  be used).

41
NCAA Eligibility

• You must meet academic NCAA requirements in order
  to participate in any Division I or II athletics.
• The new requirement of completing 16 credits was
  applied to the class of 2008 and beyond.
• Guidelines and credit worksheets are available or
  you can go to www.ncaaclearinghouse.com for
  everything you need to know.

42
NCAA Eligibility

• Timetable
• Need to register with the clearinghouse in the
  summer before senior year at www.ncaaclearinghouse
  .net.
• Transcripts must be sent to the NCAA
  Clearinghouse from each school your
• child attended.
• At the end of the senior year final transcripts
  are sent to the Clearinghouse and the student is
  now officially registered with the NCAA and ready
  to participate in Division I or II sports.

43
Career Direct

• Purchased through Crown Financial Ministries
• Available to take at any internet ready computer
  
• Takes 45 minutes to complete
• You will receive 35 pages of complete results
  including charts and graphs
• Additional CDs and book to complete after the
  computer assessment is taken if interested.
• All juniors are required to take it to meet
  Career Week requirements

44
Career Direct

• Career/Major exploration program designed to
  provide you with a clear reflection of your
  unique God-given design.

45
Academic Common Market

• Helps eliminate unnecessary duplication of majors
  among states. The high cost of developing and
  maintaining degree programs makes it impractical
  for any institution or even a single state to
  attempt to provide degree programs in every
  field.
• Helps states make the best use of available
  degree programs by filling spaces with eligible
  students from other states.
• Enables states to assist their residents in a
  very tangible way by giving them affordable
  access to programs that their home states cannot
  provide by not having them pay out-of-state
  tuition

46
Career Week

• Purpose
• 1) Designed to utilize your God-given talents
  and abilities as you experience an occupation
  full-time in order to help understand what Gods
  plan is for your life
• 2) Experience a process of meeting deadlines
• 3) Assess your personal motivation to continue in
  a career path you are exploring
• 4) Develop some long range educational and
  vocational goals

47
2009 Career Week

• Monday, May 18- Thursday, May 21
• Information will be given to juniors by end of
  Oct.
• Must work 3 ½ days (7 hrs/day)
• Must complete 24 hours total
• There will be a luncheon on Thursday afternoon
• Must complete journal and Career Report
• Will be graded
• Will receive .25 credit required for graduation
• May not work for parent or parents company

48
2009 Career Week

• Required to turn in all forms evaluations before
  their respective deadlines
• Maintain extracurricular responsibilities
• THEY MAY NOT GET PAID

49
Majors and Careers

• Begin looking at the strengths, weaknesses and
  passions you have
• Take advantage of job opportunities in the summer
  to get experience
• For most public colleges, you need to choose a
  major to put down on the application
• College students change majors an average of 2 ½
  times. Do not feel like you are locked in to
  whatever major you put on the application

50
2008 College Bus Tour

• Wed., Nov. 19th - Fri., Nov. 22nd
• We will stay the night at Covenant College and
  North Greenville University
• Other schools we will visit will be Furman, USC,
  Clemson and UGA
• We eat a meal and have a tour at every school

51
What To Look For When Visiting a College

• How big is it?
• What character!
• What are the students like?
• Living vs. life
• Some schools keep track of visits
• A word about tour guides

52

• Thank you for coming tonight. If you have
• any questions please feel free to call me at
• ext. 233 or e-mail me at
• tcreeden_at_hhca.org.
• You may also visit the guidance webpage at
• www.hhca.org for the latest news and
• updates.