2018-Jr-Spring-Parent-Night-handout

Parent College Orientation • • • • • • • • What is a college application “package” ? Timeline Deadline types The college search SAT/ACT testing Activities & community service College visits & conferences Financial aid overview College Application Timeline Junior Spring – Senior December Senior August -December • Develop list of “colleges I’m thinking about” • SAT/ACT Testing Work on college apps, especially essays October –November “Early” Apps Due – including financial aid December – January • “Regular” Apps Due – including financial aid • Early app decisions arrive March - April May 1st Receive college decisions & financial aid awards National Decision Day Types of Admission Deadlines Early Action I & II Nov 1st or 15th Early Decision I & II Nov 1st or 15th Restricted Early Action Non-binding Not committed to attending Can apply to multiple early Decision by mid-December Binding If accepted, obligated to attend & must withdraw all other apps Must accept financial aid award Decision by mid-December Non-binding, but may not apply to any other private schools’ early program (Georgetown, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale) Nov 1st or 15th Regular Nov – Jan Rolling EA/Restrictive EA w/ Arts Supplements: Oct 15th All applications reviewed at same time and decisions delivered at same time (Univ of Washington’s deadline is now Nov 15) Applications decided upon as received until college fills all spaces Earlier app is advantageous Early app with a fine arts or music supplement More about Deadlines & Applications No limit to number of “Rolling” or “Regular” deadline applications you may submit even if applying EA/ED to other schools Admission Decision Types Admit Deny Defer Waitlist Every year colleges change deadlines & types of deadlines they accept Verify current deadlines on colleges’ websites Only 13% of 4-year colleges accept fewer than ½ of their applicants  87% accept over 50% of their applicants The College Search - some questions to ponder • Location: part of the country, size of surrounding city, demographics of area, town, suburb, access to activities? • Size: define small, medium, large; majors, programs, research, access to professors, school size and class size • Liberal arts, polytechnic, research, undergrad only, specific academic programs, Historically Black College or University (HBCU) • Selectivity • Religious affiliation, Greek life, Athletics Different Types of 4-year Colleges/Universities Public Universities • • • • • Funded in part by state government State residents’ tuition rates are lower than non-residents Often contain several smaller “colleges,” such as engineering, which have additional admission requirements Class sizes, for at least the first few years, are generally quite large Courses might be taught by graduate Teaching Assistants, not professors Examples: UW, WSU, Western Washington University, UC Berkeley Liberal Arts Colleges • Core requirements include areas such as literature, history, languages, mathematics and life sciences • Class sizes generally much smaller than public universities • Nearly all courses are taught by professors Private, non-religiously affiliated • Some liberal arts colleges which were started by a religious group no longer have a religious affiliation • Examples: Whitman, University of Puget Sound, Claremont Colleges, Washington University in St Louis Private, Religiously Affiliated • Jesuit Universities: 28 colleges/universities affiliated with the Catholic Jesuits • No religious affiliation required attend, but an emphasis on giving back to one’s community as an educated person • Generally a requirement that students take classes in philosophy or theology, not necessarily Christian theology • Examples: Georgetown, Gonzaga, Santa Clara, Seattle University, University of Portland, Loyola Marymount Different Types of 4-year Colleges/Universities • Christian College Consortium: strong Christian focus with required Christianity courses • Examples: Seattle Pacific University, George Fox, Wheaton • Council for Christian Colleges & Universities: strong evangelical Christian focus with required Christianity courses • Examples: Asuza Pacific, Baylor, Biola • Lutheran Colleges: Christian Affiliation, required to study religion, but similar to Jesuit colleges with no religious affiliation required • Examples: Pacific Lutheran University, Gettysburg College, Trinity Lutheran Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCU) • 101 public and private institutions established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community but today are open to students of all backgrounds • Often provide an empowering, supportive, and safe space for students of color • Examples: Howard, Spelman, Morehouse, Clark-Atlanta, Tuskegee, Xavier Even More Types of Four-Year Schools… WUE Schools Co-Op Schools Western Undergraduate Exchange Schools that embed work experience into your fouryear college experience • Eligible for reduced tuition rates!!! www.wiche.edu/wue • Drexel University • Northeastern University • Georgia Tech University • Purdue University Out of the Country • Canada is a great place to be! • Germany has one of the lowest college tuitions in the world! Polytechnic/Technical Universities • Cal Poly • Worcester Polytechnic • Colorado School of Mines An example of a public and a private college UC Berkeley University of Puget Sound (Public) (Private, Liberal Arts) About 25,000 undergraduates About 2,600 undergraduates 17:1 student to faculty ratio, some classes 200+ 11:1 student to faculty ratio Average class size: 19 130 majors available 50 majors available; 1,200 courses per year Some classes taught by graduate students All classes are taught by professors General Education Requirements (7 classes): Arts and Literature Biological Science Historical Studies International Studies Philosophy and Values Physical Science Social and Behavioral Sciences Core Requirements (12 classes) Include: • Seminar in Scholarly Inquiry • Five Approaches to Knowing • • • • • Artistic Humanistic Mathematical Natural Scientific Social Science Small vs Large are relative terms Learning Differences All colleges must provide basic supports and often your accommodations are “transferable” Some West Coast Colleges with special programs to consider: •University of Arizona (public) - Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques (SALT) •University of Denver (private) - Learning Effectiveness Program (LEP) Sign up for College Emails Consider creating a new (and appropriate) email for colleges OPEN your mail – they know if you “Opt-in” on AP and PSAT ‘demographic’ forms for college email Visit websites of colleges that interest you and sign up to receive email • They will know you are interested • You will hear if they visit your area The College Search • • • • • Naviance Campus Explorer Niche Big Future And more! Is My Academic Profile a Match? Naviance Scattergrams! Click on graph to see how your academic profile matches past applicants Is My Academic Profile a Match? Compare either SAT or ACT via pull down menu 3.98 GPA and SAT score of 1360 out of 1600 This student was admitted Elements of a College Application Transcript • Rigor • GPA • Mid-year transcript SAT/ACT scores AP/IB Scores Extra Extra Curricular Curriculars • • • Sports, Clubs Comm Service Jobs The Essay Letters of Recommendation School Profile *Financial Aid Application Transcript • Cumulative GPA • Re-calculated GPA • Individual course grades • Grade “trajectory” • Rigor within options you had Letters of Recommendation Counselor Letter • Required for most private and some public schools • Many schools, including Issaquah High, require info and optionally accept “parent brag letter” DO THIS You have lots to brag about • IHS link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1xuoTlAEYEXTU1odGhXTjR6Tkk/view 1-2 Teacher Letters • • • • • Required for most private schools Humanities teacher (History/English) & Science or Math teacher Teachers often have their own forms, deadlines and even quotas Ask early (Junior Spring); ask in person and in writing; ask politely Keep your teachers up to date about your due dates & college list Some schools accept extra letters of recommendation SAT/ACT test scores • • • • How many times should you take them? How are they used by schools? When you send them to schools? What is “superscoring” More SAT/ACT Info SAT Subject Tests ALWAYS take SAT and/or ACT test with writing - it gives you future options MOST students DO NOT take or submit Subject Tests Some colleges require or “recommend” If required, often want math & science subject tests Some recommend subject test in your field of interest Students have been admitted to schools “strongly recommending” subject tests without having taken them • The best time to take a subject test might be in June (following that • • • • • subject’s AP exam)  No clear answer You must research • https://www.compassprep.com/subject-test-requirements-andrecommendations/ Khan Academy/SAT Partnership for Test Prep SAT Practice Exams www.KhanAcademy.org/sat • Link PSAT scores to Khan • Get personalized study plan • As achieve mastery, questions get harder • Teens who practiced at least 20 hours using Khan Academy saw, on average, a 115-point gain • It’s FREE free & scored via phone app • full length real SAT tests • Download & test • Use phone app to score exam! • collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/ practice/full-length-practice-tests “The Essay” • Most applications require at least one 500-650 word essay in response to a prompt ‘Marketing tool’ Share personal voice Demonstrate strong writing skills Show maturity, intellectual curiosity & other attributes of successful college students • Share things not obvious in other parts of your application • • • • “The Essay” • New, and difficult, writing for students • Often junior English classes write a version • Most students should write a fresh version in Aug/Sep – they have matured since Spring • Dangerous to read prompts and start chatting with your student before THEY have a chance to think for themselves So how you actually apply to college?? Common App ▪ ▪ ▪ Most private schools (600) Enter info once, sent to all selected schools Essay ▪ Choice of prompts ▪ 650 word max Individual School’s Apps ▪ (e.g Western, WSU, Georgetown Coalition App ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ UW 90+ private schools Can enter info in 9th grade Essay ▪ Choice of prompts ▪ 500 word max University of California App ▪ Apply to or more UC campuses with one application College Bootcamp Day Summer Workshop, and Saturday Drop-in workshops Mon, Aug 13-Thu, Aug 16 optional drop-in workshop on Friday Session Times to choose from Either 9:00-1:00 OR 2:00-6:00 College Application Bootcamp Four-day application workshop to work on College Applications • Public School Applications • Private School Applications • Common Application & Coalition Application • College Confident, Likely, Reach, Lottery Reach list refinement • The College Essay • Guidance and individual editing for each student • IS Staff Melinda Breeze, Jill Follett, Sally Fouché, Charise Hallberg The bulk of our time will be on brainstorming, writing and editing student’s main and supplemental essays $175 Parenting Thoughts Consider when to begin, and when to continue, “college talk” Help your kids dream…… with a backup plan Help them feel good about the “package” they present Admire their hard work! Provide cookies, love, a workshop environment They go to college, not you, so they should apply, not you ☺ Consider what you want to keep private Rejection isn’t the worst thing… it can be good practice for life “Sometimes you have to go through it to get to it”