Class of 2014

Junior Year: Fall Semester

Types of Higher Education

• Liberal Arts Colleges• Universities• Technical Institutes and

Professional Schools• Community or Junior Colleges

College Match…Things to Consider

Look at Yourself:

Determine your Interest and Goals

• Academic• Career/ Proposed Major• Extracurricular Activities• Social Preference• Retention & Graduation

Rates

Look at your Institutional Options

• Size • Location• Cost• Admissions

Requirements• Private vs. Public• Large vs. Small • Special Programs

Things to ask yourself

• How do I learn best? – In large or lecture style classes, or in small

discussion/ seminar settings?

• What extracurricular activities have been most important to me?– Which will I want to continue in college?

• What have I learned about my academics interests and abilities that will influence what I might study in college?

Standardized Exams

• PSAT• SAT• SAT Subject Exams• ACT• AP

PSAT: October 17

• Exam will begin at 8:45 am• Room assignments will be posted in the

Commons Area• What to Bring

– Photo ID– Two #2 Pencils– Calculator

• Absolutely NO Cell Phones

PSAT

• Online Preparation– Sample Questions & Practice Test

Answer Explanations• www.collegeboard.org/psat

– Skills Tested & Practice Questions for each skill

• www.collegeboard.org/psatskills

• You will receive your scores and booklet in Dec. - Jan.

• Scores Reported on a scale of 20 to 80

What’s on the PSAT?• Critical Reading (2- 25 min. sections)

– Sentence Completion (13 questions)– Passage Based Reading (35 questions)

• Mathematics (2- 25 min. sections)• (28 multiple choice questions & 10 student response

questions)– Number & Operations (20-25%)– Algebra & Functions (35- 40%)– Geometry & Measurement (25-30%)– Data Analysis, Statistics, & Probability (10-15%)

• Writing Skills (1- 30 min. section)– Improving Sentences (20 questions)– Identifying Sentence Errors (14 questions)– Improving Paragraphs (5 questions)

National Merit

• Junior year PSAT selection index score• Commended Students: Notified

September• Semifinalists: Notified September

– Top ½ of 1% become semifinalist

• Finalists: February• The cutoff index is the past 216-219

ACT

Basic Information• 3 hour college entrance exam• Composed of 4 tests

– English usage– Mathematics– Reading– Science Reasoning– 30 minute optional writing

test• Score range 1-36 for each area• Writing test score range 2-12

www.actstudent.org

www.actstudent.org

• Exam Date: September 8• Exam Date: October 27• Exam Date: December 08• Exam Date: February 09• Exam Date: April 13**• Exam Date: June 08**

** Recommend taking in the Spring.

Things to Rememberabout the ACT

• There are no penalty for wrong answers– If you are not positive… guess– If you have no idea… guess– If you run out of time… guess

• Do not leave blank answers• Science: charts and experiments• English: stresses grammar• Reading: 4 passages (1 of each: social science,

natural science, prose fiction, and humanities)

SAT

Basic Information

• 3 hour and 45 minute college entrance exam

• Composed of 3 tests– Critical Reading– Mathematics– Writing Skills

• Scores range 200-800 for each area

www.collegeboard.com

www.collegeboard.com

• Exam Date: October 06• Exam Date: November 03• Exam Date: December 01• Exam Date: January 26• Exam Date: March 09**• Exam Date: May 4**• Exam Date: June 01**

** Recommend taking in the Spring.

Things to Remember about the SAT

• Questions are arranged in order of difficulty– 1/3 easy– 1/3 medium– 1/3 hard

• Points– Correct = 1 point– Incorrect = Minus ¼ point– Blanks = no effect on your score– 0 points subtracted for incorrect student-produced response

(math section)

• Guess if you can narrow it down to 2 answers (3 answers use your judgment but often times guess)

ACT and SAT ComparisonACT SAT

3 hours, 25 minutes (with writing test) LENGTH 3 hours, 45 minutes

4 sections(English, Math, Reading, Science)

Plus an optional writing test

STRUCTURE 10 sections(3 Critical Reading, 3 Math, 3 Writing)

Plus and experimental section

SCORING

Composite of 1-36 based on average scores from the 4 test sections

SCORE Total score range of 600- 2400 based on adding scores from 3 sections

No penalty for wrong answers WRONG ANSWER PENALTY

¼ point subtracted from your raw score for each wrong answer (except for math grid-ins)

You decide which score is sent SENDING SCORE HISTORY

Depends if you are enrolled in Score Choice(Some colleges require you to send all scores)

CONTENT

Reading comprehension- 4 passages with 10 questions per passage

READING Reading comprehension-Short and long passages with questions. Sentence completion

Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, and Trigonometry

MATH Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II

Analysis, interpretation, evaluation, basic content, and problem solving

SCIENCE Science not included

Last thing (optional): 30 minutesTopic of importance to high school student

ESSAY First thing 25: minutes Factored in to overall score; More abstract than

ACT

SAT Subject Test

• 1 hour test that measure knowledge and skills in a particular subject and a student’s ability to apply the knowledge

• Scores range 200-800• Colleges may use these scores in several

ways.– Admissions purposes– Award college course credit– Help place students in the appropriate college

courses

Crafting the Class

– Holistic approach to the student body– It cannot only be a fit for the student but also

a fit for the institution– The institution has multiple goals

• Enrollment targets• Diversity• Special populations• Financial aid availability• Alumni

Things that May Effect You Getting in to Your Dream College

• Last year’s graduating class• Your major• Your home state• Them gambling on whether you will

actually attend• Who else is applying this year

Key Parts of College Admissions

• High school courses/ grades (G.P.A.)– Quality of courses, diversity, level of difficulty, trends/ consistency of grades

• Extracurricular activities/ Your resume– Includes academic awards/ honors, extracurricular activities, interest, jobs, community services and hobbies

• Application essays and/or personal statements• Standardized test scores

– Maybe #2 for more selective colleges (as an expectation level)

• Recommendation from teacher• Recommendation from counselor• Personal interviews

– Many schools may not require them but strongly encourage them and/or provide the option for you to interview

7 P’s of the Application Portrait

• Program- curriculum• Place- the context• Performance• Pattern• Potential• Participation• Personality

The Ultimate Question

What will you contribute to their campus?

Who should register with the clearinghouse?

• A student who plans to attend an NCAA Division I or II institution and who wishes to participate in intercollegiate athletics. – This also applies to walk-on’s

• www.eligibilitycenter.org

Naviance connection.naviance.com/lovejoy

• Update Personal Information• Update and Follow Check List• Update Resume• College Search• Assessments

– Learning Style– Interest Inventory– Personality Assessment

• EMAILS

Junior Home Page

Colleges Tab

Colleges on LHS Campus

Careers Tab

About Me Tab

Updating Your Resume

Upcoming Events

College Fair

Wednesday, September 12

1:00 pm- 3:00 pm

Register: www.gotocollegefairs.org

Print bar code and bring to fair

Fall• College Fair• PSAT: October• Register for SAT Reasoning, ACT, or/ and

SAT Subject test for later in the the year• Start planning your college visits

– Day Trips

• Review PSAT results• Extra effort on your Junior Grades… they

are the last thing the college will see on your transcript!

Spring

• SAT/ ACT/ SAT Subject (if needed)• AP Exams• Senior Classes, Dual Credit, etc.• Make Summer Plans (Enrichment

Programs)• Scholarship Search• Plan College Visits• Start Narrowing College Search