Walnut Hills High School

College Planning III Juniors

WHHS Guidance Team High School Counselors

Adrian Cabrera, Tanya Ficklin, Linda Sawan College and career counseling

College selection process

Secondary School Report (recommendation/transcript)

College Information Center Martha Geller, Amanda Siler, Sandy Uhrig Standardized test preparation/interpretation

Essay brainstorming and editing

Resume development

Application strategy/execution

Interviewing skills

Writing Center Dr. Carlton-Ford, Mr. Cheeseman, Ms. Wilkinson

Essay brainstorming and editing

School and College Counseling Team

Services Provided for all students

College search and application process

Optioning classes and creating schedules

Conferences with students and parents

Facilitating more than 20 programs

throughout the year

Social and emotional counseling and advising

Visits to classrooms to collaborate with

teachers

Packet Materials

• College Handbook

• 2017-2018 Exam Schedule

• Parent Codes for Naviance Accounts

• Instructions for creating Naviance Accounts

Where the Process Begins

STUDENTS: making decisions

Self assessment is very important! What are your interests and talents?

What do YOU want from your college experience?

It is your responsibility to communicate your wants and needs

to your parents.

The college decision is YOURS!

You gather the data and weigh your options.

You exercise your choices.

You complete the applications, write the essays, and

request teacher recommendations.

PARENTS: the copilots

Empower your students and encourage them to

use the skills they have learned from you.

Talk honestly about what you can/will pay

Avoid Pronoun confusion: “We need to register for our SATs”

Be a sounding board and give advice when asked.

Accompany your students on college visits..

Provide funds for application fees.

COUNSELORS: part of the team

Provide information and guidance

Provide individual college planning meetings as

necessary (students and parents)

Act as sounding boards

Write letters of recommendation

Send transcripts and Secondary School Reports

Top Factors in College Admission

1. Grades in college preparatory classes

2. Strength of curriculum

3. Standardized test scores

4. Overall GPA – class rank

5. Essay(s)

6. Demonstrated interest

7. Counselor and teacher recommendations

8. Extra-curricular activities

9. Interview

Researching Colleges

Types of Institutions

Public or private

Small to large

Two-year to four-year

Community college or technical college

Liberal arts, comprehensive, and research

Selective to open access

Urban to rural

Researching Colleges

List of colleges

How many is too many?

Safety, target, reach schools

Financial safety school

Researching Colleges

Campus visits Start now!

Junior/Senior Campus Visitation Policy

Register in advance

Researching Colleges

The Campus Visit

Questions to ask:

Academics

Residence halls (you may not see an actual room)

Safety/security

Activities

Costs

Try to get a feel for the campus – it’s all about “fit”

Don’t hesitate to ask current students what they think

Try to sit in on a class, if possible

A student’s perspective

Rashaan Boyd, Class of 2018

Schools visited, applications sent

What the experience of college visits meant

in the process; what I looked for

Been There, Done That

NAVIANCE

Students, parents and guests can reach

your Family Connection website at this address: http://connection.naviance.com/walnuthhs

Standardized Testing

PSAT

ACT

SAT

SAT Subject Tests

Transcript

The Application

Components

Application (FERPA waiver)

College-specific supplements (often more essays)

Test scores

Transcript

Counselor recommendation

Teacher recommendation(s)

Payment or Fee Waiver

The Common Application

Most widely used application is The Common

Application (last year 3.5 million apps submitted)

More than 700 colleges, including OSU and UC

Members use a holistic admissions review -

subjective and objective parts of the application

Available online on August 1st!

The Coalition Application

Newly launched in 2016.

Currently used by approximately 100 colleges.

More information at

www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org

College Financial Aid

Paying for College is like a Quilt work of

Finances

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Financial Aid Program

Will be held in early September, 2018.

Speaker will be a local financial aid officer.

FAFSA and CSS Profile forms will be

available online on October 1, 2018.

Two FAFSA help nights for families will be

held at Walnut; one in October, one in

November.

Necessary Forms

FAFSA

(Free Application for Federal Student Aid)

www.fafsa.ed.gov

CSS Financial Aid Profile*

https://student.collegeboard.org/css-

financial aid profile.

*Used by some highly selective colleges.

Fee Waivers

Available for students who participate in the

free-or-reduced lunch program and others as

needed for particular circumstances

Will cover up to two ACTs and two SATs, as

well as application fees for up to four colleges

Requests should be made through your

counselor

FAFSA Screen Page

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Next Steps: Upcoming Programs

AP Fair, January 18, 2018

Testing ACT to Z, January 30, 2018

“Been There, Done That,” February 8, 2018

Student Panel

Parent Panel

Next Steps: Senior College Programs Summer ACT preparation classes (late July,

early August)

Common Application Boot Camps and Essay

Workshops (August)

Senior College Forum (September)

Application Nuts and Bolts (September)

Senior Financial Aid Workshop (September)

FAFSA help nights (October, November)

College Essay Blitz (October)

Interviewing Skills Workshop (October)

Next Steps

Ensure schedule contains all courses needed to

graduate from WHHS and satisfy college entrance

requirements

Begin to research college options

Prepare for and take the required college entrance tests

Begin college visits

Earn the best possible grades in your junior year since

these grades will be the most recent the admissions

officers will see on your application

College Planning III

Questions ??????

We’re glad you came!

Everything will be okay!