Seniors 2011Your Future Awaits

  

Naviance• You should have registered last spring with your English class• You login at: www.connection.naviance.com/conroe• You login in with your email address and the password that goes

with that email adress.• If you lost your password; you can reset it• If you NEVER SET UP an account you need to come to the CCC

during your lunch period and we can give you a code to register and set up your account.

Remember you will need a naviance account to request the following:

• Transcripts• Access the Scholarship List• Request Letters of Recommendation

Use your Naviance www.connection.naviance.com/conroe

• Request Transcripts • Scholarship List (paper copy in the CCC

called MoneyCents)• Request Letters of RecommendationSteps for a letter of recommendationa. You will need to print out your résuméb. Student brag sheetc. Complete Letter of recommendation Form in the CCC.d. Staple all three things together and hand to your

teacher/counselor/individual in person, remember to allow two to three weeks for a letter to be written.

SAT Test Dates(www.collegeboard.com you can also get to this link on

your naviance account)

Test Date

Oct. 9, 2010

Nov. 6, 2010

Dec. 4, 2010

Jan. 22, 2011

Mar. 12, 2011

May 7, 2011

June 4, 2010

Regular Registration Deadline

Sept. 10, 2010

Oct. 8, 2010

Nov. 5, 2010

Dec. 23, 2010

Feb. 11, 2011

April 18, 2011

May 6, 2011

Things to Know about SAT

• If you don’t know the answer leave it blank you will get penalized ¼ of point for all wrong answers.

• The Fee is $45 dollars-if you are registering online you must pay with credit card, if you are paying by check you cannot submit your application online you must do it by paper (we have registration packets in the CCC).

• If you are on fee/reduced lunch you can get a fee waiver from the CCC, come during your lunch hour to get one.

• Remember to send your scores to four colleges that you think you might attend at the time of registration. Additional score reports cost money.

• You will need will need your original collegeboard log in information, if you don’t know and cannot reset it, you will need to call customer service at 1-866-756-7446

ACT(www.actstudent.org this link is also found

on your naviance page)

Test Date Regular Registration Deadline• Sept. 11, 2010 August 6, 2010

• Oct. 23, 2010 Sept. 17, 2010

• Dec. 11, 2010 November 5, 2010

• February 12, 2011 January 7, 2011

• April 9, 2011 Mar. 4, 2011

• June 11, 2011 May 6, 2011

Things to Know about ACT

• If you don’t know the answer, guess you get points for right answers not wrong answers.

• The Fee is $48 dollars-if you are registering online you must pay with credit card, if you are paying by check you cannot submit your application online you must do it by paper (we have registration packets in the CCC).

• If you are on fee/reduced lunch you can get a fee waiver from the CCC, come during your lunch hour to get one.

• Remember to send your scores to the colleges that you think you might attend at the time of registration. Additional score reports cost money.

THEA (Placement test to determine college readiness)

• You will need to take the THEA if :Your exit scores on TAKS were LOWER than 2200

on the Math, or lower than 2200 on ELA, Your Composition was Lower than a 3. YOU MUST TAKE THE THEA IF ANYONE OF THESE SECTIONS HAD SCORES LOWER THAN THE SCORES STATED ABOVE. You Register for the THEA online and we DO NOT have waivers for this test. To register go to:

www.thea.nesinc.com

2010–2011 THEA Test DatesThe THEA 2010–2011 test administration dates are listed below.

Registration for the 2010–2011 testing year opens in mid-August.

Test DatesOctober 16, 2010February 26, 2011

April 23, 2011June 18, 2011July 23, 2011

“Which Schools to apply to-that is the question”

Choose schools in your “ballpark”• Are your test scores about what previous admitted freshmen have

• How about your GPA is it what they are looking for

• Look at admissions criteria for those schools you are interested in applying to

Have a solid School• A school that you would be satisfied in attending if your dream school choices don’t work out.

Private vs. Public• Apply to at least one private school even if you think you can’t afford it, these schools are

competing with public schools and they may offer you a great financial aid package because they have discretionary funds/large endowments

Going to a Texas Public University?

• All you need is one application, you fill it out once, copy it and send to all other schools (Texas Public Colleges/Universities) you are planning to apply. (Launched August. 1, 2010 for some schools will launched for all on Sept. 1, 2010)

• www.applytexas.org(Remember to write Down your usernameAnd password).

Test Date

October 16, 2010

February 26, 2011

April 23, 2011

June 18, 2011

July 23, 2011

UT/TAMU Update (for those of you planning to apply to UT-Austin or Texas A &

M University- apply online at www.applytexas.org )

UT-AustinFall Application Deadline

Freshmen entering the Fall 2011

• December 15, 2010 (IN THEIR OFFICE, THIS IS NOT A POSTMARK DATE)

• Scholarship Application due date is December 1, 2010 –found with the admissions application

• Note: If you are applying for Scholarships/financial aid YOUR APPLICATION FILE MUST BE COMPLETE AND IN THEIR OFFICE BY DEC.1, 2010.

• TAMUFall Application Deadline

Freshmen entering the Fall 2011

• January 15, 2011 (IN THEIR OFFICE, THIS IS NOT A POSTMARK DATE)

• Scholarship Application due date is December 1, 2011- found with the admissions application

• NOTE: If you are applying for scholarships/financial aid YOUR APPLICATION FILE MUST BE COMPLETE AND IN THEIR OFFICE BY DEC. 1, 2010.

Going to a Private or an out of state University/College?

• A lot of our out of state colleges/universities and our private schools have an application on the

Common application website. (It launched on July 1, 2010)

www.commonapp.orgRemember to write Down your usernameAnd password).

Two indexes created forcollege admissions & scholarship consideration

• Academic Achievement• Rank• SAT/ACT Scores• High School Courses• THEA (TAKS)

• Personal Achievement• Essays (2)• Academic Résumé• Letters of

Recommendation• Optional Essay C

College Admission Essay Topics

• Topic A. Write an essay in which you tell us about someone who has made an impact on your life and explain how and why this person is important to you.

• Topic B. Choose an issue of importance to you-the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope-and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.

• Topic C. There may be personal information that you want considered as part of your admissions application. Write an essay describing that information. You might include exceptional hardships, challenges, or opportunities that have shaped or impacted your abilities or academic credentials, personal responsibilities, exceptional achievements or talents, educational goals, or ways in which you might contribute to an institution committed to creating a diverse learning environment.

• Topic D. The essay in this section is specific to certain majors. For your intended area of study (architecture, art history, design, studio art, visual art studies/art education), describe an experience where instruction in that area or your personal interaction with an object, image or space effected type of change in your thinking. What did you do to act upon your new thinking and what have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area?

The Computer is your Friend

• Apply online -proof read application before you submit.

• Become familiar with college web sites (you can get links to colleges from Naviance)

• Check your application status online• Email instead of calling, admissions

counselors travel, usually not in the office, however, they check their email frequently.

Important Due Dates

• Application Deadlines• Check online to get the Application

deadline for the schools you are planning to apply to (use naviance)

• December 1st is usually the deadline for in house scholarship Applications

• Remember “No Pumpkin Pie until you apply” have your applications completed by Thanksgiving.

• Register for SAT/ACT with a specific school’s admissions application deadline/scholarship deadline in mind.

• Financial Aid Deadlines• Remember to file FAFSA application for the Fall

2009 ( launches Jan. 1st, 2011This application will be used for all federal grant and

loan programs- we will have workshops to help you complete your application. Remember to check your naviance account for messages about the dates and times for these workshops.

• December 1st is usually the deadline for in house Merit base scholarship Applications

• Many schools have a single application which places you in the pool of applicants for any scholarship for which you qualify. UT-Austin & TAMU have their scholarship application linked to their apply Texas application.

• Fafsa website is www.fafsa.ed.gov

This is a reminder of what to do when requesting Transcripts for Scholarships:First you login to your Naviance account at connection.naviance.com/Conroe.

Next you select Transcript from the menu, once you see the transcript request page select “transcript for scholarship” complete the form and submit request.

Keep in mind the following:We will mail out the transcript to the address you listed on the scholarship request within 72 hours.

If the student completed an “Online Scholarship Application” you must provide/and or enter the address of where the official transcript needs to go, we will mail it within 72 hours.

If a transcript needs to accompany your scholarship application packet then the student needs to type in Ms. Harbin as the address on the request and she will hold the transcript until you bring her the complete scholarship packet along with a stamped/and addressed envelope (Large Envelopes usually require 4 stamps) She will insert the transcript and mail it. WE CANNOT GIVE YOU THE

OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT WE MUST MAIL IT. Transcripts are free up to the first 3 after that we will charge you $1.00 (one dollar) per transcript

and we will bill you at the end of the year).

Transcript request procedures for Scholarship Applications

College & Career Center Services

now located in the old choir room-open from 7:15 am – 3:00 pmTesting items• Registration Materials for

SAT/ACT/THEA SAT/ACT (fee waivers available - must be on free or reduced lunch)

• College application waivers (must be on free or reduced lunch)

• NCAA clearinghouse fee waivers (must be on free or reduced lunch and must have taken an ACT or SAT test)

• SAT/ACT Prep classes register at www.cisdcollegebound.com cost is $150

• SAT/ACT Prep ( fee waiver- requires that you submit an application to the testing department to get a reduced fee of $50. You can register for the for Prep Classes online and than come to the CCC and get the fee-scholarship application)

Resources• College Catalogs• Free College information

(flyers, pamphlets, etc) for students to take with

• College & Scholarship reference books

• Local Job Bulletin • Financial Aid Handouts• Résumé writing reference

books• Essay samples• Career Books

Helpful Web sites

• Scholarship information web sites: Scholarships are a free source of financial aid that should be considered before ever applying for a student loan. Check these web sites:

• Financial Aid Page www.finaid.gov• FastWeb search www.fastweb.com• Yahoo links www.yahoo.com/Education/FinancialAid• College for Texans www.collegeforalltexans.com• Educaid www.educaid.com• College view www.collegeview.com• School soup www.schoolsoup.com• FAFSA www.fafsa.gov.edu