NHS College Planning 101

Four Year Institutions: Two Ways to get there

Applying while in high school

OR

Transferring from a community college (or another college or university)

Investigate and Evaluate• Attend NHS College Visits•Attend the Metro Detroit National College Fair

On March 28 and 29, 2018•Attend the Schoolcraft College Fair in October•Visit College Campuses•Research on-line: NHS Counseling Department•Take a Virtual Tour

Touring College Campuses

• When is the ideal time to visit?• What do you want to accomplish while you are there?• Contact the Admission office to schedule a visit.

• Online Registration is the most popular option for larger colleges.

• Visit Registration Example• Prepare questions in advance.• Utilize your college contact.

Things to look for on Campus

•Size of the Campus•Class Size•Location (urban vs. rural; distance from home)•On-campus Housing•Activities•Program Requirements

Apply• Review the NHS Senior Planning Guide• Identify the college application deadlines• Seniors can apply as early as the September.• Complete the on-line college applications

• 2018-19 applications should be available August 1 – August 15• Directly through the colleges and universities• Through the Common Application

• Make sure everything you need has been submitted• All personal essays• Transcripts• Letters of Recommendation• Standardized Test Scores

What do Colleges look for in students?

• Grades• Realistic Expectations

• Test scores• Rigor of Curriculum

• On-Level/AP/IB? • Essays• Activities• Letter of Rec• Summer programs and their value (or lack thereof)

Standardized Testing• For college applications: Scores must be submitted directly from

ACT or College Board• PSAT/NMSQT - National Merit Scholarship Competition • SAT - 2nd Semester of 11th grade• ACT - If desired, 2nd Semester of 11th grade• SAT II Subject Tests• Test Prep Resources• Standardized Testing in August/September of Senior Year• Colleges that do not require the SAT or ACT

Rigor of Curriculum• Senior Year schedule matters

• Colleges want to know that you are challenging yourself.

• We will meet with juniors in February.

• Discuss course options with your current teachers to ensure appropriate placement.• Prerequisites must be met• Teacher signatures will be required for all courses with prerequisites and

advanced courses.

Rigor of Curriculum – AP & IBTalk with AP & IB teachers to understand the content and rigor of the course: (Remember that these are college level classes so balance your schedule realistically and consider your extracurricular commitments!)

• English: Ms. Couchman, Mr. Cronin, Mr. Stetson, Ms. Bell • Science: Mr. Silak, Ms. Bull, Ms. Nelson, Ms. Obrigkeit , Mr. Polanski, Mr. Szukaitis,

Ms. Dicken• Math: Ms. Apostolovski, Mr. Kinney, Mr. Minard, Ms. Pheiffer, Mr. Schembri, and

Ms. Stawasz• Social Studies: Mr. Cislo, Ms. Chrzanowski, Ms. Correll, Ms. Calabrese, Mr. Ford, Mr.

Ortopan, Mr. Turner, and Ms. O’Leary• Foreign Language: Mr. Long, Ms. Motz and Mr. Rast• Art: Mr. Balcoff and Mr. Hoffman• Music: Ms. Ray-Hepp and Computer Science: Ms. Sclater

Essays• Be authentic, it needs to be the STUDENT’S voice, not the voice of

a parent in the essay of a 17 year old student• Answer the prompts• Be specific if asked why you want to attend that specific college.• DO NOT count on spell or grammar checks as exclusive editing

tools• No more than two individuals should proofread• This is something to work on over the summer!• The Common Application Essay prompts will be available early.• Some colleges are renowned for their essay prompts.

Letters of Recommendation• Optional versus Required

• Who should you ask?

• Ask the teacher in person

• Ask three weeks in advance

• For the counselor, complete the Student Brag Sheet

• For the teacher(s), complete the Teacher Brag Sheet

• Follow Up with a face-to-face or paper ‘thank you’

Stats for MSU & U of MThe Freshman class of 2017

• MSU*• ACT score 23-26; SAT 1120-1290• GPA of 3.5/3.9

• U of M* • ACT score of 31/34; SAT score of 1350-1530• GPA of 3.87

* From www.msu.edu and www.umich.edu

Financial Aid & Scholarships• Complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)• Class of 2019 Financial Aid Night - May 15, 2018 at 6:30 p.m.• Senior FAFSA Workshop• Michigan College Goal Sunday • College Board EFC Calculators and More• Scholarship Opportunities

• National • College Offered• Community

Upcoming EventsClass of 2019 Student/Parent Registration presentations

February 21, 2018

Small Group Junior College Planning MeetingsStarting on February 5th during seminar

Visit to Central Michigan UniversityApril 18, 2018

Bus will be leaving at 7:00 a.m.

MSU Future Spartan EventSometime between April 23rd and May 3rd - TBD

Emphasis will be placed on the Residential College programs at MSU.

Where do I go if I still have questions?

• The NHS Counseling Web Page will answer many questions – please use this thorough resource

• Counseling Drop-In Hours

• Students can sign up to see their counselor• With Ms. Purcell• On-line

• For parent meetings, students should be present