Paving the Road to College

Katie DeihlIllinois Valley Community College District

Illinois Student Assistance Commission

Illinois Student Assistance Corpso State agency for financial aido Approximately 80 Corps members from diverse backgroundso Every community in Illinoiso Changing the conversation about higher education

What is the ACT?o Standardized test used to measure how prepared you are for college

o Usually taken in spring of junior year

o Taken as a part of the PSAE, but you can also register to take it at other times of the year

ACT Sections

o ACToMathoEnglishoReadingoScienceoWriting (optional)

Structure of the ACToFour sections

•English•75 questions, 45 minutes

•Math•60 questions, 60 minutes

•Science reasoning•40 questions, 35 minutes

•Reading•40 questions, 35 minutes

•Writing•30 minutes, 1 essay

ACT Scores

o You can take the ACT up to 12 times

o Most schools will take your highest overall score, not an average of all your ACT scores

o Check registration deadlines

How Can I Improve My Score?

o ACT Prep Classes o Check out an ACT review book from the library

for additional practice questions and tipso Free website help www.actstudent.orgo The more familiar with the test set up and

procedures the better you will do

Middle 50% ACT RangesSchool 2010 Middle 50%

ACT Composite Score

Chicago State University 19

Eastern Illinois University 21

Governors State University N/A

Illinois State University* 22-27

Northeastern Illinois University 19 or higher

Northern Illinois University* 20-25

Southern Illinois University- Carbondale 21-25

Southern Illinois University- Edwardsville 20-25

University of Illinois- Chicago* 21-27

University of Illinois- Springfield* 20-25

University of Illinois- Urbana-Champaign 26-31

Western Illinois University 21

Example

25% 25% 25% 25%

21 25Middle 50%

Post-Secondary Optionso 4 Year Public Universities

o 4 Year Private Universities

o Community Colleges

o Trade Schools

oWork

oMilitary

Start thinking college

o Your interests Major Career

o Open savings account for college

o Get to know types of collegeso Community collegeso Public universitieso Private universitieso Vocational/trade schools

What Features Do You Want?

o Sizeo Fuel Economyo Brando Costo Loan Optionso Entertainmento Safety options

o Sizeo Tuition and other costso Course Offeringso Financial Aido Campus LifeoReputation of program

Making College VisitsoAsk intelligent, prepared questions.oSchedule a one-on-one appointment with an admissions representative.oTalk to students who attend that school.oConsider an overnight stay.oAttend a class.

Every school looks good on a brochure or website!

What do colleges look for?

o Academico Grades

o GPAo Class ranko Improvement

o ACT/SAT

o Extracurricularo How many activities?o Professional skills

Tough Classes

Subject Area Graduation Requirements

What Colleges Prefer

English 4 4Math 3 4Science 2 3-4Social Studies 2 3-4Foreign Language

1 (or art, music, or vocational)

2

High School Activities

Types of Activitieso Sportso Clubso Part-time jobso Community service

What They Demonstrateo Time managemento Communication skillso Team worko Commitmento Initiativeo Leadershipo Organization

WhatsNextIllinois.org Sample College Profile

College Applicationso A college application is part of the competitive

college admissions process

o Usually consists of:o Academic Recordso Extracurricular Activitieso Personal Essayso Letters of recommendationso Possibly an interview

True or False?

Don’t worry about freshman and sophomore grades because colleges look only at junior and senior grades.

FALSE – Those are two out of the three years of grades that you send to colleges, so they are important. On the other hand, showing gradual improvement can also impress colleges.

Academic Recordso Transcripts

o End of fall semester of senior yearo Final transcript at end of last semester

o ACT/SAT scores

o Awards and Honorso List all academic awards/honors received since

freshman yearo List by title, description of award, and year

Deadlines & Costs

o Deadlines varyo November 1 - March 1o Fall semester of senior year

o Application feeso $35 - 60o Fee waivers may be possible

College is an Investment

Know the Facts: Financial Aido The Free Application for Federal Student Aid

(FAFSA)

o January

o Every year

o Tax information

o FAFSA.gov

Types of Financial Aid

There are many types of financial aid.

These funds may be merit-based, need-based, or non need-based.

gift aid

self-helpaid

Grants

Scholarships

Work-Study

Loans

Sources of Financial AidFinancial aid comes from a variety of

sources.

college(institutional aid)

outside/privatesources

federalgovernment

state government

Things to keep in mind…

o Many scholarships/grants come from schoolo Most financial aid comes from federal

programs, state programs, and the institution the student is attending

o No scholarship is too small to be worth applying for

o Fill out your FAFSA every year!

Helpful Tools

oFastweb.como Scholarship Engine

oFAFSA4CASTERo Replica of the FAFSAo Provides insight to what the real FAFSA looks like

Additional Resourceswww.whatsnextillinois.org

www.collegechangeseverything.org

www.isac.org

www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov

Illinois Student Assistance Commission

Katie Deihl815-681-4910

katherine.deihl@isac.illinois.gov“Like” me on FacebookKatie Deihl - ISACorps

Works Cited

ACT. “2008 Average ACT Scores by State.” 9 May 2010. <http://www.act.org/news/data/08/states.html>.Greene, Howard and Matthew. “How Colleges Look At Your GPA Scale.” Peterson’s. 14 February 2010. <

http://www.petersons.com/common/article.asp?id=2918&path=ug.gs.advice&sponsor=1>.Illinois State Board of Education. State Graduation Requirements. December 2009. 14 February 2010. <

http://www.isbe.state.il.us/news/pdf/grad_require.pdf>.Kulla, Bridget. “The ACT: Why You Should Consider This SAT Alternative.” FastWeb. 1 March 2010. <

http://www.fastweb.com/college-search/articles/1197-the-act-why-you-should-consider-this-sat-alternative>.Morse, Jodie. “College Admissions Officers Look for More Square Pegs.” Time. 24 August 2001. 14 February

2010. < http://www.time.com/time/columnist/morse/article/0,9565,172457,00.html>.Peterson’s. “ACT vs. SAT: Which Test Should You Choose?” Peterson’s. 1 March 2010. <

http://www.petersons.com/common/article.asp?id=493&sponsor=1&path=ug.pft.advice>.Pugh, Mike. “What Are Colleges Looking For?” 14 February 2010. <

http://www.fastweb.com/college-search/articles/839-what-are-colleges-looking-for>.Springer, Sally et.al. “What Do Selective Colleges Look for in an Applicant?: Engagement Beyond the Classroom:

The Extracurricular Record.” 2009. 14 February 2010. < http://www.education.com/reference/article/selective-colleges-look-extracurricular/>.