Post-Secondary Planning for Parents METHACTON HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING DEPARTMENT

Welcome and Introductions Cindy Hartson – Secondary School Counseling Coordinator for the district. Agenda for the Night ◦Brief overview of the PSAT results. ◦College and Career Information ◦Start thinking about your child’s plans for after high school. ◦Discuss some resources to assist you and your child along the way.

PSAT 2015 Results October 2015 all sophomores and juniors took the test sponsored by our district. Results were returned electronically this year to student accounts. ◦College Board accounts need to be set up, juniors should have them from last year, sophomores need to set them up. College Board power point will be reviewed. New format this year. It is new to counselors as well. Seeing the actual reports will be more helplful for the counselors as well as students. Hard copies will be handed out once organized. Parents and students are encouraged to review results individually and feel free to reach out to their school counselor.

Standardized Testing ACT – Achievement test based on what a student has learned in school ◦Accepted by all colleges and universities ◦The ACT has up to 5 components: English, Mathematics, Reading, Science, and an optional Writing Test. ◦ College Board SAT and Subject tests ◦Accepted by all colleges and universities ◦Registration is online, not through the school. ◦The SAT is changing and the new format was unveiled with the PSAT in October, 2015, followed up with the new SAT in the spring. ◦The SAT has only two components: Reading, Writing, English & Mathematics. ◦Subject tests are used by the more selective schools for placement purposes.

Your Role as a Parent Encourage your child to do well in school, take challenging courses. Help students find out what their interests are. Keep the lines of communication open regarding future plans. Meet with the school counselor as needed.

The Role of the School Counselor Alphabet split allows for the counselors to get to know our students over four years. ASCA Model ◦Personal ◦Social/Emotional ◦Academic ◦Careers ◦We are here for you and your students.

Career/Interest Inventories Importance of having an idea of what students want to do ◦This will play into their post-secondary choices. ◦Graduation rates of completing college in four years vs. five or six! ◦Naviance – software used by the counseling office. ◦My College Quick Start – from the PSAT results ◦College Board’s Big Future

Naviance Software program used in grades Career interest inventories Personality Tests College Search (Supermatch) Data collection for Methacton graduates. Road Trip Nation Resume Writing Requesting/sending of transcripts to colleges/scholarships/summer programs. Each student has their own account, can check grade point average and rank at the beginning of each new marking period.

Career Information How can students find out about what they want to do? Inventories as mentioned earlier. Part-time jobs – anywhere! Volunteering/community service Talking to people they know, family, family friends, etc. Resume Writing – English assignment over the years. Summer programs as well as year long, example PFEW and ACE

College Search Where to begin? Have an idea of what they are interested in. Discuss as a family what the goals are, academically and financially. Be aware of requirements such as testing, grades, etc. Size of student body, location, academic offerings, cost, etc. VISIT campuses! ◦Open house tours ◦Individual tours ◦Document your visits with admissions

College Fairs Underrepresented Student Fair at GNPALThursday, February 18, 2016 Main Line Regional Fair at Villanova University Tuesday, May 3, :30 – 9 p.m. Reach One Teach One Fair at Montgomery Co. Comm. College Thursday, May 12, 2016 daytime Many fairs will be in our area in the fall Montgomery County College Fair (usually in October) College fair for the Performing Arts TBA NACAC Fair in Philadelphia (usually early November on a Sunday) For more information go to or

Resources Counseling Website has a wealth of information regarding summer programs as well as scholarship information Summer programs – listed under summer opportunities Scholarships – anything we receive we post for the students to see – in Naviance. NACAC –National Association of College Admissions Counselors New report/study out by Harvard – “Turning the Tide” Beware of organizations that will charge you for their services, please check with your child’s counselor if you have any questions about these groups

Where do you go from here? Continue to encourage your child to do well in school. Continued involvement with extra-curricular activities, part-time jobs, and community service are encouraged. Have students work on inventories online through Naviance – they will be doing these over the next few years at the high school. Keep the lines of communication open. Ask your school counselors questions anytime! It is important to keep your children in the loop as well.

Sample websites Naviance examples College Board examples PHEAA examples

Q&A Any questions about this evening’s presentation?