Junior Parent Night College Admissions, Scholarships, ACT/SAT, Community Service & Much More! 2016

College Admissions Process I Fear... I Hope... I Plan...

No Fears! We will help! And it is....

Be Sure You on Track to Graduate! Recommended Distinguished English44 Math4 4 Science44 Social Studies 44 Foreign Language 23 Physical Education11 Fine Arts11 Speech.5.5 Electives Total26 credits 26 credits

Dawn Shaw 9 th -12 th Grade A-E Jessica Castro 9 th -12 th Grade F-L Tiffany Rushing9 th -12 th Grade M-R Mandy Stewart9 th -12 th Grade S-Z Danielle WilliamsLead Counselor Jennifer KemptonCareer Center Counselor Counseling Staff:

College & Career Website --Check it Out! College and Career Welcome to the Huntsville High School College Career page! Please take time to explore all links to the right of the page. There is great information on career exploration, college admission, financial aid and scholarships. Watch your deadlines and be prepared! For The Most Recent Updates, please use REMIND 101: For College and Scholarships, students text this message to (You will receive texts on upcoming deadlines! For Dual Credit information, students text this message “hisdualcre” to (You will receive texts on new information!

Explore Options: Community /Technical College Universities and 4 year Colleges Military/ National Guard Workforce

Post Secondary Options Junior /Community Colleges Open Admissions Will gain an Associate’s Degree Can Transfer to a University to earn Bachelor’s degree Cheaper/smaller class size/ not as rigorous Technical/ Trade Schools Open Admissions Designed to enter workforce immediately Can gain an Associate’s degree Can transfer to a University Many offer high pay for for skilled trade Universities & 4 year Colleges Admissions based on rank, ACT/SAT score, and extra- curricular/community service. Earn a Bachelor’s degree– a broader education. More expensive, generally more rigorous.

Post Secondary Options Junior/Community Colleges Lone Star Angelina College Blinn College Austin Community College Tyler Junior College Panola College Northeast Community College Trade/Technical Schools Lone Star Angelina College Kilgore College Tulsa School of Welding UTI/Art Institute Lee College Texas State Technical Universities & 4 year Colleges Sam Houston State Texas A&M University of Texas Texas State Stephen F. Austin North Texas State Tarleton University University of Texas at San Antonio

Post Secondary Options Military ▪ Army ▪ Navy ▪ Coast Guard ▪ Marines ▪ Air Force National Guard ▪ Enlistment is 8 years ▪ Will provide tuition assistance—Ask for details. ▪ May be called to active duty ▪ Train one weekend per month, plus one annual two week period. ▪ Basic Training- 10 weeks- 3 week intervals ▪ Serves both Federal and State governments.

This Night is for you Ask questions as we go along!

Steps to College application process 1.Take the ACT/SAT 2.Apply for College--- APPLY TEXAS 3.Request transcript to be sent to all colleges 4.Record extra-curricular activities/community service 5.Look for scholarships– fill out one a week! 6.Get Teacher recommendation letters– ask early! 7.FAFSA-- Early this year! 8.College Visits

Step two: College Admissions Tests ACT DATES Test DateRegistration DeadlineLate Deadline- Fee April Standby Only June 11, 2016May 6, 2016May September 10, 2016August 5, 2016August th 2016 October 22, 2016September 16,2016September 17-30, 2016 December 10, 2016November 4, 2016November 5-18, 2016 February 11, 2016January 13, 2017January 14-20, 2017 April 8, 2017March 3, 2017March 4-17, 2017 June 10, 2017May 5, 2017May 6-19m 2017

Step two: College Admissions Tests SAT DATES Test DateRegistration DeadlineLate Deadline- Fee March 5, 2016Feb. 5, 2015Feb. 23, 2015 May 7, 2016April 8, 2016April 26, 2016 June 4, 2016 May 5, 2016May 25, 2016 Oct. 1, 2016 Nov. 5, 2016 Dec. 3, 2016 May 6, 2017

ACT/SAT Test Prep ▪ Edgenuity– See Mrs. Kempton ▪ College Board.org ▪ ACT.org ▪ Barnes & Noble/Amazon ▪ Kaptest.com

Preparing the application ▪ Be Perfect. ▪ Colleges may ask for essays, teacher recommendations, transcripts, application fee. ▪ ESSAYS– breathe life into the statistics and numbers ▪ Income question– IMPORTANT! ▪ Field of Study- College Major-- Important for top Majors at competitive Universities. ▪ Include every possible extra-curricular/community service. Many scholarship applications pull straight from Apply Texas application.

APPLY TEXAS APPLICATION! ▪ Apply Texas Website-- Access essay questions now! ▪ Fill out Apply Texas Extra Curricular now! ▪ Engineering Majors BEWARE!– UT Austin ▪ Financial Question– IMPORTANT! ▪ Extra Essay section for scholarships– fill out! ▪ Texas A&M, UT Austin and many more schools use the Apply Texas Application as their scholarship application!

Step Three: Apply for college-- August 1st ▪ Apply Texas.org ▪ Lone Star- on their website ▪ Common Application- TCU, Southwestern, SMU, University of Dallas, Trinity University, Austin College, Texas Lutheran, Southwestern University ▪ Check Colleges for application process

Apply Texas Essay Questions ▪ Topic A: REQUIRED ▪ Describe a setting in which you have collaborated or interacted with people whose experiences and/or beliefs differ from yours. Address your initial feelings, and how those feelings were or were not changed by this experience. ▪ Topic B: REQUIRED ▪ Describe a circumstance, obstacle or conflict in your life, and the skills and resources you used to resolve it. Did it change you? If so, how? ▪ Topic C: optional ▪ Considering your lifetime goals, discuss how your current and future academic and extra-curricular activities might help you achieve your goals.

Step Four: Send Transcript ▪ Request transcript from Registrar's Office- Ms. Toney ▪ Request Lone Star transcript at end of year ▪ Request final transcript after graduation

Step Five: Extra curricular/community service ▪ Fill out form --- College and Career Website ▪ Look for service opportunities now! ▪ Get Involved- Clubs- over 65! ▪ Create a resume for scholarships ▪ Fill out a Parent brag sheet

Step Six: Scholarship search Types of Scholarships ▪ Marketing Scholarships– no GPA required ▪ Work Scholarships ▪ Merit Scholarships ▪ Need Based Scholarships ▪ Local Scholarships/National Scholarships ▪ Minority Scholarships ▪ Athletic Scholarships ▪ College Scholarships—Academic– Most Deadlines by February 1 st. ▪ Special Talent/Situational/Quirky Scholarships

Step Seven: Recommendation Letters – Students need to fill out ‘Senior Data Sheet’ for Recommendation letters. They will give completed data sheet to teacher and allow 2 weeks for letter. – It would be great if student could also attach a resume to the data sheet. A resume is a living document and is extremely valuable for a student to have for scholarships, jobs, colleges, and interviews.

Parents’ role – Listener – Advocate – Advisor of deadlines – College Trip Organizer – Researcher – Cheerleader – Career Counselor

Check list for parents ▪ College Visits are important– like test driving a car! ▪ Be an asker of questions instead of provider of answers. ▪ This process begins the year of “Letting Go” for both you and your son or daughter ▪ Have your Child take OWNERSHIP of this process ▪ Post reminders on Fridge! Apply for scholarships today! ▪ Help your child stay organized– a file folder is best! ▪ Career Exploration– HELP! ▪ There is a place for every student after high school. ▪ Need to look for “Best Fit” not “Best School”– a place where your child can be successful both academically and socially.

Admissions committees have your child’s interests at heart.

Where should I apply? 1.Good Match Schools– apply to 2-3 of these – Compatibility between student grades and academic quality of the school’s freshman profile. 2.Reach Schools- apply to 1-2 of these – If you are thinking “it won’t hurt to try” then it is more than likely a reach school. 3.Safety Schools- apply to 1-2 of these – More than likely will not turn you away. Your child must be happy and willing to attend this school.

TEST!