Junior College Planning Night March 2017

Agenda Standardized Testing: SAT vs. ACT College Planning Timeline Naviance Financial Aid

SAT No penalty for wrong answers No obscure vocabulary Optional Essay but many colleges require or recommend it. Use the link below to determine school specific policies. https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/college-essay-policies There are two main parts of the SAT, broken into 4 sections: Reading & Writing/Language Reading test (52 Questions, 65 Minutes) 2. Writing/language test (44 Questions, 35 Minutes) Math (58 Questions, 80 Minutes) 3. Test section without calculator 4. Test section with calculator

ACT vs. SAT ACT SAT 25% English Evidenced Based Reading 25% Mathematics 25% Reading 25% Science Optional Writing Test Subtests range from 1-36 Composite of 4 test scores (1-36) SAT Evidenced Based Reading Writing and Language Mathematics Optional Writing Test Subtest range from 200-800 Sum of 2 test scores (400-1600)

Registration Deadline Important SAT Dates Test Date May 6 June 3 Registration Deadline April 7 May 9 Late Registration April 25 May 24 CEEB Number for FHS is – 220860 FHS Test Center Code is – 22384 Register on collegeboard.org FHS fills up quickly make sure you sign up early to reserve a spot.

Important ACT Dates FHS is not currently an ACT test site. Test Date June 10 Registration Deadline May 5 Late Registration May 6-19 FHS is not currently an ACT test site. Register on Actstudent.org

Resources https://www.collegeboard.org/ http://www.actstudent.org/ www.fairtest.org

TIMELINE FOR THE COLLEGE APPLICATION PROCESS:

March + April Select courses for Senior year Start to plan possible college visits for April break Utilize your Guidance Counselor 6 excused absences to visit colleges Research and attend college fairs in the area National College Fair Boston May 7th 2-5pm May 8th 8:30-12:30 Providence May 8th 5:30-8:30pm Consider standardized testing options Continue building list of college options in Naviance with Guidance Counselor

May + June Look into possible summer opportunities i.e. internship/shadowing, summer college program, community service Ask a teacher for a letter of recommendation Typically in June (before the summer) No more than 2 teachers SAT offered in May + June ACT offered in June

July + August (Summer) Make the most of vacation! Test prep Visit campuses Virtual College Tours: www.youvisit.com Work on your college essay Essay prompts can be found on the Common App: www.commonapp.org Review possible essay questions Begin to finalize list of schools Continue to use Naviance to create/maintain your list

Summer Workshops Two Summer programs offered through Lifelong Learning: Writing your College Essay Taught by FHS English faculty 4 Sessions starting in July 7/10 - 7/13; 7/17-7/20; 7/24-7/27; 7/31-8-3 9:00am - 12:00pm Common Application Bootcamp August 1-3 (9:00 - 10:30 am) Taught by FHS Guidance Opportunity to work/complete your Common Application

September and Beyond Finalize list of schools Meet with Guidance Counselor Register with the Common Application (available now) Register for any fall SAT/ACT tests (if necessary) ACT: Sept, Oct, Dec SAT: Oct, Nov, Dec. Explore deadlines and decide what is right for you Early Decision/Early Action/Regular Decision & Rolling Decision Follow up with teachers’ letters of recommendation Attend our Senior Parent Night! Attend MEFA’s Financial Aid Night – TBD @ FHS

Naviance Link to Naviance on the FHS website under “student” top tab> guidance - under the “other links” heading https://connection.naviance.com/family- connection/auth/login/?hsid=franklinhigh

Naviance Welcome Page

College Search Features The SuperMatch tool allows students to search for colleges by their personal preferences.

Colleges I’m Thinking About The Colleges I’m thinking about tab provides students with a place to begin their list of potential colleges. Students can add or delete schools as they do more research. Once a student adds a college to their list they can then rate their interest, get information on application deadlines, and determine delivery type.

Admissions Results —Students can search specific schools to access admission results including acceptances, rejections, and waitlists of previous Franklin High School applicants. This tool allows students to compare their GPA and SAT scores against their predecessors.

Financial Aid 101 Types of Financial Aid Scholarships – money received that does NOT have to be paid back Can be given for exceptional academic achievement, talent/skill, community services, or financial need Come from different organizations, including the school they are attending Grants-money that does NOT have to be paid back It is based usually on need Loans-Money borrowed by students and/or parents that needs to be paid back Work Study-money earned by student by working at a campus job, typically 10- 15 hours a week

Local Scholarship Applications Financial Aid Forms FAFSA CSS Profile Local Scholarship Applications

FAFSA Stands for: Free Application for Federal Student Aid Required by schools in the U.S. in order to qualify for Federal financial aid from the national government FAFSA determines your “expected family contribution (EFC)” and financial aid is figured out based on EFC You can start FAFSA beginning October 1st (a relatively new change) and use the tax information from 2 years prior So this year’s seniors (Class of 2017) would be using tax information from 2015. Financial aid can sometimes be first come, first serve, so apply early

CSS Profile Required by some private colleges and universities for non-federal aid from the college or university It costs $25 for the first school and $16 after that It takes into account more of your financial information than FAFSA The due dates for the CSS Profile are dependent on your college

College/University Applications Some schools use their own application (on the school’s website) Not as common Ask financial aid office if they have requirements for school-based scholarships

Financial Aid Resources www.fafsa.ed.gov Register for FSA ID; fill out FAFSA profileonline.collegeboard.com Fin. Aid application used by certain colleges www.finaid.org Information about financial aid including grants, loans, aid calculators and a free scholarship web engine www.fastweb.com Free scholarship search engine www.mefa.org State agency providing financial aid and loan information Honest conversations with students what is affordable Estimate EFC through financial aid calculators (FM - Federal Methodology and Institutional Methodology) EFC is calculated differently; Fed Govt calculates one way

Enjoy this time!