Navigating your senior year successfully Senior Information Navigating your senior year successfully Graduation is June 1, 2018 @ 8:30 a.m.

Your counselors… Ms. Donna Taylor – A-H donna_taylor@charleston.k12.sc.us 843-746-6398 Mrs. Celeste Bearden– I-R celeste_bearden@charleston.k12.sc.us 843-746-6380 Ms. Deborah Ware – L-Z deborah_ware@charleston.k12.sc.us 843-746-6401

Communication… School Wide Announcements Naviance Remind Raptor Report AMHS Counseling Department Website Senior Lounge Bulletin Board

Guidance Remind Sign Up to Receive Important Updates From Your AMHS School Counselors Instructions on the AMHS Website under School Counseling Department

College Application Process First Steps List of colleges Deadlines (early action, early decision, regular decision) Gather application tools (resume and senior information sheet, parent info, test scores) Start the application Common App (is integrated with Naviance) College Website Coalition App

College Application Process Things your application may include: Demographics Essay Activities / Honors Community Service Test Scores Letters of Recommendation Transcript

The College Essay Essay should be clear, concise, creative and grammatically correct In many cases this is how the Admissions Office gets to know you as a candidate (why you are a “good fit” for that school) Be interesting! Have multiple people review and edit Essays should be written to each specific school’s prompts (do not cut and paste)

Letters of Recommendation Make sure recommenders know you well and will write a good letter for you Request recommendations in a timely manner Tell recommenders when your senior information sheet is complete in Naviance Provide recommenders with information on the colleges you are applying to, how your letters are to be sent (including address) and provide all deadlines Write your recommenders a thank you note

Senior Information Sheet

Sending Test Scores Official scores must be sent directly from CollegeBoard and ACT (student’s responsibility) www.Collegeboard.org www.ACTstudent.org Most colleges super score (the SAT primarily) Be aware of credential deadlines and testing dates

Transcripts All transcript requests must be entered in Naviance Be aware of credential deadlines Please allow two weeks from the time of request for transcripts to be sent Official transcripts will be uploaded through Naviance or will be mailed from the school Transcripts cannot be emailed directly to you or to a school (per state and FERPA regulations) All transcript requests must be entered in Naviance

SC Uniform Grading Scale As of August 15th, 2016, the grading scale has changed to a 10 pt. scale A=90-100 B=80-89 C=70-79 D=60-69 F=59 and below

Access through the AMHS Website or at connection. naviance Access through the AMHS Website or at connection.naviance.com/academicmhs User name: SmiJoh1234 Password: Student ID # Do NOT Change your password!!!

Scholarships / Financial Aid Scholarship information will be sent out through Naviance, Remind, and through school announcements Students must check for scholarships regularly Scholarship information PowerPoint is on the Guidance Webpage FAFSA is your official financial aid application FAFSA forms will be on-line beginning October 1, 2017

Life Scholarship / Palmetto Fellows 3.0 GPA 1100 SAT or 24 ACT Palmetto Fellows: 4.0 1400 SAT (CR and Math) or 32 ACT Early Award: November is last test date Scores from the October and November ACT or SAT need to be sent directly to the SC Commission on Higher Education

Palmetto Fellows Late Award- must be eligible by June 15, 2018 Test Scores from April, May and June must be sent directly to the SC Commission on Higher Education Additional Student Requirements: It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all qualifying SAT and/or ACT scores are received by their school counselor It is the student’s responsibility to notify their school counselor of Late Palmetto Fellows applications and testing dates

Finalizing Decisions Visit colleges Meet with college admissions reps when they visit Magnet Admission reps schedules are posted on Naviance and sent out through Remind Keep all scholarship offers from all schools and bring a copy to your counselor Let your counselor know of your final school choice (you will need to indicate your choice in Naviance)

Upcoming Programs On Going: September 21 Palmetto Tour(6-7:30 pm) Dartmouth, Princeton, Vanderbilt September 24 Coalition of Colleges (7-9:00 pm) Emory, U Va, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, Washington University in St. Louis September 25 Discover Duke (7-8:30 pm) October 3 Exploring College Options (7:00 pm) Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, U Penn, Stanford (N. Charleston Marriott) October 9 MIT (7:00 pm) On Going: College Admissions Rep visits (check Naviance) IGP’s

Finish Strong! Final thoughts about your application: Honesty and integrity Completeness and accuracy Don’t over-extend yourself Review social media accounts Final thoughts about your grades and attendance Colleges request mid-year reports College acceptances are conditional upon your final transcript