College Planning Kick-Off September 21st 2017 Benjamin Laster Director of College Placement Seton Hall Preparatory School

Tonight’s Goals Set the tone! Get excited! Express ideal roles in process Explain program objectives Establish college planning timeline & programming schedule Emphasize Fall/Winter Items Introduce Naviance Family Connection & CP Web Lightly cover the Standardized Testing Landscape

Pillars Of The College Program It is comprehensive It is student centric It is intensive It is organized It is detailed It is predicated on fit

Defining Individual Roles College Counselors role-to advise Student role-to own Parent role-to support

Expectations: Your College Counselor Being “With You” in this process…building trust Providing long term organization Positioning the student effectively Pushing student to discover & mature Help you maximize opportunities & present school specific strategies Advise & assist on EVERY portion of the process Ensure balance in application list

The College Timeline: Introductory Search Perform Introductory Search: Research, Programming etc. Internal leads to External Student criteria connects the dots Define your search: What are your must haves? Key criteria: Size, Geography, possible majors, school culture, campus type/location, student life Visit!

College Visitation Tours & Information Sessions General vs. Specific events Interviews Demonstrated Interest Admissions Contact: Self Advocacy

The College Timeline: List Formulation Dig deeper post-visitation Attend SHP sponsored College Visits Fill out “Colleges I am thinking about” in Naviance Balance of List & Admissibility: Be Mindful Preparation for introductory college meeting

Naviance Family Connection What is Naviance? Who has access? Helpful search functions of Family Connection College Search Colleges I’m Thinking About Scattergrams Communication Materials & Tracking

Naviance Family Connection Notes Naviance data is PREP sensitive Naviance is a good “benchmark” College Placement will always have the most specific data & insight

The College Timeline: Fall Programming College Planning Kick-Off! College Representatives Night (October 5) Financial Aid Night (October 24)

The College Timeline: Winter & Beyond Individual Meetings with College Counselor: Late December College Information Night (February 22) Follow up Individual Meetings in Spring & Summer as requested Summer College Planning Assembly (students only) Senior Year Assemblies/Seminars & Individual meetings as requested

Standardized Testing: The College Landscape What do colleges want? ACT vs. SAT What to take? Why? Test Optional vs. Test Sensitive SAT & ACT Timeline SAT II

The College Placement Webpage Event Itinerary/Re-caps Forms/Documents College Visits College Sponsored Events

Questions?