High School Graduation College Admissions, Testing, Financial Aid Welcome to DCHS Senior Night Agenda High School Graduation College Admissions, Testing, Financial Aid General Information

Counselors Calendar Scholarship Newsletters Forms Brag Sheet www.dctigers.com Counselors Calendar Scholarship Newsletters Forms Brag Sheet

COUNSELORS Mr. Courtney Johnson A-E Courtney.Johnson@douglas.k12.ga.us Mr. Christopher Mason, F-J, PLC, Night School, Project Grad, Virtual Academy, Alternative School Christopher.Mason@douglas.k12.ga.us Mrs. LaRosa Johnson, K-Q Larosa.Johnson@douglas.k12.ga.us Dr. Joy Moses, R-Z Joy.Moses@douglas.k12.ga.us

Important Senior Dates PROBE Tues, Sept. 19, 6 – 9 pm @Arbor Place Mall ASVAB Oct. 19th and March 1st Please see the Counseling page at dctigers.com for college recruiter visits and scholarship information.

Important Websites www.GAfutures.org www.back2college.com/gpa.htm Career – College – and Financial Aid information www.GAfutures.org Calculate your GPA www.back2college.com/gpa.htm Only use A – B – C – D – F The ‘Additional Calculator’ at the bottom of the page is the most helpful.

Language Arts Requirements 4 Units Ninth Grade Lit American Lit 2 more credits of approved literature **Options: Honors, AP, Pre IB, IB **EOC required for Ninth Grade and American Lit

Math Requirements 4 Units Algebra I Geometry Algebra II (Advanced Algebra) 4th Math **Options: Accelerated, Pre IB, IB, AP **EOC required for Algebra I and Algebra II

Science Requirements 4 Units Biology Physical Science or Physics Chemistry, Earth System, Environmental Science, or AP or IB science Approved fourth science **Options: Honors, AP, Pre IB, IB **EOC required for Biology and Physical Science

Social Studies Requirements 3 Units American Government (half credit required) World History U.S. History Economics (half credit required) *Options: Honors, AP, Pre IB, IB **EOC required for US History and Economics

Required Electives Health and Personal Fitness (1.0 credit) CTAE/Fine Arts/World Language (3.0 credits any combination) General Electives (4.0 credits)

Credit Recovery *Night School registration Fulltime – no cost Part time - $200 per ½ cr. *Summer School Registration in May – cost $400 per credit *Return to DCHS next fall – no cost

General Admissions Info Early decision does not help/guarantee admittance. The benefit is knowing if accepted or not by December. Colleges look at Rigor – GPA – ACT/SAT scores first. The essay, if required, is also very important. Leadership and extra-curricular involvement can sometimes make a difference, especially in the 2nd round. An athlete should apply to the college he/she is interested in athletically AND communicate with the college coach. You are encouraged to visit colleges that interest you. Seniors may miss two days of schools to go on college visits. Please see Mrs. Pinky in the Career Center a week before your visit.

College Admissions Apply Now – Don’t wait for ACT/SAT scores. ACT / SAT – Make sure you list four colleges to receive scores. You will have to pay ACT / SAT to send scores to others later. Early Action = Yes or No or Deferred (maybe) Can be submitted through the Career Center!

College Admissions Testing College Admissions Tests ACT SAT Accuplacer (for 2 yr and technical colleges) SAT Subject Test - Only a few schools require SAT and ACT test practice ACT.org SAT.org khanacademy.org (free SAT practice) Accuplacer.collegeboard.org Official ACT & SAT scores must be sent directly to the college by ACT/SAT. The student must contact ACT/SAT directly .

College Admissions Testing The ACT/SAT is required for most 4-yr colleges and universities BUT NOT for all 2-yr GA colleges. 2-yr colleges may use acceptable SAT or ACT scores to exempt the student from the Accuplacer test. The Accuplacer test is for Technical Colleges and placement for 2-year colleges. The ACT/SAT test should be taken after Algebra II.

This is an example of what to look for from their college of interest to determine if they are competive enough to gain admissions. Look for requirements on the colleges website or averages of the last year’s freshman class and see how you compare.

See Mrs. Pinky in the Career Center for more information. Fee Waivers A fee waiver allows the student to waive the cost of the SAT and ACT exams and often times the college application fee too. To receive the 2 SAT and 2 ACT fee waivers a student must receive free or reduced lunch. Students who qualify for the SAT/ACT fee waiver are also eligible for 4 college application fee waivers from each. Students who qualify also can apply to ANY college on Commonapp.org and without paying an application fee. Students who qualify for the SAT/ACT fee waiver are also eligible to use a fee waiver for the NCAA application. See Mrs. Pinky in the Career Center for more information.

College/Scholarship Applications DCHS College & Career Center is open for students 7:30am-8:30am and during all lunch periods. The following services are available… Scholarship Newsletter (outside the Career Center and also at dctigers.com) College admission officer visitations Military recruiter visitations Submitting College and Scholarship Applications Submit application via the College & Career Center or on-line Request Transcript - $3 for each official transcript For recommendations Complete Brag Sheet first (can be found at dctigers.com) 2 weeks or more notice for recommendation letters

HOPE GPA When calculating HOPE GPA the GSFC will recalculate Honors, PIB, AP and IB course grades qualify for point enhancement at DCHS. Honors and PIB courses add 3 points to the final grade. AP and IB courses add 5 points to the final grade. When calculating HOPE GPA the GSFC will recalculate subtract the added points and convert the grade to the 4.0 scale. GSFC adds .5 to the unweighted GPA score for only the AP and IB courses to a maximum of 4.0.

HOPE GPA Scale 100 – 90 = A = 4.0 89 – 80 = B = 3.0 79 – 71 = C = 2.0 70 = D = 1.0 69/ below = F = 0

Honors/AP Courses and HOPE GPA Scale:   A is a 4.0 D is a 1.0 B is a 3.0 F is a 0 C is a 2.0 Scale:   A is a 4.0 D is a 1.0 B is a 3.0 F is a 0 C is a 2.0 Honors/AP Courses and HOPE GPA Class Unweighted Grade Enhancement Points DCHS Grade DCHS GPA GSFC Grade GSFC GPA Conversion Honors 9th Lit 90 3 93 4.0 Honors Biology 78 81 3.0 2.0 *AP American Gov 85 5 3.5 Math I 70 1.0 Team Sports 98 Spanish I 69 Comp App 88 Bus Ess 77

Determining Your HOPE GPA HOPE GPA is calculated by the Georgia Student Finance Commission. DCHS does NOT calculate HOPE GPA. Log onto the GSFC website at www.gafutures.org to determine your HOPE GPA. Your student will need to verify their birthdate and social security number.

NCAA Information WWW.eligibilitycenter.org Submit ACT / SAT scores directly to NCAA. Fill out a transcript request form in the Career Center to send transcript to NCAA. Submit a transcript from ALL high schools attended with the original application. Request a FINAL transcript in May through the College & Career Center. WWW.eligibilitycenter.org

Special Senior Honors STAR Student DCHS Honor Grad Board Scholar (Highest SAT score through November test, top 10% of class) DCHS Honor Grad (3.75 GPA, No F’s, 4 core classes senior year) Board Scholar (3.5 GPA, No F’s, 2 additional academic classes ) Valedictorian & Salutatorian (Highest points based on numeric grades in academic classes)

Seals Academic Seal Fine Arts Seal World Language Seal At least 3 AP, IB, Dual Enrollment classes Fine Arts Seal At least 3 Fine arts credits with at least 2 concentrated on one area of fine arts World Language Seal At least 3 credits of the same world language International Skills Diploma Seal complete an international education curriculum and engage in extracurricular activities and experiences that foster the achievement of global competencies. Must successfully complete these classes.

Honor Cords/Stoles Beta Club DCHS Honor Grad DCHS Board Scholar AP Scholar Key Club National Art Honor Society National French Honor Society National Honor Society National Spanish Honor Society International Thespian Society CTAE Pathway Completer

Graduation Students will receive an information letter with dates of practice and guidelines in the Spring. The graduation ceremony will be at the University of West Georgia on Friday, May 25 at 7:00 pm. The senior letter and contract will be accessible on dctigers.com after the parent meeting in the spring. The senior and parent must sign and return the contract in order to participate in graduation.

Questions . The Douglas County Board of Education does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, disability or age in educational programs or activities, or employment practices.