4-year University/College The Counseling Department Welcomes Cathedral’s Class of 2018

4-Year College/University MINIMUM Application Requirements Graduate High School Meet specific GPA requirements Meet A-G requirements Take the SAT and/or ACT Try your best to meet specific SAT/ACT scores Meet all testing and all application deadlines When asked, submit an OFFICIAL transcript

Official vs. Unofficial Transcripts Unofficial transcripts can be printed or copied by: Students Parents Counselor Official transcripts can be printed by: School registrar…nobody else!!! Signed, embossed, and sealed Registrar needs at least 2 weeks Registrar requires an addressed (WHERE IS IT GOING?) and stamped envelope

Naviance is a web-based resource for students and parents that encourages and supports post high school career and college planning Family Connection is specific to our school Family Connection is linked with Naviance Succeed, a service that is used in School Counseling Only a very small number of colleges do not use Naviance. Thus, if an application is to be considered complete, students must keep their Naviance account up-to-date. What is Naviance?

How Can I Use It? Career Planning College Planning Success Planning Learning Style Inventory, Interest Inventory, Personality Inventory, Resume Building College Planning College Search, Application Process, College Major Exploration, Scholarship/Financial Aid Resources Success Planning Personalized Goals and Tasks, Journal Entries, Student Planner

Getting Started Have your school user name (student ID #) and password (student ID # plus two zeroes) available Go to the Cathedral website and click on the link at the bottom right hand side

Take the personality quiz and find your personality type. Begin building your resume. This will help when you ask teachers for recommendation. letters

California’s Four Systems of Higher Education University of California (UC) California State University (CSU) Private Colleges & Universities California Community College

Having Trouble Deciding Between CSU and UC? California State University University of California 23 campuses 9 campuses

General Similarities and Differences Between CSU and UC Minimum GPA: 2.0 SAT/ACT required Personal statement NOT required Letters of recommendations are NOT required Various majors offered Medium - large campuses Application open October 1st UC Minimum GPA: 3.0 SAT/ACT required Personal statement IS required Letters of recommendations are MAY BE required Various majors offered Typically larger campuses Application opens August 1st

Snapshot Statistics Statistics on SAT/ACT are available online The information below is based off of the admitted freshman profiles from fall 2015 Statistics on SAT/ACT are available online CSU’s Local Campuses All UC Campuses School Avg. Weighted GPA % of Admits San Bernardino 3.17 55% Los Angeles 3.18 62% Northridge 61% Fullerton 3.48 48% Long Beach 3.5 35% San Diego 3.6 37% Cal Poly Pomona 3.87 School Avg. Weighted GPA % of Admits Merced 3.67 64.6% Riverside 3.78 56.0% Santa Cruz 3.88 51.1% Santa Barbara 4.05 32.7% Irvine 4.04 38.7% Davis 4.07 38.2% San Diego 4.13 33.9% Los Angeles 4.18 17.3% Berkley 4.19 16.9% www.collegedata.com http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/index.html

UC’s Eligibility by Other Means UC guarantees a spot at one of their campuses for any of the following criteria that is met Eligibility in the Statewide Context Meet A-G Be part of the top 9% in California Eligibility in the Local Context Be part of the top 9% in local high schools Eligibility by Examination Alone Must meet specific scores on SAT/ACT Look at university website to determine score

Private and Out of State Universities & Colleges They will have their own admission requirements and deadlines Research individual school’s websites for specific information Private/Independent California Colleges Quick Facts: 77+ members Approx. 50 in SoCal 86% receive financial aid www.aiccu.edu Out of State www.commonapp.org

California Community College Approx. 112 campuses in 72 districts Convenient locations Affordable when compared to a 4-year college or university Have partnerships with UC and CSU for smooth transferring after general education is completed 55%-60% of CSU graduates and 28%-30% of UC graduates started off at a CCC Be aware that times have changed. There are deadlines to meet. Students need to start applying in February. Students must meet with a counselor, take placement tests and have an academic plan in order to receive priority registration.

Alternative Path to a 4-year College/University What if you don’t get into the colleges or universities you apply to? What if you don’t want to go to straight to a 4-year college/university? Alternative path: 4-year college or university California Community College High School

Why Go to a CCC First? Very affordable when compared to a 4-year Hundreds of instructional programs Wide variety of student support programs Complete general education classes Discover possible majors suitable for you Option to transfer into a 4-year as a junior Easier to get admitted as a junior vs. a freshman End goal can still be met in 4-years

Things to Consider When “Shopping” for College Which of the 4 systems interest you? Listen to announcements regarding college visitors If possible, start visiting campuses that interest you Consider admission statistics Desired Location…close to or far from home? Tuition costs and/or cost of living School culture and demographics Weather/climate Degrees offered, majors offered, academic programs, athletic programs

Speaking of Athletic Programs…NCAA Are you and athlete and plan to continue in your sport during college? Register to take the ACT, SAT or both and use the NCAA Eligibility Center code “9999” as a score recipient Complete NCAA-approved courses Earn a minimum required core-course GPA Earn a required SAT or ACT sum score Division I and II both have 16-core classes Talk to your counselor to check your status! Be sure to have athletic transcript release form on file with Mrs. Soliz

Financial Aid Start shopping for ways to help pay for college Grants Free money Scholarships Work study Students work on campus which adds money to their financial aid packet which helps pay for college Loans Pay back with interest www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov

FAFSA News 2017-18 On Sept. 14, 2015, President Obama announced significant changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) process that will impact millions of students. Starting next year, students will be able to do the following: Submit a FAFSA® Earlier: Students will be able to file a 2017–18 FAFSA as early as Oct. 1, 2016, rather than beginning on Jan. 1, 2017. The earlier submission date will be a permanent change, enabling students to complete and submit a FAFSA as early as October 1 every year. (There is NO CHANGE to the 2016–17 schedule, when the FAFSA will become available January 1 as in previous years.) Use Earlier Income Information: Beginning with the 2017–18 FAFSA, students will report income information from an earlier tax year. For example, on the 2017–18 FAFSA, students (and parents, as appropriate) will report their 2015 income information, rather than their 2016 income information.

Important Websites www.csumentor.edu   www.csumentor.edu https://admissions.universityofcalifornia.edu/ www.commonapp.org www. fafsa.ed.gov https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration www.cccapply.org www.fastweb.com

Things Every Junior Needs to Consider Take all tests seriously PSAT SAT/ACT Work towards being academically competitive Plan ahead and always consider deadlines Take Honors/AP classes Recognize your ability, talents, and limitations Colleges like to see students challenging themselves Extra points help increase can help improve your GPA AP test scores of 3 or higher may earn you elective or subject college credit For more information on AP credit, visit www.collegeboard.org and follow the AP links to “AP Credit & Placement”

Be realistic as to the colleges that fit your abilities Be realistic as to the colleges that fit your abilities. All colleges and universities have eligibility indices based on a formula of test scores and GPA. Do your homework. Research potential colleges. Take a virtual tour. Look at their “Quick Facts” or “At a Glance” webpage to see average costs,incoming freshman GPA and test scores. Apply to approximately 12 colleges. Rank them as safe, target, reach. Our safe schools are CalState LA, CalState Northridge and CalState Dominguez Hills.   Private schools are going to be able to offer you more and more. California public universities have cut back on admissions and those accepted have higher GPAs than past years.

Learn how to use Naviance Learn how to use Naviance. First of all, you should have completed a resume in English class. This will help teachers write letters of recommendation for you. Second, continually update the list of colleges to which you are applying.   Parents and students need to work together when applying, completing financial aid forms and accepting offers of admission. Decisions should be made together so that when asking and answering questions of counselors and colleges both student and parents understand. Families need to understand that while the counselors can and will assist with college and financial aid applications, calling and speaking to colleges and agencies can only be done by the student. Their identities are being protected and students can only speak on behalf of themselves.

Important Websites www.csumentor.edu   www.csumentor.edu https://admissions.universityofcalifornia.edu/ www.commonapp.org www. fafsa.ed.gov https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration www.cccapply.org www.fastweb.com

Questions?