Planning Your Next Move… Counselors-Students-Parents Working Together Lincoln Southwest High School – Class of 2020 Senior Family Meeting (Please shut off or mute cell phones.) Our goal for the senior class is to assist them in preparing to move in a direction of their life’s journey-whether that be continuing their education, working full-time, joining the military, or pursuing another option.

COUNSELING CENTER STAFF Brooke Sharpe (A-C) Greg Sederberg (D-He) Eric Feeken (Hf-L) Dr. Joyce Lehn,Team Leader (M-N) Anders Peterson (O-Sl) Tim Ernst (Sm-Z) ~September 5, 2007

Agenda: College Funding Breakout Sessions Choose One: Senior Year Overview - Auditorium – Mr. Ernst Scholarships - Commons – Mr. Peterson

EducationQuest Please welcome R.J. Vega from EducationQuest for information on College Funding.

Moving forward… LPS Graduation Requirement Government & Politics New- Community service (which include reflection writing.) – 20 hours, 5 hours must be completed in the term GOPO is TAKEN. RJ Vega,  EducationQuest representative will be at LSW on Wednesday’s to work with families on Financial Aid by appointment. To schedule go to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0a4fada82aa3f49-meet Graduation requirements are the basic minimum needed for graduation, not for college admission requirements. A letter will be mailed in August to seniors who needed additional graduation requirements. Government and Politics hours need to be completed by their due dates There is a direct link about Go/Po hours on Dr. Ted Larson’s (LSW Social Studies Dept Chair) home page Appropriate schedules vary with the students’ individual goals A rigorous schedule is recommended for students who are planning on attending a 4-year school While some students are working & saving for college, students should continue involvement in school & community activities Family decision-making should be a priority during the senior year. Dream college letter Face book.

The Counselor’s role… Conducts individual meetings with seniors – starting this week and continuing through Term 1. Checks seniors’ progress in completing graduation requirements Assists seniors with completing the ScholarshipQuest scholarship search Provides information about college and/or career planning process

Communication updates… Counseling Center’s web site Packets from senior meeting Synergy ParentVUE Bulletin boards Daily bulletin & Silver Talon School Messenger – phone calls & e-mails

Counseling Center Google Classroom Seniors will have the opportunity with Class of 2020 in google classroom to get messages from the Counseling Center regarding college visits, and information pertaining to seniors. We are working on a different way to keep students current

Counseling Center Google Classroom Message We have the following college visit for the months of August/September: Savannah College of Art & Design Wed., August 28th 9:00 a.m. Buena Vista University Thur., Sept. 5th 9:00 a.m. University of Chicago Wed., Sept. 18th 1:00 p.m.

Making Post Secondary Decisions is a Process Every student and family will be at a different place at a different time in the process. DO NOT get caught up in the frenzy of what others are saying and doing. Trust that it will be fine in the end.

Preparing for options… Employment Military Two-year college Academic Transfer Four-year college Tonight we will be focusing specifically on the college process.

The student’s role… Use resources well Bring questions to senior meeting Counseling center resources Computers College guides Appointments - 2:15pm on early release Tuesdays Counselor web site Check calendar regularly

Student responsibilities… Register for admissions tests Complete college applications Request teacher & counselor recommendations Provide registrar with transcript requests Search & apply for scholarships Work with parents to file financial aid applications by deadlines

Applying to College: Out of State Colleges We encourage students to apply to their “dream school” and well as safety schools or schools that students can see themselves attending if they to not get accepted to the “dream school”. Selective Schools reject 92-94% of their applicants. Do not take it personally. You may not fit the profile that school is looking for in their new freshmen class. Have a back up plan Pay attention to DEADLINES. Missing a scholarship deadline shows the college the student is not mature and does not handle responsibility.

Applying to College: Nebraska Colleges Follow the 2-2-2 Rule Apply at 2 NU Campuses Apply at 2 Nebraska Private Colleges Apply at 2 State Colleges An ACT of 26 may not qualify you for any scholarships at UNL but could qualify for free tuition at Peru St., Wayne St. or Chadron St. Nebraska private colleges could give you $5000 a year for a 22 ACT and every 3 ACT points could mean $1,500 in annual grants.

New UNL Scholarship Deadline The new deadline for merit-based scholarships is February 1. UNL will accept test scores from the February 2020 test date (some individual scholarship programs may have earlier deadlines).

Finish Strong The letter from the college that says you have been accepted is based on past performance and the classes you have indicated you are taking the senior year. If academic performance or the senior year schedule changes, it can impact the admission decision.

Social Media The impact of social media on the college admissions process has increasingly become a two-way street. While students are researching prospective schools on Facebook and Twitter, admissions departments are also checking up on prospective students’ social media profiles. When applying to college, it is vital for you to present your best self not only on your application, but also online. Your application will tell the admissions officers about your interests, the type of student you are, and how well you performed in school. But your online presence will tell admissions officers, and future employers, how you present yourself in public, and how your projected image fits in with their particular institution.

Social Media Your social media presence is playing a part in your consideration for admission, and admissions officers are paying attention to what they find. 36% of admissions officers surveyed said they Google prospective students. 68% said they look up applicants on Social Media. 45% said that when checking up on a student’s online presence, they found something that negatively impacted an applicant’s chances of getting in, up 10% from last year. In June, Harvard University had revoked the acceptances of 10 admitted applicants after they were found to have participated in a inappropriate social media posts.

Email Accounts Email is outdated for teenagers however colleges and scholarship agencies still communicate by email. Make sure your student has a professional email account and remind them to check it the account at least weekly. We have had agencies contact the counseling center asking why a student has accepted a scholarship and after talking with the student we find that the student did not check the email account.

Resources for seniors… Visit with college reps at LSW & College Fair @ SCC Sun., 9/16 1-3pm Participate in college campus visits Attend Open Houses on campuses Conduct scholarship searches Research financial aid opportunities NCAA/NAIA student-athlete information Contact Mr. Ernst in the Counseling Center 402-436-1306 Ext 66303, ternst2@lps.org

Online assistance… ACT -www.act.org LSW Counseling Center http://wp.lps.org/jlehn2/ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) www.eligibilitycenter.org FAFSA www.fafsa.ed.gov (submit after Oct. 1st) EducationQuest www.educationquest.org ACT -www.act.org SAT -www.collegeboard.com National Scholarship Searches linked from Counselor’s page on LSW web site ScholarshipQuest NE, LSW & LPS Scholarships https://www.fes.org/scholarques t/s_login.asp Learn To Dream Scholarship

Upcoming events at LSW LSW Apply2College Now on Thursday, September 25th from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. Students can sign up for a pass to leave class and apply to college with the help of counselors and College representatives. More information will be coming to seniors. The Susan T. Buffett Foundation Scholarship Scholarshiphttp://buffettscholarships.org/college-scholarships will be in late October or early November. This is a chance for seniors to meet with Buffet representatives and find out about eligibly and the application process. More information will be coming to students as the date in confirmed.

COUNSELING CENTER STAFF Brooke Sharpe (A-C) Greg Sederberg (D-He) Eric Feeken (Hf-L) Dr. Joyce Lehn,Team Leader (M-N) Anders Peterson (O-Sl) Tim Ernst (Sm-Z) ~September 5, 2007

COUNSELING CENTER STAFF Mr. Michael Barber – mbarber@lps.org  School Social Worker – available Monday-Friday Mrs. Miranda Blackwell – mblackw@lps.org School-based therapist – available on Tuesdays and Fridays – referral and parent/guardian permission forms must be completed  Mr. John Hastings – jhasting@lps.org  Counseling Center Administrator Mr. Romulo Vega – romulo@educationquest.org EducationQuest Foundation Representative – available at Southwest on Wednesdays by appointment