Presented by SCS College Counseling & The Princeton Review

Meet the College Counselors Kathy Neill- 10 th year as SCS College Counselor/Registrar Involved at SCS since 1993 with 2 SCS graduates and 1 son in SCS 11 th grade Kim Hoffman – 2 nd year as part-time College Counselor in training! Son in SCS 2 nd grade. Daughter in SCS 5 th grade. Family’s 5 th year at SCS.

College Counseling Any and all things related to the college application process SAT/ACT registration and preparation Progress Reports, Report Cards, Transcripts GPA’s Every Fall = Seniors Every Spring = Juniors

Guidance Mr. Crow & Mrs. LeFlore Graduation Plan Scheduling Personal Issues Learning Differences All Dual Credit Testing Accommodations Accommodations for the SAT/ACT must begin the process early

SCS Testing Plan PSAT administered to all freshman, sophomores in October in preparation and as practice for the National Test administered in the junior year EXPLORE all 9th grade students PLAN all 10 grade students PLAN & EXPLORE similar to ACT These are provided by SCS with no registration

What Do Colleges Look For? Well rounded, active, committed students who will contribute to their college community. Students who are leaders, diverse, passionate, and academically college ready.

What does that mean? How will my student contribute to the college community???

These are pretty obvious... Well rounded: more than just book smart Active: involved Committed: same activities or groups for an extended period of time Leader: exhibits leadership in some activity Passionate: believes strongly in something

These are more complicated Diverse Campus: geographic, by major, race, political views, interests, economic, by talent, by experiences College Ready Academically: transcript, GPA, SAT/ACT scores, strength of coursework, strength of schedule

Suggestions Take the most difficult coursework in which he/she can be successful Take a full schedule every year Choose to do community service with one organization on an ongoing basis – preferably something they are passionate about! Try something new to become involved in If you know your student is not strong academically, find another area where they can stand out

Things you will love me for later  Start a resume now or at least keep one ongoing list of activities and awards in a safe place  Print off the Common Application and show it to your student now so they can see what a college application looks like and the information needed to fill it out  Start visiting college campuses

Finally… Train them while you have them Hold them accountable for their actions Pray they will be caught doing wrong now when the consequences are not as severe Responsibilities: laundry, car maintenance, personal safety, budget Be a booster rocket parent

Closing words from our Srs. Trust your child. Given them freedom now while they are still in your home. It is better they mess up while you can still provide a safety net for them.

From 2 Seniors with low grades Grades 1 st … Happiness 2 nd … Do whatever you can to make them take their grades seriously The senior year should not be easy They should always listen to Mrs. Neill

More Senior Wisdom “We’ve seen so many of our friends who had very strict parents go wild when given the total freedom of college life.” “I’m so glad my parents allow me to do a lot of things with the understanding that if I mess up they will make my life miserable.” P.S. I only messed up once and they did what they said. I don’t want to do that again…