1 Navigator Week 4: Your College List

2 Welcome to Week 4! Important Dates and Deadlines: Date #1 Date #2 Last Week We: Analyzed our transcripts to identify our short-term academic goals Created a Senior Year Plan to meet our short-term goals Entered our short-term goals on CSNav (milestone) Created a test-taking plan and registered for the SAT or ACT This Week We Will:  Identify our personal criteria for choosing a college and create a college rubric  Research colleges and create a College List  Save our colleges on CSNav (milestone)

3 Think It Through: What type of college would best fit YOU?

4 STEP 1: Summarize the type of postsecondary lifestyle and environment which would best fit your personality, goals, and values.  

5  

6 STEP 2: Identify a set of criteria by which to evaluate postsecondary learning institutions Criteria to Consider when Evaluating a College, School or Program: Location Close to home? Far from home? Cost Expensive? Cheap? A good investment? Financial Aid Available Merit-based aid? Need-based Aid? EOP program? Size Big? Small? In between? Student-to-faculty ratio? Reputation Famous for your major? Famous for being a party school? Admissions Requirements Competitive? Easy? Target? Safety? Reach? Academics Challenging? Too Easy? Programs and Majors Does it have your major? Recommendations What do current and former students say about it? Setting Urban, rural, suburban? What is the life like in the town? Diversity % black? % Hispanic? % Asian? % white? % women/men? Clubs or Sports Do they offer what you’re interested in? Campus New and modern? Old-timey and classic? Quality of food in the cafeteria? Class size/type Big lectures? Small, intimate discussions? Lab or hands-on classes? Job Placement % of graduates who get jobs after graduation? % who join Americorps, volunteer or travel? Values/morals religious programs? Women-only dorms? Substance-free floors or dorms? Total party school? Support Tutoring services? Support for students with disabilities? ESL classes? Student Body inclusive? diverse? accepting? similar background to you? School spirit Die-hard fans (everyone knows the fight song)? Less important than academics?

7 STEP 3: Create a personal College Criteria Rubric summarizing evaluation criteria How does your postsecondary plan influence your college criteria? How do your personal values and preferences influence your college criteria?

8 STEP 3: Create a personal College Criteria Rubric summarizing evaluation criteria

9 STEP 4: Research and evaluate postsecondary learning institutions using a variety of reliable sources For each source of information about college, tell if it is reliable, somewhat reliable, or unreliable: College Websites College brochures College representatives or presenters Commercials on TV, the subway, or buses YOUniversity TV and other virtual campus tour sites A real-life campus tour A blog or Facebook note written by a current student A personal interview with a current student Information on CSNav Information on another website or book about college When it comes to college information, be a smart consumer. Don’t believe everything you read, see or hear!

10 STEP 5: Create a finalized College List which includes all the schools and programs to which you plan to apply, and enter it on CSNav

11 STEP 5: Create a finalized College List which includes all the schools and programs to which you plan to apply, and enter it on CSNav School Name Duke University City and State Durham, NC Saved to CSNav?  Target, Foundation or Reach? Reach Public or Private? Private Average Rubric Grade B Why? Great basketball team, and perfect size. But, it’s far away and I need to raise my grades to get in. SAMPLE College List - Joe

12 STEP 5: Create a finalized College List which includes all the schools and programs to which you plan to apply, and enter it on CSNav School Name University of Michigan City and State Ann Arbor, MI Saved to CSNav?  Target, Foundation or Reach? Target Public or Private? Public Average Rubric Grade A- Why? It’s about 8 hours away by car from my parents. But, their forensic science program is top notch. SAMPLE College List - Julie

13 Week 4 Summary This Week We: Identified our personal criteria for choosing a college and create a college rubric Researched colleges and create a College List Saved our colleges on CSNav (milestone) Summary Questions for Discussion: Which college criteria did you decide were most important to you this week? Why? Which criteria did you decide were not so important to you? Why? How was the process of searching for and evaluating schools and programs? Did you find the information you needed to make an informed decision? Why or why not?

14 CSNav How-to: College List Saved Colleges Milestone

15 Today, we’ll explore CSNav’s college resources. Start by clicking on College Planning. College Planning

16 Click either of the “Explore Schools” links College Planning > Explore Schools

17 There are lots of ways to find colleges on CSNav. Today, we’ll use the School Finder. College Planning > Explore Schools > School Finder

18 Look at the list of links in the left-hand sidebar. Choose one that is important to you to begin. Let’s try “Location” first. College Planning > Explore Schools > School Finder

19 Choose all of the locations you would like by clicking the boxes. To choose an entire region, click the box at the top of the list. College Planning > Explore Schools > School Finder

20 When you’re done, click “See Your Matching Schools”… …or, choose another item from the list and enter more criteria. College Planning > Explore Schools > School Finder

21 CSNav will create a list of schools that match your criteria. They’ll be listed in ABC order. You can sort the list by clicking on the arrows in the header. College Planning > Explore Schools > School Finder

22 Clicking “Compare Your Selections” will pop up a box showing how the school matches your criteria. College Planning > Explore Schools > School Finder

23 Here you can see if the school matches or does not match your characteristics. College Planning > Explore Schools > School Finder My criteria How EMU stacks up

24 Click on the name of a school to visit its profile page. College Planning > Explore Schools > School Finder

25 Each college has its own profile page. Click on the tabs on the left to learn more. Click “Save to Your Portfolio” to earn a checkmark for the milestone, Saved Colleges. College Planning > Explore Schools > School Finder

26 To see your checkmark, go back to “Home” by clicking on the icon on the top of the page. Then, click “Your Planning Milestones” to see your checkmarks. Your Planning Milestones

27 Whenever you do work on CSNav, that work gets saved in Your Portfolio. To visit Your Portfolio, click on the icon on the top OR in the middle of the page. Your Portfolio

28 All of your work on CSNav is saved in Your Portfolio. To see the career you just saved, check in your College Planning Portfolio. Click here, or here. Your Portfolio > College Planning Portfolio

29 Your “saved colleges” are available by clicking on the “Postsecondary Plans” link. Your Portfolio > College Planning Portfolio

30 On the Postsecondary Plans page, you’ll find all your college work from throughout CSNav saved. Scroll down to find the “Saved Colleges” box. Your Portfolio > College Planning Portfolio > Postsecondary Plans

31 In the “Saved Colleges” box, you’ll find all the college profile pages you’ve added. Click on the name of a college to go back to its profile page anytime. Your Portfolio > College Planning Portfolio > Postsecondary Plans

32 To return to your School Finder results, scroll down to find the box labeled, “School Finder Searches.” Your Portfolio > College Planning Portfolio > Postsecondary Plans

33 You can return to your saved colleges any time from the homepage by clicking on “College List” under “Quick Links.” Quick Links > College List

34 There are many other ways to explore schools on CSNav. Try them all and compare your results to create your best possible College List! College Planning > Explore Schools