Cooper Cohen

Introduction Welcome, and thank you all for coming! This presentation is intended to show all of you what I have been doing to prepare for the college admissions process. Please feel free to ask questions at any time during the presentation. Enjoy! Cooper

What This Presentation Will Cover Post-High School Plans Possible Accommodations Needed Post-Secondary Spreadsheet Overview of Five Colleges Colorado State University University of Denver Colorado School of Mines Fort Lewis College Berklee School of Music (Reach School) College Visitations What DA Sends to My Colleges What I Send to My Colleges What Others Send to My Colleges Letters of Recommendation (Teachers) ACT/SAT Scores My Current Score(s) Current School Progress Timeline for Senior Year Roles & Responsibilities Self Parents College Advisor

Post-High School Plans My post-high school plans, while still in the planning phase, are as follows: Get into CSU Begin Pursuing Music Therapy, but I will NOT declare my major my freshman year. Work to obtain a degree in music therapy Plan to study abroad in Ireland at some point during my college life Enjoy the hell out of the whole experience

Accommodations What are “accommodations,” and how do they apply to me? Accommodations are a means to make college life easier and more manageable for individuals with ADD such as: Having a personal note- taker Having a private dorm room (might be necessary for me) Being able to record lectures Extensions on essays, etc. Colleges and their entire staff are REQUIRED BY LAW to uphold these accommodations in ALL ways as a part of the Americans With Disabilities Act My plan for this is to apply and be in the accommodations database, but not to use them until I deem it necessary

Spreadsheet At this time, you will be receiving a handout. This spreadsheet serves a few purposes: To give all of you a better view of all of the factors involved in my different college options To help break down the cost of each institution Color-Coded for Easier Understanding

Overview: CSU Colorado State University, located in Fort Collins, Colorado is a school for everyone. With a large campus and almost any major one would want to pursue, this school, with its beautiful views and great location is a perfect fit for me… and thusly is choice number 1.

Overview: CU Boulder CU Boulder is a great school with a similar atmosphere to CSU. In the quaint, yet modern city of Boulder, the scenery is incredible, and the campus is beautiful in itself.

Berklee School of Music Berklee is a nice thought, but I just don’t think it’s practical. It’s a neat idea, though. A transfer is the best I can hope for.

University of Denver I think that should a problem arise with CSU, my next choice would either be CU Boulder, or University of Denver. I just don’t like the location. If you’ve ever tried to park near University and Evans, you’ll know why.

Fort Lewis College Fort Lewis College is a very small school located near Durango, Colorado. In the most polite context I think this is a little too po- dunk for me. I also don’t much care for the intense army affiliation.

College Visitations Here is my progress so far: I have visited CU Boulder twice, Northwestern once, Colorado School of Mines once, and CSU once. I also have a college sit-in scheduled at CSU on both an Intro to Music Therapy lecture, and on a Psychology lecture. These will be in mid-October.

What Denver Academy Sends to the College Transcripts Completed transcript request form required Sent through Ms. Amy Macy, Director of College and Transition Counseling

What I Send to the College Application Due Dates: CSU: 2/1/11 CU Boulder: 1/15/11 Berklee: 1/15/11 Fort Lewis: 8/6/11 DU: 1/15/11 College Essay Status: I have five rough college essays written and one that is a final draft in progress. Application Fee: See Spreadsheet

What Others Send to the College Letters of Recommendation Mr. McMillin Mr. Price As part of the common application, these teachers will be notified and an envelope with the college’s address will be provided. ACT Score I am satisfied with my ACT score of 26.

School Progress Please Refer to the Copy of My Progress Report that has been Distributed

Timeline: Please see the timeline handout that has been provided.

Roles & Responsibilities Myself: To perform to the best of my abilities and to self-advocate To keep my grades up and meet all deadlines, both for college AND DA. To make myself stand out to the college counselors that I cross paths with Mom & Dad (yes, you have a part too): To support me To fill out your share of the paperwork To ASK QUESTIONS My College Counselor: To be a co-advocator for me To guide my family and myself toward the proper admissions path To provide a map of the “uncharted waters” of applying and being accepted to college

Let us attempt to meet at a future time to allow a better outlook on the progress that we all have made on the college application process.

(The end of the speech)