 Northview High School Counseling Department Senior Advisement Fall 2014

Meet your counselors Packet overview Junior and Senior timelines Graduation requirements GPA College Admissions SAT/ACT H.O.P.E. NCAA College application process Brag forms/Letters of recommendation

 Ms. Stephanie Medlin*A-Dh  Dr. Boone BentonDi-I  Dr. Varieta BenjaminJ-M  Dr. Stacy Dehnke*N-S  Mrs. Kelly ByrdT-Z  Dr. Joyce Ricks9 th grade, A-L  Ms. Cary Kennedy9 th grade, M-Z * Department Chairs

 Students will complete a Junior Review with a counselor during Guided Study to review course history and graduation requirements  Students are encouraged to schedule an appointment with their counselor if they have any questions or concerns

 Attend Junior Parent Meeting on Thursday, March 5 th  Students will complete a Junior Review with a counselor during guided study to review course history and graduation requirements  Register to take the SAT/ACT  Read the Junior Bulletin regularly  Talk with college reps who visit BHS and begin visiting colleges  Utilize the College and Career Room and meet Mrs. Varzaly  Begin working on your Brag Sheet (for a Letter of Rec.)  Became familiar with

 Complete Senior Application for Graduation in the fall  Register to take (or re-take) the SAT/ACT  Obtain college applications from the college website or the GaCollege411 website  Bring your Brag Sheet to Mrs. Varzaly (if Letter of Rec. is required for admission)  Submit applications by individual college deadline  Request transcripts from BHS ($5 each) or send an electronic transcript via GaCollege411 (Georgia colleges only)  Send SAT/ACT scores to colleges  Continue to work diligently in current classes  Attend the Financial Aid Meeting on September 17 th at BHS  Check the Senior Bulletin for scholarship information  Visit colleges and talk with your family about finances

 Pass GCPS Gateway Writing Assessment (administered in 10 th grade)  Pass the GHSGT Writing Test (administered in 11 th grade)  EOC(T)/Georgia Milestones: MATH SOC STUD ENG/LANG ARTS SCIENCE Algebra I US History 9 th Lit/Comp Biology Geometry Economics 11 th Am Lit/Comp

Contact each college/university to determine how GPA is calculated. Most colleges only consider academic courses (Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Language) The preliminary HOPE Scholarship calculations are available through Georgia College 411 (

How is a student evaluated?  GPA  Course Selection (rigor; difficulty level) – Selective colleges are looking at the strength or rigor of courses throughout high school, including senior year.  Test Scores (SAT, ACT, COMPASS)  Extracurricular Activities – Leadership and participation in clubs, service, and sports can be particularly important to competitive colleges

 Essays – Required essays on the college application are important because they demonstrate writing ability and give the college more information. Please seek advice when writing an essay and make sure to proofread for errors.  Letters of Recommendation  Resume – Contains academic information, honors and awards, extracurricular activities, work/volunteer experience, etc.  Interviews

Type of TestSAT ( Test of critical thinking and problem solving ACT ( Content-based test Test DatesMarch 14 May 2 June 6 April 18 June 13 Score600 to to 36 Penalty for wrong answers YesNo StructureCritical Reading Math (through Algebra 2) Writing English Math (through Trigonometry) Reading Science Reasoning Writing (optional)

Some colleges may require a student to take the essay portion of the ACT or a SAT II subject test. Check to find out! Free practice tests for the ACT and SAT can be found at:   

Fee waivers are available to economically disadvantaged high school juniors or seniors. Fee waivers cover the basic registration fee. SAT FEE WAIVERS  May use up to 4 fee waivers during junior and senior years.  Does not apply to late registrations.  May sign up for 3 subject tests during one registration.  Can take up to 6 subject tests.  May use up to 4 college application fee waivers if student used SAT fee waivers AND approved by college admissions officer. For more information about SAT fee waivers, visit ACT FEE WAIVERS  Up to 2 fee waivers may be used during junior and senior years.  Does not cover late or standby registration fees.  If a student uses the waiver to register and does not test, he/she loses this waiver.  Can use one fee waiver for a college application. For more information about ACT fee waivers, visit

 Free personalized feedback, practice, and college planning based on your PSAT/NMSQT results,  See your scores and your projected SAT score  Review questions you got wrong and why  Practice for the SAT with hundreds of practice questions  Save your college searches  Take a personality test to find majors and careers fit for you  Get feedback on your readiness for AP courses

 Preliminary HOPE Scholarship averages are available on Georgia College 411 ( 1) Log on to 2) Sign into your account 3) Click on the “Financial Aid” tab at the top of the page 4) Under Quicklinks, select “Your HOPE GPA” 5) Enter Name, Date of Birth, and Social Security number 6) Select “Brookwood High School” 7) The final screen displays your HOPE GPA 8) Select “View Your Detailed GPA Report”

 Partial tuition covered – varies by year  Payment amount for private & public colleges and universities can be located on  Requirements:  Graduate from an eligible high school  GPA of at least a 3.0 (calculated by GSFC)  Academic Rigor : 3 classes that are academically rigorous.  In college, must maintain 3.0 GPA.  If a student falls below a 3.0 GPA in college, they may only regain the HOPE Scholarship one time.  A student that does not graduate from high school as a HOPE Scholar, can earn a 3.0 GPA in college.

 100% of tuition covered  Must meet all the requirements to be eligible for the HOPE Scholarship, plus:  Graduate from an eligible high school  GPA of at least a 3.7 (calculated by GSFC) or Valedictorian or Salutatorian  SAT: min combined critical reading score and math score (single administration)  ACT: min. composite score of 26 SAT/ACT scores MUST be submitted to GSFC to be considered  In college must maintain 3.3 GPA

 The H.O.P.E. Grant is available to students who plan to attend a technical college to earn a certificate or diploma.  A student must be enrolled in a certificate or diploma program at a University System of Georgia (USG) or Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) school.  There is no high school GPA requirement.

 Apply for the HOPE  Complete FAFSA starting January 2016 senior year  Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)  Georgia Student Financial Aid Application System (GSFAPPS)  View your HOPE average  Go to and login to your account.  For Additional Information on HOPE  Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC),  Contact Hal Wilkinson, GSFC Representative at

 If you are planning on participating in intercollegiate athletics at an NCAA Division I or II institution you must register with the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse  Access the registration materials by visiting the NCAA website  When taking the SAT/ACT, enter 9999 for scores to be sent to NCAA Students and parents are responsible for determining NCAA eligibility to Division I and Division II schools Counselors are neither responsible nor allowed to determine eligibility

 Visit with College Representatives at Brookwood High School  College Campus Tours  Did you know….You get five pre-approved absences for college visits!?  Please visit attendance office  Meet with representatives from admissions, financial aid, and from your area of interest.

 Utilize the College and Career Room to research colleges and scholarships  Attend College Fairs  Atlanta National College Fair Georgia International Convention Center Sunday, March 22: 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Atlanta National College Fair

Dream/Reach School  Less than 30% chance of admission  Your academic record and test scores are at or above average For highly selective schools, your scores should meet or be above average Target/Good Fit School  30%-60% chance of admission  Your academic record/test scores are in line with average Safety School  Greater than 60% chance of admission  Your academic record/test scores are above average  You need at least one safety school A highly selective school should not be considered a safety school

 Counselors will complete a letter of recommendation when a student submits a Student and a Parent Brag Sheet and provides at least three weeks notice before the application deadline.  Brag Sheets can be found on our website, * Some colleges require a letter of recommendation, others do not. Please double check application requirements for each school.

 Remind 101 (Class of 2016)   Check the counseling website frequently for scholarship opportunities This entire presentation will be added to the counseling website to review as needed!