10 th Grade Parent Night Madison High School 2/26/15 Brett Levine, Director of Guidance Phyllis Levy, Counselor

Objectives ■ To keep parents in the loop ■ Provide a road map for the next 15 months Tonight’s Program minutes Talk about college- soft preparation Powerpoint on Guidance website

■ Guidance Update (BL) ■ Upcoming Guidance Events (BL) ■ College Discussion=Informational rather than action. ■ Scheduling/Course update(BL) ■ Honor Society Criteria (BL) ■ Testing timetable (11 th Grade) (PL) ■ College Planning Timetable (PL) ■ Family Connections (PL) ■ The new SAT(PL) ■ Miscellaneous News (BL) Agenda

Most popular schools (class of 2015 applications) ■ William Paterson U, U of Richmond (16) ■ U of Rhode Island, U of Vermont (17) ■ Loyola (19) ■ Montclair State, Scranton (20) ■ Northeastern (21) ■ Villanova (22) ■ Rutgers (24) ■ Fordham (26)

Where students matriculated last year: class of 2014 ■ Lehigh, Scranton, Villanova (4) ■ Montclair State (6) ■ Delaware, Rutgers (7) ■ CCM (22)

But there is more… ■ Selective: Brown, Yale ■ Liberal Arts: Hobart WS, Amherst, Gettysburg ■ Big 10: Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan ■ Outside the box: Rice, Thomas College (Maine), Landmark ■ Service Academies: USNA, USMA ■ Virginia is for Dodgers (U of Mary Washington, William & Mary, University of RIchmond, George Mason University, James Madison, Virginia Polytechnic Institute)

The State of College Admissions: ( From the 2013 State of College Admissions ) ■ Colleges accept nearly 2/3 of applicants. ■ At colleges with early decisions policies the gap in acceptance rates edges up. ■ Grades, HS curriculum, and test scores top factors. ■ Average yield rate is 36.9% ■ Private colleges (and smaller colleges) assigned greater importance to subjective factors. ■ More selective more emphasis on SAT subject scores. Source: NACAC

Upcoming Events : Spring 2015 DateEventTime, Location Monday, March 16CWC Understanding Family Connections 5pm, Media Center Wednesday, April 22, Thursday, April 23 NACAC College Fair Meadowlands Expo Center Sunday, April 19 NACAC College Fair 11-4, Javits Center (NYC) Monday, April 13CWC Topics in Selective College Admissions 7 pm, Media Center

Non-College Options ■ Handled individually ■ Year off resources ■ Ranges from military to gap year ■ Advise to apply then defer ■ (GPA Binder)

■ Course recommendation day February 6, 2015 ■ Visible in parent portal ■ Recommendations are fluid. Discuss concerns with teachers. ■ Scheduling Conferences held with each student. Prescribed agenda. Should be done by spring break. Date of scheduling conference does not impact student’s schedule. (Prior to spring break) ■ Letter in May announcing when schedules will be distributed. ■ Override Procedures. Should be done w/ caution. Details will be posted on website. ■ 5 core classes=25-26 credits ■ Must resolve Schedule changes/concerns before school lets out. ■ Summer assignments ■ See requests on parent portal Scheduling Update

(New) Course Update ■ Financial Literacy Requirement ■ Science Electives ■ Engineering Design ■ Yearbook, leadership, journalism=apply ■ Zero Period PE ■ Music Theory and Composition

Students are invited to apply to the National Honor Society following their sophomore year. All qualified applicants (minimum GPA) will receive and application packet in the mail over the summer. National Honor Society Criteria

10th grade ■PSAT (October 2014) ■SAT subject Exams (May, or June-Honors sciences) 11th grade ■PSAT (October 2015) (will be new SAT) ■SAT reasoning test (March, May, June-Jr year) ■ACT w/ writing ( February, April, June) ■ SAT Subject Exams (May or June-Jr. Year) ■AP Exams (May) Testing Timeline – Spring 10 th Grade- 11 th grade

■ Greater focus on History & Social Studies. (Reading passages will be historical or science related ■ Greater focus on Algebra, Data Analysis & Problem Solving, not as much geometry. ■ More mental math (cannot use calculator) ■ Mega grid in math question worth 4x’s the value of other questions, has an answer that builds on itself and test taker cannot earn partial credit. New SAT Key Differences

The Optional Essay Student will read source document and need to build an argument. (eg. Nixon speech from the 60’s) It is recommended that students take the test with essay. (CA schools have announced they will be requiring the essay) The necessity of the essay will be dependent from school to school, unfortunately there is no definitive answer. I will usually go on the better to be safe then sorry and take the essay. (I do know it will not be optional whether or not to send essay)

Scoring ■ Now scored on scale of 1600 no longer 2400 ■ New optional Essay scored separately 2-12 essay score. ■ No more penalty for guessing (no lost points for incorrect answers) ■ 4 choices rather than 5 for multiple choice.

Additional Tidbits ■The first administration of New SAT will be March 2016, Scores will take 8 weeks to return (for first administration only) ■Schools will accept either new or old SAT for the next 3 years. ■Schools will not superscore a new SAT and an old SAT section. ■No change to SAT subject tests yet ( ) ■Schools are not accepting new SAT in lieu of subject tests such as with ACT. ■Last opportunity to take old SAT January 2016.

■Summer / Fall 2015 ■Visit Colleges: Get a feel (Summer/Fall) ■Meet with College representatives in Guidance (Fall) ■Attend local receptions (Fall) ■Attend Drew College Fair (Summer) ■Attend CCM College Fair (Fall) ■Spring 2016 ■Register with NCAA Eligibility Center ■Complete Junior survey/ parent brag sheet ■NACAC College Fair ■Junior Conference ■Visit Colleges ■Junior Parent Night Evening ■Secure teacher recommendations ■Throughout the Year ■Watch out for Guidance Events ■Stay focused on grades Junior Year Timetable

■ College Visits ■ College Search ■ Scattergrams ■ Overlaps ■ Scholarships Family Connections

Trivia Question ■ Q:What is the graduation exam for current 10 th graders? ■ A: ???????????? ■ ( A word about the PARCC)

■Gov School, NJSP, Congressman’s advisory committee, Boys/Girls State (APPLY), BASF SCIENCE Academy ■Summer assignments ■Getting Engaged ■Eligibility center ■Watch out for scams ■9 th Grade Orientation ■Sign up for Guidance s ■We are here to help ■Career interest inventory Miscellaneous

Public Service Announcement ■ All male students, when they reach the age of 18, must register for the United States Selective Service. Information about this can be obtained by speaking to Mr. Levine, visiting a post office or by visiting

“ You know your children are growing up when they stop asking you where they came from and refuse to tell you where they’re going. -P.J. O’Rourke