College and Career Readiness October 2014

Four Year Plan  Plan your course of study over four years  Track graduation requirements  Calculate your GPA Junior Brag Sheet (p. 4)  List Honors, Pre-AP, and AP classes taken and grades earned  List co-curricular activities, clubs, organizations, awards, sports, band, etc

AZCIS The Arizona Career Information System (AZCIS) allows you to create an electronic career portfolio to use in high school and beyond. Register as a first time user:  Step 1: User Name: ironwoodrhs Password: 4azcis02 Please write down your new user name and password Log in as a continuing user:  Same user name and password as in years past  If you forget your username or password, go to:  Or, see your counselor for the information

AZCIS - ECAP Options Available in Your EDUCATION CAREER ACTION PLAN  Plan High School Classes  Take Assessments: Answer questions about yourself and connect to occupations that may interest you  Explore Occupations  Plan for Education: Identify schools offering majors that interest you  Create Resume

Career (Post Secondary) Options Four-Year Colleges and Universities  Offer Bachelor degrees (Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts) and advanced degrees Community Colleges  Offer Associate of Arts or an Associate of Science degree, as well as a Basic Certificate, an Advanced Certificate, and Technical Certificate programs.  Military Academies  Military  Career and Technical Schools Apprenticeships

College Entrance Testing All colleges and universities will accept either the ACT or the SAT scores.  Some out-of-state colleges also require SAT Subject Tests as well as SAT or ACT scores.  Research college websites carefully for specific test requirements or contact the university directly. Registration for each test can be done on-line  SAT and SAT Subject Tests -  ACT -  Ironwood Ridge High School code:  Athletes must remember to send scores to the NCAA. The NCAA Eligibility Center code is 9999.

Use on-line study tools at each website Test at your choice of locations Recent data is showing better scores on the ACT from IRHS students

College Planning Checklist Monthly checklists for Juniors and Seniors Information about when to visit colleges, when to take tests, when to apply for scholarships, when to apply for college Meet with college representatives visiting IRHS College planning is an ongoing process!

COLLEGE COMPARISON WORKSHEET  Useful for collecting information about different colleges in one place  Helps you focus on major considerations when making decisions about which college you may plan to attend  Admissions  Academics  Location  Expenses  Financial Aid  Housing  Size

NCAA and COLLEGE ATHLETICS Whether you are a highly recruited athlete or a "walk on”, you will have to meet NCAA academic eligibility to participate in college athletics Register by the end of your junior year at the NCAA Eligibility Center  For more information speak with Mr. Jacobson

End of Junior year!

Financing College What is financial aid?  Difference between what your family can afford to pay and what college costs. Types of financial aid  Grants & Scholarships (Don’t pay back)  Loans (Have to pay back!)  Work study

Where to Look for Scholarships? Future college websites IRHS  Facebook: IRHS Scholarships and More (Like it!)  Counseling website  Online scholarship websites   (unusual scholarships)    

Timeline for Financial Aid Junior year  Apply for scholarships! Senior year  Submit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) in January of your senior year 

Reference Websites Resource links available in the College and Career Preparation Guide include:  Colleges  Scholarships  Financial Aid  Testing  Study Skills  Careers

Lastly… All this information can be found on-line when you visit the IRHS counseling website Share this information with your parents Download: College and Career Preparation Guide