High School Counselors & College Counseling How to work with your high school counselors and find resources to survive college admissions!

High School Counselors Role Track student progress toward high school graduation Meet with students to discuss post-secondary options Provide classroom guidance, advisement lessons, and other group sessions to outline college process Send transcripts, recommendation letters, school profiles to colleges

High School Counselors “Can…” Work with families to broaden options for students Identify safety schools and discuss realistic expectations Help resolve issues if all efforts have been exhausted Discuss what test might be better for a student

Working with the High School School counselors meet with 11 th grade students about graduation requirements (Junior meetings) Brief discussions about post-secondary options Make an appointment early Spring of 11 th grade if school does not schedule these meetings Watch for College Nights School counselors go over the application process Student must watch for correspondence from counselors in and on websites

College Application Applications open in FALL of Senior Year Common App and “non common app” GPA and Test Scores Recommendations And the dreaded, anxiety inducing…

…ESSAYS!!! Student should go with his/her gut First thought when reading the prompt Write about what you KNOW Not what you think the college wants to read Though grammar and flow are critical, it is more important to have good CONTENT Have someone else (unbiased) read the essay Does it “sound” like you? Any obvious issues? Start drafting and list of ideas in summer Essay topics usually listed for each college in the summer

Timeline College applications FIRST Finish at least one application by November 1 All essays and other applications finished by Dec 1 Seeking money NEXT Turn focus to scholarship searches Spend time each week devoted to searches and scholarship applications PARENTS start financial aid prep by NOVEMBER Gather tax/financial documents Research FAFSA by going to

Scholarships – Types College Based Scholarships Merit based offered through colleges Deadlines typically October/November Some require additional applications Non-College Based Scholarships Community offerings, national offerings, local organizations Deadlines typically Spring or even later! Found in many, many places

Scholarships – Where? College Based Scholarships College websites, in the Financial Aid section Some are also listed in the Admissions section Non-College Based Scholarships Scholarship databases – tons of searchable lists School counseling websites Google and other “generic searches”

Check These Out… gcps-foundation.org Entire list of scholarships for Gwinnett students New version usually available by November Area PTSA Scholarships Some offer up to $750 scholarships PER SCHOOL for the county! Questbridge College Match For low-income, high-achieving students Lists from local schools! Check other schools’ counseling pages, even out of county

SAT and ACT New SAT – out of 1600 Best source of information is College Board Partnership with Khan Academy for FREE test prep Only 11 th grade students are heavily affected New test starts in March 2016 Colleges will handle “mixed” test reports PSAT this October is NEW format, so great way to practice ACT - out of 36 Check each college for requirements Some will only take score from one sitting Many will Super Score