Presented by the Guidance Department

SELF-DISCOVERY Finding colleges that fit you best begins with SELF-DISCOVERY — that means getting to know your interests, your goals and what's most important to you. The following five steps will get you started on the right path.

A NSWERING QUESTIONS LIKE THESE WILL HELP YOU FOCUS YOUR COLLEGE SEARCH :  What am I interested in?  How do I spend my free time?  What do I feel passionate about?  How do I learn best?  What do I think I want to do in the future?

 Public colleges are funded by local and state governments and usually offer lower tuition rates than private colleges, especially for students who are residents of the state where a college is located.  Private colleges rely mainly on tuition, fees and private sources of funding. Private donations can sometimes provide generous financial aid packages for students.

F OR - PROFIT COLLEGES F OR - PROFIT COLLEGES are businesses that offer a variety of degree programs which typically prepare students for a specific career. They tend to have higher costs, which could mean graduating with more debt. Credits earned may not transfer to other colleges, so be sure to check with the admission office at each college. U NIVERSITIES U NIVERSITIES often are larger and offer more majors and degree options— bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees—than colleges. Most universities contain several smaller colleges, such as colleges of liberal arts, engineering or health sciences. These colleges can prepare you for a variety of careers or for graduate study. L IBERAL ARTS COLLEGES L IBERAL ARTS COLLEGES offer a broad base of courses in the liberal arts, which includes areas such as literature, history, languages, mathematics and life sciences. Most are private and offer four-year programs that lead to a bachelor's degree. These colleges can prepare you for a variety of careers or for graduate study. C OMMUNITY COLLEGES C OMMUNITY COLLEGES offer two-year associate degrees that prepare you to transfer to a four-year college to earn a bachelor's degree. They also offer other associate degrees and certificates that focus on preparing you for a certain career. Community colleges are often an affordable option with relatively low tuition.

Arts colleges and conservatories focus on the arts. In addition to regular course work, these colleges provide training in areas such as photography, music, theater or fashion design. Most of these colleges offer associate or bachelor's degrees in the fine arts or a specialized field. Vocational-technical and career colleges offer specialized training in a particular industry or career. Possible programs of study include the culinary arts, firefighting, dental hygiene and medical-records technology. These colleges usually offer certificates or associate degrees.

Four-year colleges offer four-year programs that lead to a bachelor's degree. These include universities and liberal arts colleges. Two-year colleges offer programs that last up to two years that lead to a certificate or an associate degree. These include community colleges, vocational- technical colleges and career colleges.

Here are some aspects to consider: Size Location Distance from home Available majors and classes Housing options Makeup of the student body Available extracurricular activities Campus atmosphere DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1.) Which of these aspects are things you feel you must have to be comfortable at a college? Which things are you flexible on? 2.) Also, think about what you want to accomplish in college. 3.)Do you want to train for a specific job or get a wide-ranging education? 4.) If you have a major in mind, are the colleges you’re considering strong in that area?

Applying early can be a good idea if you’re sure about which college you want to attend. That means you’ve researched its programs and, if possible, visited its campus. But think twice about applying early if: 1.) You want to compare admission and financial aid offers from several colleges. 2.) You’d benefit from having another year of high school work to show colleges.

There are three main types of early admission plans. All three plans usually require you to apply in October or November. All the plans give you an early decision; you’ll know in December or January if you’ve been accepted. Early decision plans: You can apply to only one early decision college. If the college accepts you and offers you enough financial aid, you must go to that college. That’s why these plans are referred to as “binding.” Some colleges have two early deadlines, called early decision deadline I and early decision deadline II. They both work the same way, but the second deadline gives you more time to decide whether to apply early. Although you may apply to additional colleges through the regular admission process, you must withdraw all other applications if you’re accepted by this college. Early action plans: You can apply to more than one early action college. If you're accepted, you can say yes right away or wait until spring to decide. You can also decline the offer. Single-choice early action plans: You can apply early to only one college. Otherwise, these plans work the same as other early action plans. You can still apply to other colleges through the regular admission process. You don't have to give your final answer to the early application college until spring.

Rolling Admission - January-February Decision Deferred or Delayed Admission Rolling Admission - Notification is given within six weeks of the completion of all application forms. January-February Decision - Notification is made between January 15 and February 15. Spring Decision - Notification is sent about April 1. Deferred or Delayed Admission - Deferred or delayed admission to college is not a standard practice, but may be a possibility for some students. Under this type of admission, college acceptance is postponed for a year or more with a guarantee from the college of admission later, or application for admission is not made at all until after a year or more of experience in employment, travel, community work, etc. Any student who considers this type of approach should contact the college directly. - All college acceptances are provisional until the student successfully completes the year in high school. A final transcript is requested from the university at the end of the school year. The student must not permit academic achievement to go into severe slump because acceptance may be withdrawn.

NCAA Eligibility Are you considering playing sports in college? If so, check out this website:

Application Recommendations Transcript- Parchment “Your brag sheet” (list of honors, activities, volunteering) Portfolio- Specifically for music and art. (There are others as well) Personal statement Supplemental questions SAT or ACT scores submitted

Grants Loans-Need to pay back Work Study Merit FINANCIAL AID NIGHT IS: December 1st