1. Welcome Class of 2017

2. Before you leave today you will:
Know who your school counselor is
Understand important tasks for your senior year

3. Danielle Coniglio, School Counselor A-Chi
Kelsey Buchanan, School Counselor Cho-G

4. Andrew Tafaro, School Counselor H-Len
Ellie Jackson, School Counselor Leo-Pas

5. Derek Forster, School Counselor Pat-Sn
Susan Pangman, School Counselor So-Z

6. Christi Campbell, Director of Counseling
Maria Porto, Career Center Assistant
Rita Giampaoli, Counseling Secretary

7. Senior year – stay the course
Make academics your #1 priority; continue academic strength
Absences affect academic success
5 unexcused absence = referral to attendance officer
You are accountable for your academics until the end
Your acceptance letter will read “acceptance is conditional upon successful completion of senior year.”
Make sure you point out that last bullet point – Senioritis is VERY real and acceptances can be withdrawn if you slack off, do not finish well, or get in trouble with the school.

8. What is important to know now?
September 6/7 – Senior meeting with a counselor
September 23 – “Know Thy Knight” packet due to counselor
September 25 – LCPS College Fair at Briar Woods HS
October 1 – SAT Test Date (Late Registration – Sept 20)
October 22 – ACT Test Date (Registration – Sept 16)
November 14 – Financial Aid Night, 7:00pm
February 2 – FAFSA Workshop at Freedom HS, 6:30pm
If a student wants to set up a time to meet with their counselor, they can do that. This may be beneficial if you have a new counselor this year, want to let them get to know you better for your letter of recommendation, or if you want to explain anything. Likewise, if you have any questions about the application, please do not hesitate to see/contact your counselor. Please be mindful, we will not be able to write letters for our students that have moved out of our alpha.

9. When you sign in, click on the colleges tab in the top left corner
When you sign in, click on the colleges tab in the top left corner. Here you will have “colleges I’m applying to”, “view upcoming college visits”, and “SuperMatch college search”. First up is the “colleges I’m applying to” link.

10. *Do NOT complete this step if you are an AOS student!

11. Seniors: Matching Your Common App Account
Encourage students to consider making a new address for their college application process.
Create an account or log-in if you already have an account.
Use an address that you will remember as you will
need it to match in Family Connection.
*Consider making a new for your college applications*

12. FERPA In order to sign the FERPA agreement,
By signing this waiver, and when you submit any of our transcript request forms, you are waiving your right to see anything that is submitted on your behalf for the college application process. Please don’t let that worry you. We will never write anything negative about you or that may be detrimental, but it is what the colleges require.
In order to sign the FERPA agreement,
which is needed to match your common application,
you must add one college to the “MY COLLEGES” section.

13. Do NOT add colleges to this list
Do NOT add colleges to this list. We will add them to this list as you submit your transcript request forms.

14. Requesting Teacher Letters
Select Teacher and include a personal note to include, but not limited to: the schools of which you are applying to that you would like for them to write a recommendation letter for – remember to ONLY ask for a letter for the schools of which you want them to send them to
Please show the courtesy of first asking your teacher for a recommendation letter in person before filling out this form

15. Applications types: What’s the difference?
Early Decision IS BINDING!! By signing this, you are agreeing to pay at least one year’s worth of tuition if they accept you, even if you end up not being able to afford it. You can only apply to ONE school early decision.
Early Action is very competitive. It is harder to be accepted from this pool. You’re saying that my grades through junior year are the best I can do, and my senior year will be just the same or better. They really are looking for the best of the best during this application stage.
Regular Decision will guarantee you a decision by April 1st. Most of, if not all of, your applications will be regular decision.
Rolling Admission – They do not have a traditional deadline. They will accept applications until they have filled their incoming freshmen class.

16. Where do I find the paperwork?
Letter of Recommendation & College Application Process
 School Counseling

17. Please complete and return your “To Know Thy Knight” forms to your counselor by Sept. 23. Please type and either print them out, or them to your counselor. The more you write, the better. One sentence answers will not help.

18. Transcript request form

19. Completing the form
Make sure you fill out ALL PARTS including application deadline, do you need any letters of recommendation (if so from who), and what type of application it is.
Electronic – do not need to pay
Common App – do not need to pay
To be mailed – Need to pay $3
**$3 will be charged for every application that is sent in the mail**

20. Stay Organized!

21. Senior timeline
College Application Deadline
Materials due to Counselor and/or Teacher
To Know Thy Knight Forms
DUE SEPTEMBER 23!!!
November 1
October 14
November 15
October 28
December 1
November 11
December 15
January 1
December 8
January 15
January 3
February 1
January 17
February 15
March 1 and beyond
February 14
Remind students if they miss our deadlines, we are NOT obligated to get their materials in on time. We will do our best to get them in, but we are very busy and need the 10 work days to make sure we can get to it. We DO NOT work on weekends or over the holidays. If you come to me the day before winter vacation and ask me to send your stuff because you forgot, I will most likely say “Sorry, but I will get to it as soon as I can when I get back.”
The golden rule is 10 school days before application deadline!

22. Family Connection
Talk about making sure you’re being realistic about your college expectations. If you’re a B/C student, you shouldn’t expect an acceptance letter from UVA or JMU; two schools who put academics at the top of their list. Our goal is for everybody to have a college acceptance letter by April 1st.
If you want to see what schools tend to meet your acceptance criteria, please use the supermatch.
Or, if you just want to explore what’s out there and expand your search, the supermatch is a great tool!

24. College visits
Every year we have schools from all around the country come to our career center where you can meet with admissions representatives, ask questions, learn about the school, financial aid, etc.
This is one way to show demonstrated interest.

27. Please print this confirmation to use as your pass to the career center.
Remember, your teacher has the right to say no if they believe you need to be in class or if you are attending too many college visits.

28. Career Center
Located in the Counseling Office across from the cafeteria
Stop by before or after school, or during your lunch
Available for all students to set an after high school plan
College Representative Visits
Provides grade level career units to students
Evening programs for students and parents offered
Scholarship/Financial Aid help
Great way to ask questions about colleges, scholarships, financial aid, or the application process.
Remember, this is the CAREER center, not the college center. You can also come ask about resumes, joining the military, gap year programs, or anything that will help prepare you for what’s next after high school.

29. Scholarships
There is a lot of FREE money out there, but it’s going to require a lot of work on your part. These are just a few of the ways to research and find scholarships. Just always be aware of the population you’re applying “against”. Is it a LCPS scholarship? Virginia-wide? Nationwide?

30. NOVA pathways program
Students interested in attending a 4-year school but may want to start at NOVA
They will assist you with every step from applying to NOVA up until you start at your new 4-year school anywhere in the country
Have a guaranteed admission guarantee with most VA schools, and some out of state schools (adding new schools every year)
Reasons students may want to start at NOVA: Don’t have the grades/scores to get into the school they really want to go to, do not have the money to pay for a 4-year school right away or for all 4 years, not ready for the academic rigor of a 4 year school right away, unsure of what they want to study in college yet, unsure where they want to go, etc.
Schools with guaranteed admissions agreements: , University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth, Virginia State, Virginia Tech, West Virginia University, James Madison, Mary Washington, University of New Mexico, American, Christopher Newport, William & Mary, George Mason, Liberty, Longwood, Ferrum, Lynchburg, Marymount, Old Dominion, Radford, Regent, Shenandoah, and many more.
Just because you apply to and are accepted to the Pathway program, you are not obligated to go to NOVA. You can bow out anytime if you decide you’d rather go to another school. They just ask that you tell them so they remove you from the program.

31. Sign up for REMIND 101 Text @2017JCHS to 81010
One last thing…
Sign up for REMIND 101 to 81010
@JCHSCounseling

32. Keep your eye on the prize
Thursday JUNE 13th