1. Junior Parent Meeting January 26, 2017

2. Amy N. Piazzon MA Shrine High School College Counselor 7th year at SHS
Mother of 3 (4 if you count my husband)
Counselor and Assistant Director of Admissions- Hillsdale College
Director of Admissions- St. Scholastica Academy International Boarding School
7 years as Primary and Institutional Sales Specialist for Upjohn/Pharmacia Corporation
8 years –Director of Sales Annabelle Noel Designs

3. What I Can Do Help your child plan for life beyond Shrine HS
Provide individualized assistance with the college application/scholarship process
Proof read application/scholarship essays
Identify and remind students of pertinent deadlines
Help identify potential scholarships and scholarship information
Utilize all my resources within the world of collegiate counseling to advocate for your child
Nurture, support, and love your child during a challenging phase of life

4. What I Can’t Do Get your cherub into the college of his/her dreams
Write application/scholarship essays
Actually force a student to make the aforementioned deadlines
Procure a full tuition scholarship for your child or locate the mythical pot of gold necessary to pay for college
Guarantee that this will be an easy process

5. Junior Job Shadow Initiative
May 18, 2017
Pilot initiated and advocated by Jennifer Reaume
Represents the culmination of Naviance research.
3 assessments, exploration of daily tasks, educational requirements, salary, job qualifications
In November each Junior was interviewed to determine top three career choices
January- matching of each Junior with an area professional

6. Junior Job Shadow (cont.)
Goals
Observe a specific career of interest
Real world lessons on workplace decorum, professionalism, dress codes
Helpful to college search process
Building business contacts and potential mentors

7. Naviance College and Career Planning Software
Letters of recommendation requests must be submitted electronically through Naviance AFTER having been requested in person.
All transcript requests are submitted and processed via Naviance.
There is a $3 per transcript fee for all transcript requests except the Final Transcript.

8. All students can send their ACT or SAT scores to 4 schools free of charge when registering
Post test, charge is $12 per score/per school
Students will be responsible for sending ACT/SAT scores to their universities of choice as most universities only accept scores directly from ACT or the College Board

9. Dates for 2017
Test Date Registration Date February 11, 2017 January 13, 2017 April 8, 2017 March 3, 2017 June 10, 2017 May 5, 2017 September 19, 2017 October 28, 2017 December 9, 2017 Shrine is a test site for the June, Sept, October, and April test dates. We do not register students for these tests.

10. Test Dates
Test Date Registration Date March 11, 2017 February 10, 2017 May 6, 2017 April 7, 2017 June 3, 2017 May 9, 2017 August 26, 2017 October 7, 2017 November 4, 2017 December 2, 2107 *Shrine has recently been designated as a national SAT test site. We will administer the March test.

11. ACT/SAT cont. Many theories on ACT/SAT preparation
Many ways to spend your money on preparation
Free customized test prep available at Khan Academy
List of Shrine approved ACT/SAT tutors/programs on the Counseling page of the Shrineschools.com website.
Some students take ACT/SAT and receive score they “need” for a specific school.
Other students can take the tests up to 12 times and never get the score they “need” for their dream school.
Scores are not the only factor in an admissions decision, but often are limiting factors in scholarship consideration
There are a growing number of schools who are “test optional.”

12. The State of Michigan made a financial decision to switch to the SAT instead of the ACT as the college entrance exam included in the MME for the Class of 2017.
Every college and university in the country will accept both the ACT and SAT interchangeably.
Michigan is only qualified as an “SAT State” because if you attend a public school and take the MME, you will receive a free SAT.
Any student can take either test…or both for college entrance consideration.

13. Single Application that serves almost 700 colleges and universities
“Common” portion of the application is submitted to all selected schools, but each university typically has specific “Member questions”-typically an essay.
Therefore answers in the common portion must be “generic”. Member Questions essay should be highly specific to selected university.
Letters of recommendation must also be “generic” because they are submitted to each selected school.

14. Coalition Application
A new application platform opportunity
90 Schools in the initial cohort which will include both University of Michigan and Michigan State University
Members of the Coalition include a diverse group of public universities that have affordable tuition along with need-based financial aid for in-state residents, and private colleges and universities that provide sufficient financial aid to meet the full, demonstrated financial need of every domestic student they admit. Coalition schools graduate at least 70 percent of their students within six years, with many having much higher graduation rates.

15. All Ivy League Schools are represented
Select public universities who meet 70% of demonstrated need are included
Is a direct threat to the Common Application
Students can create a “locker” of information to be reviewed at any time by college officials, but it is not determined how college officials will have the time to actually examine the “lockers”

16. Early Action/Early Decision/Rolling Admissions
Early Decision (ED) is a binding contract. Students who definitively know that they would attend a specific university if accepted can apply ED by November 1st and have a decision before Christmas.
Early Action: if a student applies by a set date, usually November 1st or 15th, a decision is typically rendered before Christmas.
Rolling Admission: College admits students continuously until the class is full. The typical timeframe for rolling admissions is 8-12 weeks for an admission decision.

17. Baseline Interviews Transcript Review
Opportunity for Mrs. Piazzon to know each student beyond the numbers
Review of transcript, trends, goals
Discussion of academic resume, academic letters of recommendation, potential schools and application time line
Multiple appointments before June are encouraged

18. Academic Resume Due February 1
We took several class periods to build the resume in Naviance. Students can use any format they prefer.
Helps students organize activities, classes, honors, etc.
Still time to add activities
Fundamentally prepares students to complete the “easy” portion of application
Necessary to provide to teachers who are writing letters of recommendation
Is a dynamic document that will constantly evolve
Is not typically included in the application

19. Academic Letters of Recommendation
1 academic letter is required
Many selective schools will accept 2 academic recommendations.
All letters are sent via Naviance to Mrs. Piazzon who submits them. This preserves the integrity of the letter.
Too many letters of recommendation make admissions officials suspicious
Fantastically handy to have on file for short dated scholarship opportunities.

20. Academic Letters of Rec. cont.
Students should solicit them in May to be completed and returned to Mrs. Piazzon before school starts in August.
Most schools will ask for a counselor evaluation.

21. College Admissions Visits to Shrine
College Admissions Representatives will schedule visits to Shrine in the months of September and October
Students must sign up 1 day in advance through Naviance to be excused from class
Students encouraged to meet visiting representative as this is typically the primary reader for his/her application

22. How many applications are enough/too many?
Juniors are encouraged to consider a wide range of schools. There are 3500 colleges/universities in the US
There is no “best school” but there are schools which are the best match for specific criteria for each student.
The question isn’t to how many schools can I be admitted?
5 applications is a great target number. Some will apply to 1 (not advisable) and others will apply to 15 ( also not advisable). My record is 25. I promise to help every student apply to as many colleges as s/he needs to feel comfortable.

23. Things to consider when contemplating whether or not to apply
Average application fee is $50
Why spend the time and money applying to a “safety” school in which you have no real interest in attending?
It can be very challenging differentiating between 10 colleges…especially as the student gets closer to the May 1st deadline.

24. As of October of 2016, parents could file the FAFSA on prior, prior tax year records.
The CSS Profile has also moved to prior, prior tax year.
We are watching the evolution of Financial Aid this year. Preliminary reporting suggests the process is easier and more timely.

25. This is a process, not a nightmare
May 24, 2018 Graduation (to be confirmed)
Together we will reach the finish line
Appointment Hours:
Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 8-3
Tuesdays and Fridays reserved for processing and emergencies.
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