1. Junior Jumpstart
Class of 2017

2. Three Main Things Colleges Use in Determining Acceptance
GPA
SAT/ACT Scores
Application/extracurricular activities

3. GPA GPA (Grade Point Average) is very important your junior year.
Usually students apply to college in September and October so colleges will not see your senior grades until the end of your senior year.
It is crucial that you take challenging classes as a junior and make good grades. Continue this next year too.
All colleges ask to see a copy of your final transcript.
The UNC colleges require a Minimum GPA of 2.5.
Even if you do not have the minimum GPA requirement you can still go to a community college and transfer to a four year college.

4. GPA Reminders Your GPA will be calculated at the end of each semester.
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0

5. Ways to Improve my GPA Make A’s in your classes!!!
Remember that Honors classes have 1 quality point. So if you make a 95 in Honors English III that translates to a 5.0.
AP Classes have 2 quality points. So if you make a 95 in AP English Language that will be calculated as 6.0 in your GPA.
Remember that below 60 is still a 0 even if it is an honors or AP class.

6. Transcript….
A transcript is a four-year report card that includes EVERY final course grade for EVERY class you take in high school
It also contains…. transcript
Student Information
Credit History
Grade History
GPA (it is cumulative and is the average of quality points earned)
Class Rank (a number that tells you where you stand in relation to your peers in your grade level)
EOC scores

7. Should I take the SAT or ACT?
You must register online to take either test.
Colleges in this area accept the SAT and the ACT.

8. SAT Register online at www.collegeboard.org
January of Junior year is a good time to take your first SAT.
Includes a verbal, math, and writing section
Math section tests up to geometry and algebra II
Guess only when you can eliminate at least one answer choice. Points are deducted for wrong answers.
Tests your reasoning ability
800 is the highest score on each section

9. ACT
All Juniors are going to take the ACT in March during school hours for free. You can use the score for college admissions.
You can take the test again if needed on a Saturday by registering online at
Includes a science, math, verbal, and an optional writing section.
Math section tests up to trigonometry
Composite Score: 1-36
Points are not deducted for guessing
Curriculum based

10. Extracurricular Activities and your college applications
Extracurricular activities set you aside from others so make sure you are involved. This is a section on most college applications.
You can use to help you organize your activities. Under your profile is a place to save all your activities, honors, sports etc. This will then transfer to your college applications if you use cfnc.org to apply to a North Carolina college.

11. Student Athletes
If you would like to play sports in college you must be considered “eligible” through NCAA.
All athletes need to register at by the end of junior year. This includes sending a transcript which you can get from Mrs. Ryan.
Be careful about flexing classes next year. Make sure you are taking at least three classes per semester and if you choose to flex a class you must pass all three classes that you are taking.
Also check out the HRHS student athlete webpage for more information.

12. What if I don’t know which college has my major?
cfnc.org is a great tool to help you research colleges

13. Planning for college
The college matching assistant can help you find colleges with the major that you would like to study. You can also look at school size and location.

14. College Matching Assistant

15. Other ways to get ready for College
County wide College Fair- you will be able to meet college representatives and learn more about a variety of different colleges. The College fair will be held at the Cabarrus Arena on September 30 from 6-8pm
Financial aid nights- we also have county wide financial aid nights to help you prepare for paying for college

16. A glimpse of some colleges
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
9 of our seniors went to Carolina last year
Student
GPA
Class Rank
ACT Score 1
5.05
2nd out of 332 35 2
4.68
21st out of 332 24

17. Colleges (Continued) University of North Carolina at Charlotte
62 of our seniors went to UNCC
Student
GPA
Class Rank
ACT Score 1
4.27
66th out of 332 22 2
3.80
125th out of 332 20 3
3.43
175th out of 332 21

18. Colleges (Continued) Western Carolina
15 of our seniors went to Western
Student
GPA
Class Rank
ACT Score 1
3.92
108 19 2
3.10
212 23

19. Get Ready for a Busy Summer
Find a summer job or participate in a summer program. This will help get you ready for college.
Visit potential colleges. This is the best way to see if they are a good fit for you. Visit the dorms, cafeteria, library and classrooms. See if you can sit in on a class.
Make a calendar of open houses.
Get on colleges mailing lists. Some colleges might scholarship and other important information.

20. Joining the Military
This is a great option too. If you are thinking about this option start talking to a recruiter. A few recruiters visit during Bull Time. This is a great time to ask them questions and learn more about the process.

21. Questions
This is an exciting time for you… remember you can always ask your counselor for help.