1. JUNIORS BISHOP O’CONNELL HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING DEPARTMENT College Readiness

2. JUNIOR YEAR FOCUS FALL: Make a list of the types of colleges and the criteria that will best meet your needs and interests. Attend the Financial Aid Night on December 17 th. Attend a FALL COLLEGE FAIR in October. Begin to take LEADERSHIP roles within your activities. Go online and check out college and university websites.

3. JUNIOR YEAR FOCUS WINTER: Register to take the Spring SAT and/ or ACT (6 weeks in advance of test date) Take practice tests on your computer or online through (Collegeboard.com) PRACTICE, PRACTICE,PRACTICE SPRING: Based on your research in the fall, meet with your counselor to establish an initial list of schools that interest you and meet your criteria. Attend the JUNIOR COLLEGE NIGHT on January 30 th. SPRING: Decide which colleges you would like to visit during Easter break and make appointments for tours and interviews. TAKE THE ACT or SAT!! Conduct college research using your NAVIANCE account.

4. JUNIOR YEAR FOCUS SUMMER: Explore a passion, an internship, summer academic course, work, sports camp, summer camp, or travel! Begin to work on college essays. Continue to work on your personal resume. Most college applications ask a similar question about activities. How would you answer the following? “Please list your principal extracurricular, community and family activities and hobbies in the order of their interest to you” “Briefly describe any scholastic distinctions or honors you have won beginning in the ninth grade” After July 1 st, go to www.commonapp.org to access your account.www.commonapp.org

5. STAND UP IF… YOU HAVE MADE A LIST OF COLLEGES YOU MIGHT WANT TO ATTEND

6. HOW WILL COLLEGES EVALUATE YOU? Course Selection: They will look at whether or not you took challenging courses GPA: They will look at the cumulative average of your grades in each course. They also look for trends, patterns, and consistency of grades across the 4 years. Test Scores: Colleges will examine your scores on the SAT or ACT Essay for College Application: The essay provides an opportunity for the college to hear your voice. (Make it personal, and PROOFREAD it for grammar and spelling mistakes. Demonstrate Interest in the College: Contact colleges you want to attend and establish a relationship with the Admissions Department. Letters of Recommendation: Many colleges require letters of recommendation from 1-2 teachers and/or school counselor.

7. HOW WILL COLLEGES EVALUATE YOU? REMEMBER THE 3 A’s  Academics  Athletics  Activities

8. CHOOSE A PASSION What is your passion???  Find something that really interests you.  An activity  Music  Club  Volunteer work

9. STAND UP IF… YOU PLAY A SPORT YOU PLAY A FALL SPORT YOU PLAY A WINTER SPORT YOU PLAY A SPRING SPORT

10. COLLEGES PREFER STUDENTS WHO: Show genuine interest in the material. Participate in class. Risk new ideas. Go beyond minimal requirements. Confront weaknesses. Take responsibility seriously.

11. YOU WANT TO STAND OUT IN A CROWD

12. STAND UP IF… YOU ARE IN A CLUB AT DJO YOU PLAY AN INSTRUMENT

13. LEADERSHIP Examples of Leadership:  Been appointed managers, shift supervisors, etc. at their weekend, after-school, or summer jobs.  Served as camp counselors or counselors-in-training.  Spearheaded campaign efforts for a school, community, state, or even national election.  Worked as babysitters in private homes, or at their church.  Volunteered as peer mediators or mentors.  Taught math, music, etc. to younger children.

14. TYPES OF COLLEGE ADMISSIONS Regular Admission- Gives students the options to apply to as many colleges as they would like and have more time to weigh all their options. Rolling Admission- Submit application at anytime within a large window (the window closes when all spots are filled) Early Decision- Binding :contractually bound to attend that school. Early Action- Send early application but the decision is not binding. You may send early applications to multiple schools.

15. NCAA Student athletes are reminded of the need to meet NCAA requirements for athletic participation at the college level in planning their course of studies NCAA Division I requires 16 core courses. NCAA Division II currently requires 14 core courses. Be sure to talk to your coach and counselor to ensure you have met the proper requirements.

16. EXAMPLES.. Tell US what makes YOU a LEADER…

17. TEST TAKING You will be taking standardized college placement exams this year- PSAT’s, SAT’s and/ or ACT’s, or Subject tests. AND in many cases AP exams.

18. SAT & ACT Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)  Many colleges and universities use the SAT as one indicator among others- class rank, high school GPA, extracurricular activities, personal essay, and teacher recommendations-of a student's readiness to do college-level work. What specifically does the SAT test?  There are three SAT sections: Math, Critical Reading and Writing. The Writing section requires test takers to complete an essay that is factored into the final score. Start to finish, the test will take you three hours and 45 minutes. How is the SAT scored?  Each section is scored on a 200- to 800-point scale, making the "perfect" score 2400.

19. ACT What is the ACT?  The ACTs a national college admissions examination that consists of subject area tests in: ENGLISH, MATH, READING, SCIENCE The ACT helps colleges find you.  By taking the ACT, you make yourself visible to colleges and scholarship agencies, so it's another way to help you get ready for life after high school. Scoring?  Your Composite score and each test score (English, Mathematics, Reading, Science) range from 1 (low) to 36 (high). The Composite Score is the average of your four test scores, rounded to the nearest whole number. Fractions less than one-half are rounded down; fractions one-half or more are rounded up.

20. STAND UP IF… YOU HAVE BEEN ON NAVIANCE

21. NAVIANCE Logging in  https://connection.naviance.com/bishopoconnell https://connection.naviance.com/bishopoconnell Colleges  Come up with a workable list of colleges About ME  Start building your RESUME  Add information to your JOURNAL

22. DO YOU HAVE A RESUME?? Find someone next to you and ask them two things they have or should have on their resume. SHARE!

23. NAVIANCE Logging in  https://connection.naviance.com/bishopoconnell https://connection.naviance.com/bishopoconnell Christian service submissions through X2VOL  Must complete a minimum of ten hours of service to fulfill the requirement for the year More questions?  Contact Ms. Heard at mheard@bishopoconnell.org. Her office is located off the cafeteriamheard@bishopoconnell.org

24. HAVE A GOOD YEAR WORK HARD TO KEEP A HIGH GPA!! Get to know your teachers. You will need them to write you letters of recommendation for colleges and scholarships.

25. QUESTIONS? WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW???