Trinity HS Underclassman College Planning Meeting Wed., Oct. 29th, 2014 6:00PM HOW TO PLAN, APPLY, AND PAY FOR COLLEGE.

Trinity HS Underclassman College Planning Meeting

Wed., Oct. 29th, 2014 6:00PMHOW TO PLAN, APPLY, AND PAY FOR

COLLEGE

Welcome parents• I am Leigh Bell, school counselor for students with

last names L-Z• I help all students navigate college admissions,

financial aid, and scholarships • I have been the senior counselor for 14 years now

and been in education for 18 years. • New to Trinity this year and happy to be a part of

Bulldog Nation!

TONIGHT’S TOPICS• Extracurricular Activities & Community Service through high

school• Course selection & grades and how that impacts college

admissions • ACT/SAT tests and preparation• Thinking about colleges• Paying for college• Advice from parent of 2014 THS graduate• General Q&A

CHANGE IN GRADING SCALE THAT WILL AFFECT RISING 9th GRADERS…

Extracurricular Activities & Community Service

• Both play a big role in competitive college admissions & competitive scholarship success

• Students need to keep track of their volunteer work & extracurricular activities since 9th grade on their own student data sheet. See Jane Doe sample data sheet in your folder. Always give your data sheet to a recommender and include with scholarship applications

• Be specific about “what” you did within your community service, hours devoted, leadership positions held

• Colleges and scholarships want to see long-term service to fewer activities rather than the chronic “joiner” who is in too many activities/clubs and has very little tangible leadership or service hours within each activity

How to possibly win those BIG scholarships

• A student who can demonstrate initiation of a community service project or event shows a level of commitment, leadership, maturity, and achievement much higher than merely participating in a project initiated by someone else.

• Try to start earlier than the senior year if possible to garner BIG scholarship consideration since the senior year is so hectic.

• Example: A graduate initiated, planned, and carried out a 5K race in their town to benefit a children’s summer camp that she had worked at as a

camp counselor. She worked with town officials to conduct planning, got t-shirts donated, etc.

Course Selection & Grades• Have students select a curriculum that is right for their ability

and work ethic• Students NEED a challenging curriculum if they are college

bound• Sometimes making a B in an AP class looks better than

straight A’s in standard/Honors CP classes. See what the college(s) think…

• If a student is in CP level classes, try integrating one or two Honors courses first; then if there’s success there, try an AP class or two.

• Admission to the most competitive colleges requires a few to several AP courses (3-7)

PLAN TEST- WAS GIVEN OCT. 8TH TO ALL 10TH GRADERS

-A pre-ACT test

-Good practice for 10th graders in prep for future ACT tests

-Review results when they come in to see what areas the student needs work

-There will be test prep available at Trinity HS in the spring

-Most colleges put great emphasis on test scores in the admissions process.

ACT test- 2 or 4 year colleges

• Curriculum based test- English, Math, Reading, Writing, and Science sections

• Score range is 1-36 for each section• All colleges require ACT + Writing for admissions• To register, pick up registration info. from Mrs. Crotts in

the guidance office OR register online @ www.actstudent.org

• Cost is $54.50 per test administration• Fee waivers applicable for free or reduced lunch-see

Mrs. Crotts.• Take at the end of Math III, no later than end of junior

year

ACT test- more details• All current juniors will take the ACT test here at Trinity HS for

free on March 3rd, 2015. Student scores on this test are applicable towards college admissions applications during their senior year. Students will be given the opportunity to send their scores from this test to up to 4 colleges for free. To send additional score reports for a fee, you must log onto www.actstudent.org and click on Send your scores on the left-hand side of page next spring. Scores for that March ACT test are not on the high school transcript at this time due to restrictions by DPI.

PSAT TEST- GIVEN AT THS ON SAT., OCT. 18TH

• A pre-SAT test• Good practice for students in prep for a future SAT test

should they want to take it for college admissions• Taking the PSAT as a junior can qualify students with a

high enough score for the National Merit Scholarship competition

• As stated earlier, colleges put great emphasis on test scores, therefore, any practice a student can do is in their best interest.

SAT test- 2 or 4 year colleges

• Aptitude based test- Critical Reading, Math, & Writing sections

• Score range 200-800 for each section• To register for test, get registration information from Mrs.

Crotts in guidance office or at www.sat.org/register• Cost is $52.50 per test administration• Fee waivers applicable for free or reduced lunch-see Mrs.

Crotts.• Take at the end of Math III, no later than end of junior year.• If a student wants to compete for Early Action admissions

deadlines in fall of their senior year AND/OR competitive scholarships that have early deadlines, I would highly suggest they take the SAT in May or June of their junior year!

• SAT scores are not on the HS transcript. Test scores be sent directly from the College Board testing agency: http://sat.collegeboard.org/scores

• Re-designed SAT comes out in March 2016! Will likely impact current 10th graders.

What Is A Good ACT or SAT Score?• It all depends on which colleges you are interested

in applying to!– (Avg. score ranges based on College Board 2015 publication)

• Duke University 1360-1550 ( SAT CR + M only)/ 31-34 (ACT)• Wake Forest is test optional (applicants must have personal interview)• UNC-Chapel Hill 1200-1400/ 26-31• ASU-1050-1220/ 24-28• UNCC- 1000-1170/ 21-25• ECU- 960-1170/ 20-23• WCU- 940-1120/ 20-24• Lenoir-Rhyne- 890-1090/ 19-23• High Point- 980-1170/ 21-26• NC Central- 800-950/ 17-19• Winston-Salem State- 820-950/ 17-19

Minimum admissions standards to UNC system institutions

• Appalachian State East Carolina• Elizabeth City State Fayetteville State

• North Carolina A&T State North Carolina Central• NC School of the Arts North Carolina State

• UNC-Asheville UNC-Chapel Hill• UNC-Charlotte UNC-Greensboro• UNC-Pembroke UNC-Wilmington

• Western Carolina Winston-Salem State

THEN….YOU MUST MEET THESE MINIMUM ADMISSIONS STANDARDS:

1) 2.5 WEIGHTED CUMULATIVE GPAAND…

2A) 800 SAT SCORE (CRITICAL READING & MATH ONLY) OR

2B) 17 ACT COMPOSITE SCORE-+

Going to College• Highly recommend students creating an account and

regularly using www.cfnc.org• Their motto is “Plan, Apply, and Pay for College”

– Plan: materials on their website allow students to align their high school curriculum to their college & career goals

– Apply: students can apply online to most any 2-year/4-year NC college using CFNC & send their HS transcript

– Pay: students can search for NC based scholarships only available through CFNC; parents can set up 529 savings accounts for their children through CFNC and also get parent/student loans through CFNC.

Planning for College

Applications• Grades from 9th grade are reflected in a student’s cumulative GPA

when they apply to college• If you plan to apply to one of these colleges, taking AP classes is a

MUST:– Davidson, Duke, NC State, UNC-CH, Wake Forest– Other colleges that it would be helpful to take AP to improve your file: ASU,

UNCC, UNC-Wilmington (these are getting more competitive)– Talk to individual colleges to see what kind of curriculum they expect to see**Take advantage of CCP classes through Randolph Community College during the 11th & 12th grade years. A grade of “C” or better in these classes automatically transfer as college credit which translates into savings $$$$

Thinking about colleges….

• Research which colleges meet your needs! • Take into consideration: Majors offered, cost,

location, size of college, student demographics, extracurricular opportunities, financial assistance available, student’s maturity level, etc.

• Start taking visits to colleges in the 10th & 11th grade years and/or attending college fairs to see if you “click” with that college. Many people change their mind after a college visit.

• Students can also start out at the community college first and then transfer to a four-year college

Paying for College• If there are no college savings in place, then here are other options:

– Financial Aid- FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Based on family’s finances. Application available Jan. 1st of student’s senior year. Must re-apply each year in college. Completing the FAFSA is necessary for consideration for ALL grants & federally managed loans.

– Scholarships- Merit based, leadership, diversity, and/or athletically based. Students must show talent for academics or athletics. Typically, academically based scholarships require grades at minimum GPA of 3.0 or better and essays/interviews are likely required in application process. Another good website to look for scholarships is through www.fastweb.com

– Work Study- Students can be placed on campus to work for limited hours and earn money either to help pay for college costs or earn spending money. Apply through FAFSA

– BEWARE of scams- if it costs money, it’s a scam!– SAVINGS- If a parent of a 9th grader starts saving $100 a month beginning in the

month of October 2014, they will have saved $4,500 by the time the student is ready to go to college; $3,300 if you are the parent of a 10th grader, and $2,100 if you are the parent of an 11th grader.

Expenses of college- Check these out…

• The most expensive NC college, Duke University, costs $63,530 a year to attend and live on campus.

• NC State University costs $22,954 a year to live on campus.• UNC-Chapel Hill costs $24,120 a year to live on campus.• Appalachian State costs $13,438 a year to live on campus.• UNC-Greensboro costs $14,130 a year to live on campus. $4,500

of that cost is for campus housing.• The NC Community College system charges $72 per credit hour.

A typical course is worth 3 credit hours which would then cost $216. If you take a typical course load of 15 hours (5 classes), your total tuition cost for that semester is $1,080.

In Review….• Get involved in community & at school• Create data sheet early, save it, and add to it!• Start researching college options• Take college entrance tests & STUDY for them!• Visit colleges and/or college fairs• Get organized with dates/deadlines• This is a joint effort: family members need to work together

and help each other. • Talk to high school counselors and ask questions- we love

questions!

Survival Tips and Advice from a parent who has

lived it….• Mrs. Bell’s tips: – 1) Get on my email list- send me an email to

[email protected]– 2) Stay tuned to my website for announcements – 3) Do your own research through other means– 4) Make it a priority to find $$ for college– 5) See if CCP courses are a right fit for your child– 6) If a child is going to take an AP course, make sure

they study for their AP exam & take the test seriously in order to get the college credit.

Inside your CFNC folder tonight….• How to Plan a Successful High School Career document• Enrichment Opportunities for Students document• Volunteer Opportunities document• Sample student data sheet• Big Future handouts from The College Board- How to

Build a College List & Make a College Plan in 5 simple steps.

• How to Set up a CFNC account• ACT/SAT test dates & registration deadlines • Packet of stapled NC four year college profiles

QUESTION & ANSWER…• WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?• IF YOU THINK OF QUESTIONS LATER, please email me at:

[email protected] or call me at 861-6870 ext. 111

• Email Mr. Mel Jones (Names A-K) questions at [email protected] or call him at 861-6870 ext.112

• Please encourage other Trinity parents of seniors or underclassman to join my email group(s) or tell them to look at the my website & bookmark it for all this information. Go to the Trinity HS website & find my website under School Counselors on the left hand side of the page.