Class of 2019 Parent Boot Camp Mrs. Harmon- College and Career - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Class of 2019 Parent Boot Camp

• Mrs. Harmon- College and Career Specialist

Parent Boot Camp Agenda

• 1. Introduction- Mrs. Harmon
• 2. Warm-up activity
• 3. Application pointers- Coalition, Common and Institutional applications
• 4. Application deadlines
• 5. Requesting and sending official transcripts and score reports
• 6. SSAR (UF, FSU, FAU, FL Poly, NCF and Flagler)
• 7. How to pay for college- FFAA (Bright Futures), FAFSA private scholarships

(Google Classroom)

• 8. NCAA- College student athletes
• 9. Student Resumes, Letters of recommendation and Essays

10.College visits - to LNHS and visits to the campus

Contact Information:

• Mrs. Harmon

College and Career Specialist maxima.harmon@ocps.net To schedule an appointment: mharmon.youcanbook.me Google Classroom code: 4vfshku Remind: text @lnhsco2019 to the number 81010

Now it’s time to try and think like an Admission Officer looking over thousands of college applications. Volunteers please...

Many Colleges and Universities accept either the Coalition Application or the Common Application! In Florida: Common Application- Coalition Application- FSU, UF, Stetson University, Florida Southern College and University of Tampa

Application Deadlines and ways to apply:

Deadlines will vary depending on the institution. It’s best to verify the application deadline from the institutions website. November 1st is typically a big application deadline. Rolling Admission- Students can apply throughout the year. Typically students are notified of acceptance within weeks of applying. It is recommended students apply early in the year versus later even with Rolling Admission. Early Decision- Students can apply early to the college and if they are accepted they must attend the

• institution. Often is a binding contract.

Early Action-Students can apply early to the college and do not have to make a decision until May 1st. This is non-binding. Priority Deadline- Students that apply by priority deadline are often considered for the best Financial Aid packages available. The early bird gets the work kind of thing. Transfer Deadline - This is only for students that are currently full time college students and wish to transfer to another institution not full time Dual Enrollment students.

• Transcript request form is located in Student Services from Ms. Mosholder.

Forms are due by Wednesday before noon for pick up on Friday. Students may also request for transcripts to be sent electronically. Check the back of the transcript form to see if the institution accepts the electronic version.

• Some institutions are now requiring students to complete the SSAR report in

lieu of sending in hard copies of their transcript. Again, check the institutional website to make sure you don’t miss a step. Florida Institutions include: FAU, FL Poly, FSU, NCF, UF and Flagler College.

Checklists Print an application checklist for every institution your student is applying to. In some cases there are additional steps to complete in order for the application to be considered complete. This information is provided on the checklist. UCF UF FSU FIU Flagler College

• 1. Students should sign up to take the SAT and/or ACT as soon as possible. The

school day SAT will be on October 10th, 2018.

• 2. Many of the top institutions will require at least one or two Subject tests. Some

are very specific on the ones they want students to take and others will let students choose. If this is something your student needs to apply to his/her college please have them sign up to take Subject tests as soon as possible.

• 3. Official score reports should be requested as soon as possible. Score report

requests can take 5-6 weeks to process. SAT- https://www.collegeboard.org/ ACT- https://www.act.org/ Official score reports cost around $12 each.

SAT Test Dates-- www.collegeboard.org Test Date Registration Deadline Late Registration Deadline Fee-- $46 Late Registration With Essay-- $60 Fee- $29 August 25, 2018 July 27, 2018 August 15, 2018 October 6, 2018 September 7, 2018 September 26, 2018 November 3, 2018 October 5, 2018 October 24, 2018 December 1, 2018 November 2, 2018 November 20, 2018 March 9, 2019 February 8, 2019 February 27, 2019 May 4, 2019 April 5, 2019 April 24, 2019 June 1, 2019 May 3, 2019 May 22, 2019

Students on Free/Reduced lunch have two free SAT/ACT waivers and four college application fee waivers.

ACT Test Dates-- www.ACT.org

Test Date Registration Deadline Late Registration Deadline Fee-- $46 Late Registration With Essay-- $62.50 Fee- $29.50 July 14, 2018 June 15, 2018 June 22, 2018 September 8, 2018 August 10, 2018 August 26, 2018 October 27, 2018 September 28, 2018 October 14, 2018 December 8, 2018 November 2, 2018 November 19, 2018 February 9, 2019 January 11, 2019 January 18, 2019 April 13, 2019 March 8, 2019 March 25, 2019 June 8, 2019 May 3, 2019 May 20, 2019 July 13, 2019 June 14, 2019 June 24, 2019

Ways to help pay for college:

• 1. Florida Financial Aid Application- Bright Futures and other state scholarships.

This application becomes available on October 1st. This application is for state

• scholarships. Counselors and College and Career Specialist will help students

with these applications early in November during their English classes. If a student does not have English at LNHS they can complete the application on their

• wn and reach out to their counselor or Mrs. Harmon if they need assistance.

Bright Futures Requirements:

SAT ACT GPA*

• Com. Serv. Hrs.

Florida Academic (FAS) 1290 29 3.5 100 Florida Medallion (FMS) 1170 26 3.0 75 Foreign Language: 2 consecutive years *GPA weighted in Core Classes

Gold Seal Vocational 880 17 English 3.0/3.5 30 19 Reading

• 2. Free Application for Federal Student Aid- FAFSA

This is application becomes available also on October 1st. This application must be completed for students to receive Federal Aid in the form of a Pell Grant and/or institutional aid. Colleges will require the FAFSA be completed before they can award your student scholarship money. If your application is reviewed and you receive notification you are eligible for a Pell Grant that amount can vary up to the top award of $5,920. A Pell Grant is money that does not need to be paid back. It is “free” money. Help with completing this application will be available throughout the school year beginning at our Financial Aid Night on October 3rd. 4-6 PM is the help with FAFSA application in the Media Center and 6-7:30 is the informational portion in the Auditorium.

• 3. Google Classroom - Students should check the Class of 2019 Google

Classroom page at least once a week. I will post any scholarship information I receive on this page. Parents are not able to join the Google classroom as it is

• nly available for OCPS students. (Code to join: 4vfshku)

Parents can join Remind. I use Remind to send messages that relate to scholarships, graduation, etc. To join: @lnhsco2019 to 81010

• 4. Raise.me - Students can create a profile and update with information from 9th-

12th grades. (Classes taken, community service, SAT/ACT tests taken, attendance, participation in clubs or sports) The colleges students choose to “follow” will reward them with micro scholarships. The money that is earned on Raise.me will be divided up into a 4 year scholarship once the student applies, enrolls and attends the participating institution.

• 5. Playing a college sport- NCAA Eligibility Center
• Students must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. There is an $80

registration fee.

• Making contact with potential college coaches is a must. The sooner contact

is made the better.

• Participating in “camps” at the college students plan on playing a sport is a

good idea. It helps student athletes be seen by coaches. Each sport has a slightly different process when it comes to recruiting.

• Division I and II offer scholarships Division III do not.
• Reach out myself or to Mr Chiles our Athletic Director if you have any
• questions. Counselors should also know the student is interested in playing

college level sports.

5 Things College Applicants can do to stand out in a good way

• 1. Students should develop a list of colleges they would like to attend and

research information about the college from their website. Students should assess who they are and what they’re good at and how that may fit in with the college’s strengths. They should be able to come up with a list of five reasons for applying to every school on their list.

• 2. Consider early options. Early Action (non binding), Early Decision (binding) or

Priority deadlines.

• 3. Show sincere interest. As it becomes easier for students to apply to multiple

schools electronically and by using the Common Application, admissions officers are alert for "stealth candidates" who do nothing but fill out the forms. If you want to be taken seriously, "you've got to show them some love," says Caroline Brokaw Tucker, an independent college consultant at Connecticut-based Dunbar Educational Consultants.

• 4. Pay attention to details. Optional essays? Write them. A chance to elaborate on

extracurricular activities? Take it. For students on the bubble, that bit of extra effort can make the difference in whether or not they are admitted.

• 5. Take the lead. Throughout the process, it's really crucial to remember that

students, not parents, are running the show. Students should take charge of creating lists, of arranging visits and interviews (and then do the talking), and should reach out to the admissions office with questions on their own, rather than having dad or mom do it on his/her lunch hour.

• 6. Help students create a “Master Calendar” with important dates and deadlines.

Calendars and Checklists will be your best friends!

• 7. All students should have a student resume ready by the start of school.

Sample student resumes are available to students on the Google Classroom

• Page. A one page resume is usually more than enough.

Students resumes should include:

• Emphasis on education (GPA, SAT/ACT scores)
• Volunteer and extracurricular experience (clubs)
• Leadership experience
• List of skills (computer, language, etc)
• Work Experience
• Coursework or summer programs that do not appear on the high school

transcript

• Mention achievements
• Hobbies

Letters of Recommendation:

The Do’s:

• Please make sure students make prior contact with the person they would like

to write their letter of recommendation.

• Allow at least 2 weeks for the person to write the letter.
• Give the recommender exact instructions on how or where to submit the

letter.

• Give the recommender a copy of the student resume.
• Send a thank you note or email after the recommendation letter is submitted.

College Application Essays:

Essays are not always required for every college application. It is best to check the institutions website and refer to the application checklist to make sure. If an essay or two are required, students should start those immediately. There is not one format or way the colleges expect students to use when they write their

• essays. Essays should be the students unique work and not written or altered by
• anyone. Colleges use the essays to get a better idea of what the student is like. It

is very important that the students’ “voice” comes through in the essay. Essays should be proofread multiple times before final submission. Parents, teachers, counselors, college and career specialist and other students are all people that can help proofread essays.

College Visits to LNHS Campus:

Colleges do come to our campus to visit with our students. Please encourage your students to sign up for these visits. Great information is always shared during these small group

• meetings. It is a great way for them to practice talking to Admissions Representatives. They

present information about Financial Aid that can be helpful no matter where the student plans on applying. 11th and 12th grade students can sign up for these visits on their OCPS laptops using OCPS Launch Pad and then accessing the app “Naviance”. There should be a section titled “Colleges or College visits”. They will be able to see what colleges have scheduled a visit and when. There is an option for them to attend the visit. I email teachers a list of names of students that have signed up for the visit and then report attendance once the visit ends.

*Field trips will also be scheduled throughout the year when possible. These will be announced on the school announcements and via Text Remind.

Thank you very much for attending! Questions? ¿Preguntas?

Contact Information:

• Mrs. Harmon

College and Career Specialist maxima.harmon@ocps.net To schedule an appointment: mharmon.youcanbook.me Google Classroom code: 4vfshku Remind: text @lnhsco2019 to the number 81010