SLIDE 1
Overview of Senior Year Timeline and Using Naviance in the College Process
SLIDE 2 What Have We Done to Prepare Our Students?
Davirah Timm-Dinkins
The 12th Grade College Planning Timeline
- Review of STEM Counseling Department
- College Admission Factors
- Senior Timeline: College and Financial
Kellie McGavin-Wiedlich
The Use of Naviance in the College Process
- Naviance Update
- Common Application
- STEM Application Procedures
Leanne Glowik
FAQs
SLIDE 3 Offered individual Junior Meetings for students and parents
starting in October 2012
Junior Timeline Presentation in April 2013 College Admissions and Naviance Presentation in May 2013
- Included College Essay overview and helpful tips
Trained teachers on Naviance system and uploading and
submitting letters of recommendation
Submitted our school profile to 400 colleges/universities, as well
as inviting them to visit STEM
Created a comprehensive Naviance training guide for our
students
Up to date Counseling webpage on our STEM website with
several resources, including scholarship, college essays, financial aid, important timelines, etc.
SLIDE 4 What Colleges Consider:
Challenging curriculum throughout four years
- Academic performance/grades
Keep improving through every grade level
- Test Scores – SAT/ACT/SAT Subject
- Extra-Curricular Activities
- Community Service
- Work Experience
- Essay/Personal Statement
- Letters of recommendation
From teachers, counselor, coach, etc.
SLIDE 5 What students should consider:
- Size and diversity of student body
- Location
- Academic Programs
- Campus life: athletics, activities, housing
- Student Services: Accommodations
- Financial Aid and Scholarship opportunities
- Freshman Year Retention Rate
- If at all possible visit each campus, take a tour, sit in on a
class, talk to students and faculty.
SLIDE 6 STEM Academy Counseling Website
Naviance: Family Connection www.collegeboard.org www.educationplaner.org www.passhe.edu: PA State Schools www.princetonreview.com/college http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
- List of colleges and universities by state
SLIDE 7 Senior Year:
Plan College Visits and Interviews (if applicable) Prepare and take the SAT, SAT Subject Test or ACT Make final selection of schools (6-8) Reach, Realistic and Safety Schools Create a Master List or Calendar of Important Info including : Application and Financial Deadline Dates Materials Needed, Fees, STEM Requirements Pay close attention to your deadlines. Request teacher/ counselor recommendations Essay Submission Requirements Fees: Fee Waivers
SLIDE 8 Early Decision (I &II) : Binding
- Cannot apply early to other colleges, can apply regular decision
Early Action: Non-Binding
- Can apply early to other colleges, can apply regular decision
Single Choice/Restricted Early Action: Non-Binding
- Cannot apply early to other colleges, can apply regular decision
Rolling Admission
- Open admission, no specific deadline
Regular Decision
- Deadline date established by the institution
- Priority Deadline
SLIDE 9 West Chester University
GPA: 3.46 SAT: (CR) and (M) 1080 (480-570) (W)
Penn State University
GPA: UPARK: 3.52-3.97 Other Campus: 2.96-3.46 SAT: UPARK: 1750-1990 Other Campus: 1470-1720 ACT: UPARK: 26-30 ACT: Other Campus: 21-25
Villanova University:
GPA: 3.81 SAT: 1340-1440 (CR and M) ACT: 30-33
Temple University
GPA: 3.42 SAT: (CR) 500-600 (M) 510-610 (W) 480-570 ACT: 20-26
Drexel University
GPA: 3.5 SAT: (CR) and (M) 1210 ACT: 27
University of Pennsylvania
GPA: Not reported SAT: (CR) 680-770 (M) 700-790 (W) 690-790 ACT: 31-34
SLIDE 10
Apply for Financial Aid and Scholarships
Early Decision Applicants: Required Forms College Required Financial Forms CSS Profile: If required by school: After October 1, 2013 Explore Outside Scholarships: Scholarship Bulletin
National Notification Deadline for Colleges: April 1 National Candidate Reply Date and send in Deposit: May 1 Let the Counseling Office know where to send your final transcript Student Athletes: NCAA Clearinghouse Requirements *Request Final Amateurism Certification Online: After April 1 *Request Copy of Final Transcript
SLIDE 11
- Steps to Federal Student Aid
Collect financial aid information required by schools Student/Parent: Apply for a PIN at anytime: pin.ed.gov FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) www.fafsa.gov FAFSA Application Submission: After January 1, 2014 Student Aid Report ( Expected Family Contribution) Financial Award Letters Issued in Spring Compare your Financial Aid Awards Tool (College Board)
SLIDE 12 Types of Student Financial Aid
- Grants: Federal/State/College
- Loans: Federal
- Work Study Opportunities
Steps to Institutional Aid CSS Profile: Available October 1, 2014 Used by many Early Action/Early Decision Institutions Comprehensive list of Schools: http://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile Fee: $25 Original Application Fee/One College $ 16.00 additional college/program
SLIDE 13 University of Pennsylvania (UPENN) Deadlines Required Documents Early Decision Regular Decision Penn Financial Aid Supplement (PFAS)
2012
CSS/PROFILE
- Nov. 6, 2012
- Feb. 1, 2013
Noncustodial PROFILE
- Nov. 6, 2012
- Feb. 1, 2013
Parents' and Student's 2011 federal income tax returns, all schedules, pages and W-2 Forms
- Nov. 6, 2012
- Feb. 1, 2013
Parents' and Student's 2012 federal income tax returns, all schedules, pages and W-2 Forms
Feb 15, 2013* FAFSA
- Apr. 15, 2013
- Apr. 15, 2013
SLIDE 14 STEM Academy Counseling Page: Scholarship Links
My College Dollars: Scholarship Search
https://apps.facebook.com/mycollegedollars
Net Price Calculator: Estimate college cost http://studentnpc.collegeboard.org/ http://www.youcandealwithit.com/parents/before-college.shtml http://www.pheaa.org/ http://www.eductionplanner.org
SLIDE 15
Overview of how to use Naviance as a tool in the
college application process.
Review the general college application process and the
role of Naviance in this process.
SLIDE 16
1.
Select what colleges you’re applying to
2.
Figure out application types, i.e. Common App vs. Non-Common App
3.
Submit your college applications – your “package”
4.
Send your test scores via Collegeboard/ACT
5.
Using Naviance – our “delivery” system
6.
Letter of Recommendation invitations
7.
Requesting initial transcripts
8.
Tracking your package
SLIDE 17
Select what Colleges You’re Applying to
SLIDE 18
There is no rule that dictates the exact number of schools
that you should apply to, but in general, it is recommended that you should apply to 6 to 8 different colleges or universities.
Begin with 15 or so possible choices and narrow down your
list after carefully researching schools, visiting their campuses and talking with students.
Apply to those schools that are a good match for your
personality, interests and career goals.
As a general rule of thumb, make sure your final college list
consists of approximately: 3 reach schools, 3 match schools, and 2 safety schools.
Step 1
SLIDE 19 Match/Target Schools A match school is a college that you are pretty likely to get into because your test scores, class rank and / or high school grades fall right into the middle range when you look at the school's
- profile. Note that even stellar students should consider the top U.S. colleges and top
universities to be reach schools, not match schools. The admissions standards for these schools are so high that nearly perfect SAT scores and a straight 'A' transcript are no guarantee of acceptance. Reach Schools A reach school is a college that you have a chance of getting into, but your test scores, class rank and / or high school grades are a bit on the low side when you look at the school's profile. The top U.S. colleges and top universities should always be considered reach schools, for the admissions standards are so high that not even perfect SAT scores guarantee acceptance. Likely Schools A likely school is a college that you will almost certainly get into because your test scores, class rank and / or high school grades are well above average when you look at the school's profile. Even if you're a valedictorian with perfect SAT scores, you should never consider the top U.S. colleges and top universities to be safety schools. The admissions standards at these schools are so high that no one is guaranteed acceptance.
Step 1
SLIDE 20
Figure What Application is Used by the Colleges You’re Applying to
SLIDE 21
Naviance is a delivery system and college/career
search engine – think of it as the “post office”
A student’s account in Naviance is referred to as their
Family Connection account
They can access Family Connection in Naviance on the
Counseling website
Step 2
SLIDE 22
Common App Non-Common App
Step 2
SLIDE 23
The Common App is a free undergraduate college
admission application that applicants may use to apply to any of the 500+ member colleges and universities in 47 states and the District of Columbia.
In Naviance, a Common App school is designated by
the symbol.
You can access the Common App by going to
www.commonapp.org
Step 2
SLIDE 24
Some schools are Common App exclusive, which means they
do not accept any application other than the Common App. Some schools accept both the Common App and their own individualized, web-based application.
We STRONGLY encourage you to apply via the Common App
even if the college or university offers an alternate application for admission.
Of course, this does not apply for schools who do not accept
the Common App. To view the 500 schools that accept the Common App, check out the members page of the Common App website.
Step 2
SLIDE 25
Some colleges and universities have opted not to accept
the Common Application.
Instead, they have created their own individual applications
that, in most cases, are web-based and can be found via the school’s undergraduate admissions website.
Just because a school does not accept the Common App
does not mean that they do not accept the transmission of important documents like letters of recommendation and academic transcripts through Naviance.
When a non-Common App school allows us to submit
documents through Naviance, we call it an eDocs school. An eDocs schools is designated by the symbol.
Step 2
SLIDE 26
Submit Your Applications
SLIDE 27
Complete and submit your applications via the
Common App or whatever web-based application your school requires.
Take your time completing your application and essays
– this is a very important step!
We ask that you please submit your applications to
your prospective colleges prior to requesting letters of recommendation and requesting transcripts via your Family Connection account in Naviance.
Step 3
SLIDE 28
These include: Early Decision (ED), Early Action (EA),
Regular Decision, and Rolling Admissions
Students must decide which type of admissions policy
they are using when applying to their prospective schools
Application deadlines are dictated by admissions
policies.
Step 3
SLIDE 29
Send Your Standardized Test Scores to Prospective Colleges
SLIDE 30
STEM does not send your standardized test scores to
college.
Students must log into their Collegeboard and/or ACT
accounts to send official test score reports.
Your son or daughter may have already opted to have
scores automatically sent when they sat for the test.
This step can be completed before or after students
apply to prospective schools.
Step 4
SLIDE 31
Using Naviance – Our “Delivery” System
SLIDE 32 The previous steps require research, planning, and
preparation on the student’s part.
You can help, but make sure your student takes
- wnership of this process!
The next few slides provide an overview of how the
student will use Naviance as part of the college process.
Step 5
SLIDE 33
School Profile Transcripts Letters of Recommendation Mid-year Reports School/Counselor Report Year End Report Naviance is the delivery system through which we will send many important documents to your prospective colleges and universities.
Step 5
SLIDE 34 Family Connection is what the student’s account is
called in Naviance.
Students can access the link to Naviance on the
Counseling website.
Their username is their student ID # and their
password is their DOB.
From this step forward, students will “live” in an area
- f their Family Connection account called “Colleges I’m
Applying to”.
Step 5
SLIDE 35 This is the section where the students will “live”. They can request letters of recommendation and
transcripts within in this section.
Students must also designate the application type
within this section as well as indicate that they’ve applied to the school.
We have created a step-by-step user guide to support
students through this process.
This guide can be found on the Counseling section of
- ur STEM website under the “College and Career
Counseling” tab.
Step 5
SLIDE 36
Step 5
SLIDE 37
Step 5
SLIDE 38 For Common App schools, students are required to
match their Common App and Family Connection (Naviance) accounts.
The Common App matching form appears in the
Colleges I’m Applying to page
In order to match the Common App account, students
must first complete the following steps in their Common App account:
- Complete the Education section of your Common Application
- Add at least one college to My Colleges tab
- Sign the FERPA Release Authorization
Step 5
SLIDE 39
This allows us to have one central processing and
delivery system for important school documents, e.g. transcripts, letters of recommendation, secondary school report, school profile, Common App School Report, Common App Teacher Eval, etc. as opposed to using several different websites to deliver forms.
Step 5
SLIDE 40
Inviting Teachers to Upload Letters of Recommendation
SLIDE 41
Students “invite” their teachers to upload and send
letters of recommendation in two steps:
1.
Providing them with a hard copy, blue form, which indicates the schools they’re asking the teacher to write to.
2.
Adding the request digitally on their Family Connection account.
Step 6
SLIDE 42
The submission type on Naviance should match the box you check on the request form.
List the schools that you’re asking your teacher to write to
Step 6
SLIDE 43
The vast majority of schools will accept electronic
submissions
If a school is mail only , you must provide an
addressed & stamped envelope to each teacher so they can mail their letter.
Electronic Submission (non- CA) Application, Letters of Recommendation, and Transcript Paper Submission Application, Letters of Recommendation, and Transcript Electronic Submission (CA) Application, Letters of Recommendation, and Transcript
Step 6
SLIDE 44
Requesting Transcripts from Your Counselors
SLIDE 45
Students ask their counselor to upload academic
transcripts in two steps:
1.
Providing them with a hard copy, pink form, which indicates the schools they’re asking the counselor to submit their transcript to.
2.
Adding the request digitally on their Family Connection account.
Your counselor will also send a personalized letter of
recommendation along with your transcript.
Step 7
SLIDE 46
mail address
forms if needed
with first request (cash or check)
days for processing
Common App not both
Only do not check any other boxes
activity resume and junior questionnaire
SLIDE 47
Tracking Your Application “Package”
SLIDE 48
Step 8
SLIDE 49
SLIDE 50
My student has submitted a transcript request form.
Why hasn’t it been processed?
Does my student need to turn in a blue letter of rec
form to their counselor?
How does a student designate which teachers are
writing for which schools?
If Naviance isn’t an application, why does my student’s
account need to be matched to Common App?
Does my student need to turn in multiple transcript
request forms for multiple different deadlines (i.e. early decision and early action)?
