PONCHATOULA HIGH SCHOOL

SENIOR PARENT MEETING

Remind 101Graduation Requirements

Post-secondary Options

ACT/SAT/Compass

TOPS

Financial Aid

Scholarships

College Search

Class of 2015 – Text reminders from Remind101

Ponchatoula High School App

GraduationWednesday, May 20, 2015

Graduation Requirements

Diploma Track (specific course requirements)

Core 4 (24 credits)

Basic (24 credits, AOC)

Career (23 credits, AOC)

EOC (End of Course tests)

English II or English III

Algebra I or Geometry

Biology I or US History

Louisiana High School Graduation Requirements PHS Course Offerings

(for students entering 9th grade in August 2008 through August 2013) La Core 4 Curriculum Basic Core Curriculum

English – 4 units English I, I, III, and IV

Math – 4 units Algebra I or Algebra I Pt. 2 Geometry Algebra II Remaining unit shall come from the following: Financial Math, Math Essentials, Advanced Math – PreCalculus, Advanced Math – Functions and Statistics, Calculus

Science – 4 units Biology Chemistry 2 units from the following: Physical Science, Integrated Science, Physics, Biology II, Chemistry II, Environmental Science, Agriscience II, Anatomy and Physiology

Social Studies – 4 units Civics American History 2 units from the following: World Geography, World History, Psychology

Health – ½ unit Physical Education – 1 1/2 units Foreign Language – 2 units

2 units from the same foreign language or 2 units of speech

Arts – 1 unit Fine Arts Survey or one unit of Art, Music, or Theatre

Elective – 3 units Total units = 24

English – 4 units English I, II, III, and IV or Senior Applications in English

Math – 4 units Algebra I or Algebra I Pt. 2 Geometry Remaining units shall come from the following: Algebra II, Financial Math, Math Essentials, Advanced Math – PreCalculus, Advanced Math – Functions and Statistics, Calculus

Science – 3 units Biology 1 unit from physical science cluster: Physical Science, Integrated Science, Chemistry I, Physics I 1 unit from Biology II, Chemistry II, Environmental Science, Agriscience II, Anatomy and Physiology

Social Studies – 3 units American History Civics 1 unit from World History or World Geography

Health – ½ unit Physical Education – 1 ½ units Electives – 8 units

Education for Careers or J ourney to Careers Shall include the minimum courses required to complete a Career/Technical Area of Concentration

Total Units = 24

Note: Students who qualify may graduate with a Career Diploma instead of the Louisiana Core 4 or the Louisiana Basic Core. See you counselor for information.

Area of Concentration• http://www.louisianabelieves.com/docs/course-choice/2013-2

014-area-of-concentration-guide-(effective-through-cohort-2017).pdf?sfvrsn=4

• Complete 4 primary courses• Education for Careers I & II• * course in AOC• 2 additional courses

• Complete 2 related courses• Computer course• 1 additional course

Spelling of NameSocial Security #Date of Birth

Course

Credit Earned

GPA

Total Credits

Post Secondary Options

• Employment• Apprenticeship• Technical/Trade School• 2 year college• 4 year college• Military

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcNSpKX8kVs

Two-Year Colleges – 44.5%

Four-Year Colleges – 34.8%

College Dropout Rate2013

First to Second Year

Source: ACT

Louisiana 4 Year Public College15.5%

Louisiana 2 Year Public College8.8%

Useful Websites

• http://www.bls.gov/ooh/a-z-index.htm

• http://www.laworks.net/Stars/default.aspx

• http://www.self-directed-search.com/

College Admission Tests

ACTwww.actstudent.org

• Avoid remedial/developmental classes• English subscore of 18• Math subscore of 19

• 17 composite required to qualify for TOPS Tech

• 20 composite required to qualify for TOPS Opportunity• April 30 deadline w/o penalty• June 30 deadline w/ loss of 1 semester of funding

SAThttp://sat.collegeboard.org/home

• 820 needed to qualify for TOPS Tech

• 940 needed to qualify for TOPS

Compass Test• COMPASS is a computer-based test designed to test an

individuals knowledge of subject areas. There are two subject areas: Math and English. This test is not timed. Compass tests are administered Mon. - Thurs. by appointment. The institution fee for this exam is $10 per test and must be paid prior to scheduling an appointment. A student may take each section two times.

• To help you prepare to take the compass exams, here is the website to review the study guides:

http://www.act.org/compass/sample/index.html

• To schedule an appointment call (985) 549-3897

Paying for College

TOPShttp://www.osfa.la.gov/index.jsp

• TOPS (Taylor Opportunity Program for Students) is a program of state scholarships for Louisiana residents who attend either one of the • Louisiana Public Colleges and Universities• Louisiana Community and Technical College System Schools• Louisiana approved Proprietary and Cosmetology Schools• Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities

• The four award components of the TOPS Program are: • TOPS Opportunity Award • TOPS Performance Award • TOPS Honors Award • TOPS Tech Award

• Completion of TOPS Core Curriculum for award level

• Qualifying ACT/SAT scores for award level• Opportunity Award - 20• Performance Award - 23/additional $400 per year• Honors Award - 27/additional $800 per year• Tech Award 17

• Qualifying ACT/SAT scores for award level

• Minimum 2.5 GPA in TOPS Core for Opportunity and Tech• Minimum 3.0 GPA in TOPS Core for Performance and Honors

http://www.osfa.la.gov/MainSitePDFs/Core_Curriculum_14.pdf

http://www.osfa.la.gov/MainSitePDFs/TOPSTechCoreCurriculum.pdf

http://www.osfa.la.gov/MainSitePDFs/TOPS_Tuition_Amounts.pdf

http://lela.org/documents/2012-2013%20Guide%20to%20College%20Cost.pdf

2.5 minimum

Financial Aidhttp://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

It is necessary to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)in order to be considered for most federal financial aid programs. Many state financial aid programs and various scholarships also require the submission of the FAFSA. The Department of Education processes the FAFSA and notifies applicant with the Student Aid Report (SAR).

• LOSFA - TOPS & FAFSA Presentation • January

• LELA – assistance with completing FAFSA• College Goal Sunday @ SLU

• March 1, 2015• 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Scholarships• PHS Counselors’ Web Page

• http://tangischools.org/Page/21351

• LELA• http://asklela.org

As you begin your scholarship search, please keep in mind the following:Sifting through the lists of scholarships will take time and may even prove frustrating as you read through lists of criteria, but a few hours of work may pay off with a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars (not necessarily a free ride, but every amount counts)! 

* It should not cost money to win money! Be wary of scholarship applications that charge a fee.

        * Be wary of companies that charge a fee for finding you grants and scholarships…everyone can apply for grants and scholarships on their own.

        * If you join a scholarship search service (one that required personal data) be aware that you may be signing yourself up for lots of junk mail

* If you are told that you have received an award for which you never applied, be wary!!

PHS Website

Lela

Decisions, DecisionsHow to Pick the Best College for You

• Checklist for College Planning• Admission Requirements• Rankings• Location• Your Potential Major• Costs and Financial Aid• Faculty

http://www.lela.org/documents/2014-15_Senior_Checklist.pdf

Louisiana Public UniversitiesGrambling State University www.gram.edu/Louisiana State University – Alexandria www.lsua.edu/Louisiana State University – Baton Rouge www.lsu.edu/Louisiana State University – Eunice www.lsue.edu/Louisiana State University – Health Science Center New Orleans www.lsuhsc.eduLouisiana State University – Health Science Center Shreveport ww.sh.lsuhsc.edu/index.htmlLouisiana State University – Shreveport www.lsus.edu/Louisiana Tech University www.latech.edu/McNeese State University www.mcneese.edu/Nicholls State University www.nicholls.eduNorthwestern State University www.nsula.eduSoutheastern Louisiana University www.selu.eduSouthern University – Baton Rouge www.subr.edu/Southern University – New Orleans www.suno.edu/Southern University – Shreveport www.susla.edu/University of New Orleans www.uno.edu/University of Louisiana at Lafayette www.ull.edu/University of Louisiana at Monroe www.ulm.edu/

Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities

(LAICU)

Centenary College www.centenary.edu/Dillard University www.dillard.edu/Louisiana College www.lacollege.edu/Loyola University www.loyno.edu/New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary www.nobts.eduOur Lady of Holy Cross College www.olhcc.eduOur Lady of the Lake College www.ololcollege.edu/St. Joseph Seminary College www.sjasc.eduTulane University www.tulane.eduXavier University www.xula.edu

Transfer Degreehttp://www.latransferdegree.org/whatistdg.html

Louisiana Community and Technical College System Community

Colleges www.lctcs.edu

Baton Rouge Community College www.mybrcc.eduBossier Parish Community College www.bpcc.eduDelgado Community College www.dcc.eduLouisiana Delta Community College www.ladelta.eduNunez Community College www.nunez.eduRiver Parishes Community College www.rpcc.eduSouth Louisiana Community College www.southlouisiana.edu

Technical Community Collegeswww.ltc.edu

L.E. Fletcher Technical Community College www.fletcher.edu/Sowela Technical Community College www.sowela.eduLouisiana Technical College www.ltc.edu

Louisiana Proprietary Schools

American School of Business http://www.americanschoolofbusiness.com/Aveda Institute http://www.avedainstitutes.com/Ayers Career College http://www.ayers.eduCareer Technical College http://www.careertc.com/Crescent City School of Gaming & Bartending http://www.crescentschools.com/Delta School of Business & Technology http://www.deltatech.edu/Diesel Driving Academy http://dda.eduFortis College http://www.FortisCollege.eduITI Technical College http://iticollege.edu/Louisiana Culinary Institute http://www.louisianaculinary.comRemington College http://www.remingtoncollege.edu/South Louisiana Beauty College http://www.slbc-houma.com/

Comparing Colleges• http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/higher-

education/college-score-card

• http://whichcollege4u.org/

• http://www.aft.org/pdfs/highered/JUSTASK_042711.pdf

• http://www.nextstepu.com/tools/college-match/

• https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/

Ponchatoula High School College & Career Fair

Thursday, 9/115:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

New Orleans National College FairPontchartrain Convention & Civic Center

Tuesday, September 309:00am - 12:00pm, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Baton Rouge National College FairBaton Rouge River Center

Wednesday, October 1 9:00am - 12:00pm, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Additional Info• Request for a letter of recommendation should be

submitted at least one week in advance.

• Dual enrollment students – request transcripts• SLU• http://www.southeastern.edu/admin/rec_reg/transcript_request/• Louisiana Technical College

• Do not pay for form completions or scholarship searches.

ACT Score = Composite, English, Math

TOPS GPA = 2.5, 3.0

Overall GPA

Deadlines – Priority, Application, Housing

Scholarships

FAFSA – after Jan 1

Register with NCAA Clearinghousehttp://web1.ncaa.org/ECWR2/NCAA_EMS/NCAA.jsp

Counselors

• A-D

Denise Latour• E-K

Orlisa DePhillips• L-Q

Katharine Meadors/Alice Salassi• R-Z

Tommie Robertson