Junior SeminarNovember 2013

The important Junior Year

Why is junior year considered the most important year of your high school career?– Meeting requirements for graduation– Planning for post-secondary goals: college,

career-readiness, and other pathways

Graduation will be here before you know it…

WILL YOU BE PREPARED FOR WHAT’S NEXT?

GOALS OF JUNIOR SEMINAR

Review graduation requirements/transcript Understand college admission criteria Identify resources available for help Establish a timeline for junior year

Standard Diploma

Advanced Studies Diploma

Standard Diploma 22 standard credits 4 English 4 Social Studies 3 Math 3 Science 2 Health & PE 5 Electives (Must include 1

fine art or career/tech elective; and 2 sequential electives)

1 Econ & Personal Finance Verified credits (6)

Advanced Diploma 26 standard credits 4 English 4 Social Studies 4 Math 4 Science 2 Health & PE 3 World Language (or 2x2) 1 Fine art or career tech 1 Econ & Personal Finance 3 other electives

Verified Credits (9)

Standard vs. Advanced

What are verified credits?

A verified credit is earned when a student passes a course and the associated end-of-course SOL test.

In some cases, students may utilize substitute tests or certifications to earn verified credits

What is a TRANSCRIPT??

The transcript is a report of all the courses you have taken and the final grades in each course.

The level of rigor of each class is included on the transcript (AP, Honors).

Your GPA (grade point average) for each year and the cumulative GPA for all the years up to now.

The GPA is weighted—extra points for Honors and AP classes are accounted for.

Your attendance record Your verified credits

What do colleges want? Strong academic record

Extracurricular, Athletic, and Community Involvement

Well-prepared application package – required demographic forms, essays/personal statements, and teacher/counselor recommendations– It is very important to get to know a few of your teachers and your school

counselor so that you can get good recommendations for college

College Entrance Exams

• ACT (American College Test)– Consists of five subjects: English, Math, Reading,

Science, and Writing– Writing component is optional (though recommended)– Top composite score is 36

• SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test)– Consists of three subjects: Verbal, Math, Writing– Each test is scored on a scale of 200-800 TEST FEE WAIVERS are AVAILABLE if your receive

FREE/REDUCED lunch!!

Take the SAT and/or ACT in the Spring of 2014

“What if I’m not ready to go to college?”

Gap Year Military Apprenticeship programs (through FCPS

ACE) Two-year Colleges/Community Colleges Employment

Use Your Resources

School Counselors

Mrs. Foster @ the Career Center

Teachers

Share plans with us and we will help you explore your

options!

FCPS 24-7 and Family Connection

To get to Family Connection you must enter through your Blackboard/FCPS

24‐7 account (http://fcps.blackboard.com). Click on Family Connection logo.

Use Family Connection

View and exchange information about your plans with school counseling staff through this extensive resource!

About Me-Develop plans-Record activities -Identify skills & interests (Interest Surveys)

About College-Search for colleges-See College acceptances (Scatergrams)

From Your School

-Messages from Mrs. Foster

-Additional resources for career & college exploration

College Scatergram

Junior Timeline

Fall 2013 – Review graduation requirements to make sure you’re on track

Winter 2014 – Begin exploring Family Connection as a research tool for college and careers

February/March 2014 – Register for college entrance exams SAT or ACT

Spring - Summer 2014 – Visit colleges, start college essays, start college list. Counselors will be meeting juniors individually at this time for course registration.

September 2014 – Tentative college list is submitted October 2014 – Early Decision/Early Action requests for

transcripts, counselor recommendations are submitted to your counselor

Before you know it…