Making the Most of Senior Year at JFK

Mrs. Kimberly Leigh, Student Advisor

WHAT TO DO IN THE FALL (1ST SEMESTER) Meet with your counselor or student advisor

Build a relationship with them because they will be involved in your application process.

Make sure you are taking rigorous courses and courses that will help you get into college.

Colleges ask us (the counselors) what level of rigor your schedule is. They want to see that you are pushing yourself and aren’t being lazy senior year.

Build a schedule that will meet your educational needs

Meet with your Norco College Counselor Develop a plan for which course to take to obtain a certificate, AA degree, pathway, etc.

If you have not done so already, take the SAT or ACT. Also take the SAT Subject Tests.

You should have taken at least one of these tests 2 times.

This should be done by November otherwise scores may not be able to be used.

Start applying to colleges & attend JFK application workshop

Start looking for scholarships

Start planning your finances for the future

A TYPICAL 12TH GRADE SCHEDULETypical 12th Grade Schedule

1. Expository Reading and Writing (ERWC) – Language Arts

2. Government / Economics

3. Math

4. Science

5. PE, AVID, Health, History of Motion Pictures, or LA 4

6. College Course

7. Excel or Choice Excel (Students must meet the criteria for Choice Excel)

**This schedule is based on a student taking one college course that is 3 or more units****If a student does take a college course (3+ units), then they can have a minimum of 4 classes at JFK. **If a student takes 2 or more college courses, they can have a minimum of 3 classes at JFK.

We try to ensure that all of our students are on track to be A-G eligible, even if they do not plan on attending a 4 year

university after high school.

**Starting next year, seniors must take at least 2 A-G or Core Content classes.

MEET WITH YOUR COUNSELOR or STUDENT ADVISOR

Make sure that you are taking the right courses for transferring to either a 4 year university, a community college, or going into the workforce.

All students should be taking courses that meet the graduation and A-G requirements.

At JFK, we try to encourage students to take a 4th year of math and science.

A lot of students that aren’t going straight to a 4 year university tend to believe that they do not need to push themselves or meet any requirements for a 4 year university. This is FALSE!

Meet with a Norco College counselor ASAP to start planning your future and what courses to take for a transfer, certificate, or degree program.

THE SAT, ACT, or SAT SUBJECT TEST During your junior year, you should have taken the SAT and ACT. You

should have also retaken at least one of the tests to try to improve your scores. If you did not, make sure you take the test by November of senior year to ensure that the colleges will accept the score.

If you plan on attending an Ivy League or UC, you should plan on taking at least 2 SAT Subject Tests. While these are not always mandatory from the colleges, they do like to see them and it makes you a better candidate. EX: If you plan on majoring in Biology, take the SAT Subject Tests – Math II

and Biology.

Visit www.collegeboard.com or www.actstudent.org to sign up for these tests.

There are practice booklets for the SAT, ACT and SAT Subject Tests outside of the counseling offices.

Also, visit Mrs. Leigh prior to taking the test to see if you are eligible for a fee waiver. You can use up to 3 fee waivers in a calendar year.

APPLYING TO COLLEGE Attend college presentations and college fairs

Begin to fill out college applications earlier than later

The CSU and UC applications are due in November, but you can fill them out before that timeframe. The application usually opens October 1st.

Check each college’s website for details regarding application deadlines and early submissions for Early Decision and Early Action applications

The CommonApp has different due dates for every college along with different requirements. Make sure that you know what the requirements and deadlines are. Talk to your counselor!

The WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange)

Have a teacher or counselor review your application.

Attend the Saturday application workshops

So many little details that you may not know about

Make sure you use a teacher as a reference that really knows you and will write about your strengths (usually a core content teacher is ideal)

Submit your application early and make sure that ALL data is accurate

It is a difficult process to go back and change your applications once they have been submitted

Early Action vs Early Decision vs Regular Application

SCHOLARSHIPS

There are so many scholarship opportunities available to students!

Check the JFK Announcements for Scholarships, Sign up for Remind 101 or Check the JFK Website under the Guidance tab

The JFK Local Scholarship Packet becomes available at the end of November and is due in February.

Make sure to apply to the scholarships you are eligible to.

National Scholarships

Coca-cola, Gates Millenium, Dell, Colgate, HSF (Hispanic Scholarship Fund), etc.

Download the app “Scholly”

This app does cost money, but will help locate scholarships that you are actually eligible for.

WHAT TO DO IN THE SPRING (2ND SEMESTER) Complete all college applications that you haven’t submitted

Fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)

Attend our Senior Night and Cash for College Workshop

Submit your scholarship applications and the local scholarship packet

Check-in with your counselor Make sure that he/she has submitted all paperwork for your college

apps (if necessary)

Send Transcripts and Test Scores

Plan for your future--whether it is a 4-year university, community college, military, etc.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE AND KEEP UPDATED ON ANNOUNCEMENTS

Visit the Guidance page on the JFK website for more information regarding college and high school planning

We are currently refurbishing our website, so continue to check back for updates

Read the announcements and listen to them throughout the day

Our announcements are posted daily on our website and are also announced during Excel on Monday – Thursday. If a student isn’t listening to the announcements they may miss pertinent information like Norco College deadlines.

Follow us on Facebook (John F. Kennedy Middle College High School)

There are also special groups that the kids have created like “JFK Announcements” and “Class of 20**”

Sign up for our Remind 101 that we will be starting next month! (Text messages and emails sent directly to you) – Flyers are on the information table in the commons