Overview of Senior Year Timeline and Using Naviance in the College Process

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

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.

What Colleges Consider: ◦ Quality of courses

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.

◦ Interview (if required)

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.

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

Senior Year: ◦ Fall 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

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

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

◦ Winter 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

◦ Spring 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

◦

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)

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

◦ Merit Based Scholarships

University of Pennsylvania (UPENN) Deadlines

Required Documents Early

Decision Regular Decision

Penn Financial Aid Supplement

(PFAS)

Nov. 1-15,

2012 Feb. 1, 2013

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

Feb 15, 2013*

FAFSA Apr. 15, 2013 Apr. 15, 2013

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

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.

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

Select what Colleges You’re Applying to

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

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

Figure What Application is Used by the Colleges You’re Applying to

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

Common App Non-Common App

Step 2

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

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

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

Submit Your Applications

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

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

Send Your Standardized Test Scores to Prospective Colleges

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

Using Naviance – Our “Delivery” System

The previous steps require research, planning, and preparation on the student’s part.

You can help, but make sure your student takes ownership 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

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

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 of their Family Connection account called “Colleges I’m Applying to”.

Step 5

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 our STEM website under the “College and Career Counseling” tab.

Step 5

Step 5

Step 5

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

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

Inviting Teachers to Upload Letters of Recommendation

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

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

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

Requesting Transcripts from Your Counselors

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

•Provide student e-mail address •Submit multiple forms if needed •$2 processing fee with first request (cash or check) •Allow 10 school days for processing

•Check eDocs OR Common App not both •If the school is Mail Only do not check any other boxes •Include a copy of your activity resume and junior questionnaire

Tracking Your Application “Package”

Step 8

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)?