This document provides information for a College Information Night at Saint Mary's high school. It includes an agenda for the event and discusses the college counseling program, the role of students and parents in the application process, choosing colleges to apply to, campus visits, standardized tests, and advice from current seniors. The main points covered are understanding the support provided by the college counseling office, taking ownership of the application process, applying to a range of college types and difficulty levels, and starting the process in junior year.

1. 1
Welcome
College Information Night for
Juniors
Monday, December 15, 2014

2. 2
Agenda
 Prayer
 Understanding the College Counseling Program &
Student Support at Saint Mary’s
 Welcome to Naviance….What to expect
 Review Junior “Planning for College Calendar”
 Guest Speaker Eric Abrams, Diversity Director
University of California, Berkeley, HAAS School of
Business,

3. 3
What we do at Saint Mary’s
•Host events like tonight and Coffee with the College
Counselors each trimester.
•Meet with students and parents.
•Plan A Block and Lasallian Day curriculum for juniors
on essay writing, college searches, application
preparation and completion, building the college list
and Family Connection.
•Host college representative visits in the fall of senior
year.
•Support student applications, public and private,
through the process

4. 4
What we’re seeing in admissions – Why?
The pressure grows ………..…
● College admissions is about marketing
● Students are applying to more schools
● Highly selective schools are more selective than
ever
● There is more stress than ever before as students
try to “do it all”
● Admissions offices are aware of outside influences
on applications
● And - average selectivity rate is relatively high.

5. 5
Role of Parents
Support, don’t manage the process
Be aware of dates, deadlines; let student do the
work
Remind as appropriate
Communicate openly with student about
financial considerations
Ask questions

6. 6
Who’s going to
college, anyway?

7. 7
Role of Students
Take charge of the process
Be aware of dates and deadlines:
last minute = poor presentation,
internet issues
Follow through on your own
Don’t assume someone else will do it for
you
READ the directions
Don’t forget to use your family connection

8. 8
Begin to keep track of information
-email that you check regularly
-log-on or username
-password
-pin
-“secret question”

9. 9
Choosing a College
(I wish I had started the process earlier)
Types of Colleges
- Public
- Private (independent, Church-affiliated)
Applications can differ significantly
- California Community Colleges
- Vocational Education

10. 10
Apply to a variety of Schools
6-10 schools is enough – do your research!
Reach/“dream school”
Target
Safety
Know yourself!
If you do, you will resist the temptation to over-
apply
All should be schools that would be a good fit
personally, socially, and academically

11. 11
Golden Rule of College Applications
Never apply to a college
whose offer of admission
you would not happily accept.

12. 12
Oh, Those Rankings!
 Washington Monthly College Rankings
(August issue)
 National Survey of Student Engagement
(NSSE)
 Best Party Schools
 Best schools for Sports
 (U.S. News and World Report )

13. 13
Get Information
Books
Internet
College fairs
College publications
Representative visits to school
Regional information events
Campus visits
Saint Mary’s web site
Parent Newsletter

14. 14
And…The Family Connection!
Start at the Saint Mary’s home page:
www.saintmaryschs.org
Click on student life, then college counseling, go to
link to the Family Connection
-or-
http://connection.naviance.com/saintmaryschs
• Students create their own log in
• Parents may access The Family Connection
as guests

15. 15
Campus visits
-spring of junior year
-visit when school is in session
-talk to students by yourself
-interview if appropriate
-call ahead
-open house days
-Lasallian Days and Enrichment Week

16. 16
Choosing Senior Courses
Challenge yourself to the extent you can still
be successful
AP or not?
Pay attention to prerequisites and requirements
Course requests beginning in February

17. 17
Student athletes
Eligibility Clearing House
https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/student/index_student.html
for initial eligibility
- register at end of junior year
www.ncaa.org for rules, programs, etc.
Students need to be academically eligible

18. 18
The Tests – take them in junior year
SAT Reasoning Test
or
ACT
(ACT has optional writing test, required by UC and highly
selective colleges)
some students take both; the highest score is used by colleges
SAT Subject Tests
(required by highly selective schools)

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To Prep…
Can teach strategies, “tricks”
Can teach some skills
Can ease stress about the test
Some scores improve
…or Not to Prep
Can be very costly
You have to do the homework
Can increase anxiety
No guarantees

20. 20
Colleges are looking for students who are
ready for college work
● Good grades in a strong curriculum through
senior year
● Standardized test results*
● A life outside of the classroom
● Leadership
● Not necessarily “well-rounded”
*Remember some colleges are “test optional.”

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What to do this summer:
1.Learn about and visit colleges – make your
“long” list
(decide if Early Decision/single choice Early
Action is right for you)
2. Sign up for “College Access”
3. Take a class, attend a program (some deadlines
are soon!)

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What to do this summer:
4. Develop and refine your “brag sheet/resume on
family connection.” Be able to describe your
honors and activities in a few powerful words.
5. Get organized
6. Register and prepare for fall SAT/ACT tests.
7. READ some books – good literature and non-
fiction
8. Consider which teachers you might ask if you
need recommendation letters

23. 23
Advice from seniors to juniors
- Apply to fewer colleges
- Apply to more schools
- Do things earlier – not wait until the last minute; put in
more effort
- Manage my time better/make a schedule for my time
- Research colleges better; include private schools
- Take tests earlier/not have to take them in fall at all
- Spend more time on essay
- If only I knew what I know now!

24. 24
Questions?