Wheaton North High School. Senior Handbook

Transcription

1 Wheaton North High School Senior Handbook Class of 2016

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 3 Senior Conference 4 Resources 4-5 College Fairs 5 College Representative Visits 6 Visiting Colleges 6 Application Process 7 Application Deadlines 8 Common Application 9 Types of Applications 10 Admission Decisions 10 Senior Year Matters 10 Retaking ACT/SAT 11 Sending ACT/SAT scores 11 Financial Aid 12 Scholarships 12 NCAA Clearinghouse 12 Rights and Responsibilities 12 Words of Caution 13 Senior Calendar/Timeline 14 2

3 INTRODUCTION This is it! This is where you wanted to be-senior YEAR! Now what? During this year you will be making many important decisions about your future. The Counseling Office is here to assist you in taking these important steps. The counseling staff has prepared this handbook to give you and your parents the essential information for a successful step into your future. Whether you are planning to go to college, the military, or directly into the world of work, there is information in this handbook you will need to know. Your counselor is available to work with you throughout the year as you plan for your future. If in doubt, do not hesitate to stop by the Guidance Office anytime to schedule an appointment with your counselor to see you during ACCESS. We are here to help! You can also ask questions when your counselor visits your ACCESS. Chances are your classmates have some of the same questions. This handbook was prepared for your benefit and we encourage you to refer to it throughout the year. 3

4 SENIOR CONFERENCES Individual Senior Conferences will begin Monday, August 31 st and continue through the month of September. The purpose of this meeting is two-fold. The first part is to do a credit check to ensure all of the pieces are in place for your graduation and that you are taking the proper courses*. In the second part, you and your counselor will discuss your post-secondary plans. This is the time you will have to ask questions about specific college applications. Deadlines, recommendation letters, and essays will also be covered during this part of your conference. Every counselor will have their Senior Conference schedule posted in the College and Career Center for your benefit. Please stop by the CCC to check the date and time of your meeting. *If you plan to graduate at the end of first semester, please tell your counselor during your conference and be sure to submit the proper paperwork to the registrar by December 6 th. RESOURCES The Counseling section on WNHS.org! Whether you are going to a college or university, a trade school, the military, or directly into the world of work, this internet site will be helpful to you. Begin by logging onto Click on STUDENT SERVICES then GUIDANCE DEPARTMENT. NAVIANCE NAVIANCE is a web-based tool created specifically for students to help communicate electronically with their counselor and link their information and the resources they need to evaluate, select, apply and pay for college. Track information specific to you about college events, scholarships and college applications. Check online to check the status of your application(s) Receive personalized s and reminders from the WNHS Counseling Department regarding visiting colleges or potential scholarships. How to Access NAVIANCEo Go to o User and Passwords are your school s0 number and school pw 4

5 COLLEGE & CAREER CENTER (CCC) The CCC has computers available for students use to explore colleges and careers. Monthly Scholarship Bulletins and applications are on file. Stop in during your lunch or other free period and learn about the many opportunities beyond high school. CAREER CRUISING Career Cruising is a computer program which provides large amounts of information covering occupations, colleges, trade schools and financial aid. Interest and aptitude testing is also available on this site. This is an Internet program, which means you can use it from home, as well. User ID wheatonnorth password - falcons NAACP College Fair Saturday, August 29 8:00 AM 4:00 PM Waubonsie Valley High School Aurora, IL Chicago Performing and Visual Arts College Fair Sunday, September 20 th 1:00 PM 3:30 PM DePaul University Theatre School Chicago, IL National College Fair Saturday, September 26th 11:00 AM 3:00 PM Navy Pier - Chicago National Christian College Fair Tuesday, October 8th 6:30 PM 8:30 PM Aurora Christian School 2255 Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL COLLEGE FAIRS College of DuPage College Fair Tuesday, October 20th Glen Ellyn Campus-Student Services Center 6:00 PM 8:00 PM* *This fair tends to get very crowded, so it is highly recommended to ARRIVE EARLY to ensure parking 5

6 COLLEGE REPRESENTATIVE VISITS On average over 125 college representatives visit Wheaton North each year. To maximize the effectiveness of these visits the procedures will be as follows: Visitations will be during the school day and held in the College and Career Center. Students must sign-up using their Naviance account at least 24 hours in advance. When you sign-up you will receive a pass on the day of the visit from the Counseling Office. Present this pass to your teacher for final approval. A teacher always reserves the right to keep you in class. To get a listing of upcoming visitation dates and times listen to the daily announcements, check the digital board in the commons and/or NAVIANCE, or simply view the College Representative Schedule posted inside the CCC. There is no substitute for seeing a college yourself. To set up a college visit, call the school s admission office or go to the school s website. VISITING COLLEGES Please follow the WNHS Attendance Office procedure for pre-arranged absences. If possible: Sit in on a class, have a meal in the cafeteria, stay overnight, talk to as many students as possible, and talk to professors in your area of interest. Set up an appointment with an admission counselor Go prepared to ask questions. Bring your unofficial transcript It is extremely important that you visit the college before you make your final decision to attend. COD Field Trip, Spring :30 am - 1:30 p.m. exact date TBA Seniors who have applied to C.O.D. may sign-up for this field trip sponsored by the Wheaton North Guidance department. Registration for this trip will be limited to the first 40 students who sign-up in the guidance office starting in second semester. Check with your counselor in January for the exact date in March. Junior Senior Night at College of DuPage-April, 2016 exact date TBA 6:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. 6

7 COLLEGE APPLICATION PROCESS Reminder: WNHS uses a weighted 4.0 GPA. Also, WNHS does not rank or provide percentiles. Please review the School Profile on wnhs.org for the Class of 2016 GPA distribution. STEP 1. STEP 2. STEP 3. STEP 4. Log into your NAVIANCE account and move school(s) from your colleges I am thinking about to colleges I m applying to under the colleges link Naviance Username and PW are now your s0 number and school PW Here you can complete the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) waiver if you are using the Common Application. Counselor Will Not complete your application until this process is complete! Begin application Start an online application Go to your prospective college s website, click the admission link, and then follow the individual college/university procedures. Please see your counselor for instructions if you would like to use a paper application If you have a college listed under colleges I m thinking about on Naviance there is a visual to the right of the colleges name. If there is a screen icon then the college uses online applications. If there is CA inside the screen then the college uses the Common application (see following page for more information on the Common App). Complete application Write your essay in a word document then cut and paste it into application. If essays are required, seek review by teachers and counselors before submitting. PROOFREAD! PROOFREAD! PROOFREAD! Request teacher recommendations early (if required) Make sure your prospective colleges require a recommendation. Many colleges such as U. of I do not require them nor will they read them if sent Complete Teacher Recommendation Form (Green Sheet) found in the CCC, and give to teacher. Make sure to make a copy for yourself. If using the Common App, be sure to indicate it on this form for teachers! Only put the colleges that require a recommendation on the form. Instruct teachers to upload recommendation into your Naviance account. Requests must be made by OCTOBER 1 ST! Teachers may not accept requests after this date. Check with your counselor in two-three weeks to ensure letter has been uploaded. This information is not viewable in a student s Naviance account. THANK TEACHER FOR WRITING RECOMMENDATION 7

8 STEP 5. STEP 6. If your application requires a counselor recommendation: Complete the top of Counselor/Secondary School Recommendation form from your prospective college/university and turn it in with your transcript request (see below). Don t forget to sign it, if requested! If you have not done so already, fill out the Falcon Information Sheet. Your counselor will write a recommendation and upload into your Naviance account. Fill out transcript request form and turn in with any required materials to your Counselor Forms are located in College/Career Center (CCC) or online at Go to Student Services then Registrar, and then click transcript request form There is a $5.00 charge for each transcript request. (cash or check made out to WNHS) Be sure to check all boxes that apply and don t forget to sign the form! All materials (official transcript, letters of recommendation, school forms) will be sent out together electronically using Naviance Edocs. Transcript form must be handed personally to your counselor. You are not allowed to drop it off with the secretary or leave on your counselor s desk. * The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign does not require nor accept an official transcript to be sent at time of application. Instead students will complete a self-reported Academic Record. However, students still must put UIUC down on NAVIANCE under colleges I m applying to. STEP 8. MID-YEAR REPORTS: Some schools require a mid-year report. Give the appropriate forms to your counselor with your transcript request. ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS MUST BE TURNED IN AT LEAST 10 SCHOOL DAYS BEFORE APPLICATION DEADLINE!! APPLICATION DEADLINES Application Deadline: Nov. 1 Nov. 15 Dec. 1 Jan. 1 Jan. 15 Must be in Guidance by: Oct. 15 Nov. 1 Nov. 6 Dec. 4 Jan. 4 It is recommended to have University of Illinois must have application materials completed and postmarked (if mailing in application) no later than November 1st. Priority deadline for Illinois State and Northern Illinois is November 15th, so apply early!!! 8

9 When: Where: Register: COMMON APPLICATION WORKSHOP Tuesday, September 29th during all ACCESS periods Counseling Center Sign-up through Naviance under College Visits link WHAT IS THE COMMON APPLICATION? The Common Application (CA) is a not-for-profit organization that serves students and member institutions by providing an admission application online and in print that students may submit to any of 456 colleges/universities. WHY USE IT? There are 456 colleges that use the Common Application, which is intended to make applying to colleges easier. With the Common App, you fill in information about yourself and your family only once. If you are applying to lots of schools (talk to your counselor if you are only applying to one Common App school), it s convenient to only have to fill in such things as your contact information, coursework, extracurricular activities, and your parents background one time. This allows you to spend less time on the busywork of applying for admission, and more time on what's really important: college research, visits, essay writing, and senior year coursework. COLLEGE SUPPLEMENTS Colleges may have some questions that are specific to their school, which the student must complete as a supplement. It is vital you check for any supplements for every college you will be receiving your common application OTHER COMMON APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS In addition to individual college supplements, every Common App will include a Secondary School Report, Midyear Report, Final Report, and Teacher Evaluations (normally one or two). These reports are completed by your counselor and sent to schools with your transcripts. COMMON APPLICATION PROCESS Log on to commonapp.org website, create a profile (don t forget to indicate WNHS as your high school) Research and select perspective colleges Complete Common App. o Don t forget to complete individual college supplements Log into your NAVIANCE account (if you can t remember your log-in see your counselor ASAP) Click on the Colleges tab then click the colleges I m applying to link Complete the IMPORTANT PRIVACY NOTICE FOR COMMON APPLICATION and submit THE COMMON APPLICATION When completing the Privacy Notice form be sure to use your Common App username and password and NOT your NAVIANCE username and password. Once the above form is completed with your Common App username and password your Common Application account and NAVIANCE account will be linked together. This means WNHS will be able to submit transcripts, secondary school reports, and teacher evaluations for the Common App through NAVIANCE. 9

10 TYPES OF APPLICATIONS Early Decision: In this process, a binding commitment is made by you to the institution that, if admitted, you will enroll. You may apply to other colleges, but only one can be an Early Decision application. All other applications must be for regular deadline. If accepted to your ED school, you MUST withdraw ALL other application offers. Early Action: This process permits you to submit an application to an institution of preference and receive a decision early in your senior year, well in advance of the normal response dates in the spring. You are not committed to enroll at that particular institution. The student may apply to other colleges. BEFORE YOU APPLY ED OR EA, TALK WITH YOUR COUNSELOR TO ENSURE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE COMMITTING TO! Regular Deadline: There is a specific deadline for applying. The student is usually notified of the admissions decision by April 1 or April 15. The student, in turn, must notify the colleges by May 1 as to whether he/she will attend or not attend. Rolling Admissions: The college notifies the applicant as soon as the application has been processed, usually in four to six weeks. It is to the student s advantage to apply early; however, some colleges may defer a decision until they receive seventh semester grades. ADMISSION DECISIONS Accept: The applicant is formally admitted to the college or university Deny: Admission was not granted Defer: The college or university determines that more information is needed to make a final decision about the applicant. They will often want to see the seventh semester grades and/or new test scores. Wait List: If a student is notified that he/she is on a Wait List, this means that the college has many more qualified students than they can accept. There are specific strategies that help when students are waitlisted. Therefore, students should seek the help of their guidance counselor. SENIOR YEAR MATTERS Colleges expect you to maintain the same level of academic performance that you have shown during your first three years of high school, which means also taking the same level of courses your senior year! Some schools may want to check 7 th semester grades before making admission decisions. You must notify a college if you drop classes after you have applied. A final transcript will be sent to your college of choice after graduation (this is a free service) Do not forget that grades still count towards your final GPA. Colleges who accept you in the fall can rescind their offer of admission in the summer based on final transcript grades and courses taken. 10

11 RETAKING THE ACT/SAT Seniors who are not satisfied with their test scores from the spring are encouraged to retake the test. The following dates are for ACT and SAT tests that will be administered this fall. Parents and students should contact their counselor to discuss testing and other admission matters. GRADE LEVEL TEST DATE REGULAR DEADLINE 12 th ACT Oct. 24 Sept th ACT* Dec. 12 Nov th SAT & Subject Tests* Oct. 3 Sept th SAT & Subject Tests* Nov. 7 Oct th SAT & Subject Tests* Dec. 5 Nov. 5 The Guidance Office has mail-in registration packets for both the ACT and SAT. However, both testing companies recommend registering on-line at for the ACT and for the SAT. * WNHS is not a test center for these dates. All other test dates are on Saturday mornings at WNHS All tests have a registration fee; an extra fee is required for late registration Seniors considering EARLY DECISION, EARLY ACTION, or PRIORITY DEADLINES need to pay special attention to the the October 9 th SAT dates SENDING ACT/SAT SCORES Test scores are not on your transcript. Colleges will not process applications until they receive your test scores. ACT Scores- must specify which test score to send Go to act.org Be sure to specify the month/year for the specific score you want sent SAT Scores- must specify which test score to send Go to Colleges will always take the best score regardless of when it was achieved! 11

12 FINANCIAL AID Do not rule out the possibility of attending colleges based on cost until researching all forms of financial aid. The College/Career Resource Center has many resources on financial aid. Financial Aid Night Wednesday, September 30th at 7:00 p.m. at Wheaton North The FAFSA-Free Application for Federal Student Aid will be available on-line January 1, 2016 The Financial Aid Offices at your school of choice will have useful information on grants and scholarships SCHOLARSHIPS Monthly Scholarship Bulletin: Scholarship information will be updated monthly beginning in October and is available in the CCC, at wnhs.org, and on Naviance Applications or website information is available in the CCC. Follow all instructions and WATCH DEADLINES CAREFULLY! Those requiring a transcript, follow transcript release procedures for applications. NCAA CLEARINGHOUSE All athletes expecting to participate in athletics at the collegiate level should submit their transcript to the NCAA Clearinghouse. Forms are available at You must print two copies of the form (now and final) to send with an official transcript and turn it in with a completed transcript request form to the registrar. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES YOU HAVE RIGHTS! It is your right to wait until May 1st to make your college selection. If a college pressures you to make an enrollment deposit or accept a financial aid or scholarship offer before May 1 st, notify your counselor. (This is different from housing deposits-see below for details) YOU HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES! Meet all application deadlines set by colleges. Make your final college choice and notify the college you will attend by May 1st. Notify the colleges you are NOT attending by May 1st. YOU SHOULD MAKE AN ENROLLMENT DEPOSIT ONLY AT 1 SCHOOL. HOUSING DEPOSITS To ensure housing at your prospective colleges it is okay to submit a housing deposit to more than one school. However, before sending a deposit, make sure to check to see if it is 100% refundable if you decide not to attend. Every school has different non-attending notification deadlines that you are responsible to meet to receive a full refund. Therefore, it is very important to check the deadline for each school. 12

13 WORDS OF CAUTION Make sure your address is college admissions appropriate! Admission offices do not need to see funny or risqué addresses. Remember you are trying to convey a professional and mature image. The best address should be your first initial and complete last name, for Example, jdoe@gmail.com If you use FACEBOOK, Twitter, Instagram, or other social media sites be very careful about what you put on your account. These sites are public forums and colleges, as well as employers, are now using them more frequently to check up on students GOOD LUCK AND DON T FORGET TO SEE YOUR COUNSELOR ASAP WITH ANY QUESTIONS! 13

14 SENIOR CALENDAR/TIMELINE SEPTEMBER OCTOBER Deciding on final list of colleges. Meet with high school counselor to discuss plans. (Senior Conference) Visit the CCC, and wnhs.org, and Naviance to get applications and scholarship information. Continue visiting campuses. Attend College Fairs, including COD. Make a master calendar of admission & financial aid deadlines Financial Aid Night Sept. 30 7pm Ask for letters of recommendation by October 1 st from teachers, coaches, counselors, or employers. Begin working on college essays. Retake ACT and SAT exams, if needed. Attend National College Fair in Chicago. Early decision application deadline NOVEMBER DECEMBER U. of I priority deadlines must be postmarked by Nov. 1st Retake ACT and SAT exams Complete and submit college applications to school counselor before Thanksgiving. Priority deadline for several colleges including ISU and NIU Nov. 15 th. Final deadline for many colleges and all applications should be submitted to counselor by Dec. 4 Attend Financial Aid help sessions Happy Holidays! Early Grads- make sure form is turned in! Go to fafsa.ed.gov to obtain pin # JANUARY FEBRUARY Gather tax information and begin applying for financial aid. Plan to complete solid academic classes this last semester. Give counselor "Midyear" grade reports if required by college. Submit FAFSA electronically or by mail. Continue to apply for financial aid-check wnhs.org and guidance office for monthly updates. Continue scholarship searches. Narrow down choice of colleges to 2-3 and make final campus visits. MARCH APRIL Priority consideration given to financial aid applications received by March 15th. Check for local scholarship applications online and in Guidance Office. Register and pay fees for AP tests. Keep up your grades! Continue to check local scholarship information. MAY JUNE Make decision on which college you will attend by May 1st. Confirm or decline admission with all colleges where you have been accepted. Begin housing process-mail in request for residence hall and roommate assignment. Take AP tests. Graduate!!! Enjoy your summer! 14