Junior Conference Packet

Transcription

1 Junior Conference Packet College Essay Topics and Tips College Search Criteria Worksheet Activities Resume Student and Parent Brag Sheets 2017/18 Guidance Activities Naviance Family Connection: PLEASE RETURN THIS PACKET TO THE GUIDANCE OFFICE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (The Guidance Office will schedule Junior Conferences AFTER receiving this completed packet.) Junior Conference Checklist - 1

2 ESSAY TOPICS FOR THE COMMON APPLICATION The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don t feel obligated to do so. (The application won t accept a response shorter than 250 words.) Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again? Describe a problem you ve solved or a problem you d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, or an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. Discuss an accomplishment or event (formal or informal) that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family. Junior Conference Checklist - 2

3 TOP TEN TIPS FOR WRITING A COLLEGE ESSAY (provided by Start early. The more time you have, the less stress you ll have. You need time to give your best effort. Be yourself. Take a moment to think about what interests you, what you love to talk about, what makes you sit up and take notice when mentioned in class or on TV. Then write about it. One of the biggest mistakes students make is writing what they think others what to hear, rather than about an issue, event, or person that really had significance for them, says an admission and financial aid officer at a New York college. Be honest. College admission officers have read hundreds, even thousands of essays. They are masters at discovering any form of plagiarism. Adapting an story, buying an essay from a website, getting someone else to write your essay - admission officers have seen it all. Don t risk your college career by taking the easy way out. Take a risk. Don t settle for the essay that everyone else is writing. Imagine an admission officer up late reading essays. Do you want that person to nod off because he or she has already read ten essays on that topic? The danger lies not in the writing bad essays but in writing common essays, says an associate director at a Pennsylvania high school. Keep in focus. This is your chance to tell admission officers exactly why they should admit you. Unfortunately some students try to list every single reason, their stellar academic record, their athletic prowess, their community service, all in a page or two. When that happens, the essay looks like a grocery list. Instead, read the essay question carefully and jot down a few ideas. Then choose the one that looks like the most fun to write about. Stick to that main theme. Use the essay in a creative way to help the admission officers get to know you as a person. Write and rewrite. For your first draft, write anything that comes to mind about your topic. Don t worry about grammar or spelling. Let it rest for a few days. When you come back to the draft, look for ways to make it more focused. Are there details that don t relate to the topic? Cut them. Do you need more examples? Add them. One suggestion is to remove the introductory and concluding paragraphs. These paragraphs often have unnecessary detail. Another suggestion, go through the essay and cut very and many. These words are vague, essays are stronger without them. Get a second opinion. After you ve rewritten the essay, find someone who can give you advice on how to make it better, a favorite English teacher, a parent, or friend who writes for the school paper. Ask them what they like best, and what you can do to improve it. Criticism of your writing can be tough to hear, but try to listen. You don t have to make every change suggested, but you should seriously consider each suggestion. Proofread. Finally, you re ready to send your essay. Read it over and look for those little errors that can creep in as you write or edit. It can be difficult to catch minor typos-you ve read the essay so many times that you see what should be there rather than what is there. To make sure you catch everything, read your essay out loud or have someone read it out loud to you. Or, read the essay backward, from the last sentence to the first. That helps errors stand out. Be accurate. One thing I ve often seen is that students who apply online submit sub-par essays, says a director of admission. He has found that essays submitted online tend to be much shorter than those submitted on paper. In addition, students often use language, no capitalization, abbreviations such as BTW, which are not appropriate. Make sure that you put as much effort into an online essay as you would if you were sending it snail mail. Don t expect too much from an essay. The application essay is important, but it s not the only thing considered. Can the essay make a difference in getting the thin versus thick envelope? Absolutely, says the New York director, but that is the exception rather than the rule. Admission officers look at the whole package, your academics, extracurricular activities, standardized tests, etc. A great essay rarely makes up for a weak academic record. Make sure your essay is written well, and the rest of your application receives the same attention. Junior Conference Checklist - 3

4 Name Counselor COLLEGE SEARCH CRITERIA WORKSHEET GENERAL SEARCH o Public o Co-educational College o Urban (25,000 or larger) o Small (less than 2,000) o Private (all of below) o Men s College o Suburban (10,000-25,000) o Medium (2,000-7,499) o Private or Catholic o Women s College o Rural (Less than 10,000) o Large (7,500-15,000) o Private or Jewish o Very Large (over 15,000) o Private or Secular o 2 Year School o Historically Black College o 4 Year School GEOGRAPHIC SEARCH CHECK AREA AND CIRCLE APPROPRIATE STATE o North - New England CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT o Mid-Atlantic NJ, NY, PA, DE, MD, Washington D.C. o South AL, FL, GA, KY,LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA o West AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, OR, UT, WA, WY o Midwest IN, MN, SD, MI, NE, ND, OH, KS, WI, IL, IA, WV, MO o Outside U.S. Puerto Rico, U.S. Territories, Foreign MAJORS SPECIFIC MAJOR(S): o Agriculture Business o Agriculture Sciences o Architecture o Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies o Art and Music o Biological Sciences o Business and Management o Business and Office o Chemistry, Physics, and Physical Sciences o Communications o Computer o Drama, Dance & Film o Education o Engineering o Engineering Technologies o Foreign Languages o Health Sciences o Health Allied o Health, Therapy and Counseling o Home Economics o Law o Liberal Arts o Library Sciences o Literature & English o Marketing o Mathematics o Military Technologies o Parks, Recreation o Philosophy & Religion o Psychology o Social Sciences & Public Administration o Teacher Education special and by level o Teacher Education specific subjects o Trade & Industry Are there any colleges in which you are particularly interested? Are you willing to travel? Fly? Are you interested in participating in college athletics? Which ones? Junior Conference Checklist - 4

5 Name School Related: Counselor ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION Services, School/Community: Non School Related: (including interests, hobbies) Summer Activities: Work Activities: Junior Conference Checklist - 5

6 Name Counselor STUDENT BRAG SHEET Please complete this form. You may use a separate sheet of paper for your responses. 1. List 3 adjectives that describe you, and give an example of each. 2. What do you consider to be your greatest personal strengths? Why? 3. Are there any unusual circumstances that may have impacted your academic performance, or is there anything about your academic history that you would like to explain? Junior Conference Checklist - 6

7 4. What class(es) do you find most interesting and why? 5. Indicate your most significant accomplishments /achievements in extra-curricular activities. 6. Is there anything else you would include if you were writing your own letter or recommendation? Junior Conference Checklist - 7

8 Name Counselor PARENT BRAG SHEET Please complete this form. You may use a separate sheet of paper for your responses. 1. List 5 adjectives that describe you, and give an example of each. 2. What makes your child stand out? Please give a story to illustrate your point. 3. Are there any unusual circumstances that may have impacted your child s academic performance? Junior Conference Checklist - 8

9 4. If you were writing your child s recommendation letter, what key elements would you include? 5. Given the rising cost of college tuition, when selecting colleges, are there any financial constraints you would like us to be aware of? For example, are you considering both private and public colleges? 6. Additional comments: Junior Conference Checklist - 9

10 GUIDANCE ACTIVITIES December: Ø SAT Test Date: 12/2 (away) Ø ACT Test Date: 12/9 (away) January: Ø Junior Awards Application due: 1/5 Ø Alumni Day: 1/9 Ø Eighth Grade Orientation & Scheduling: 1/11, 7pm (snow date 1/17) Ø February ACT Registration: 1/12. Late Fee Required: 1/19 Ø Kaplan Practice ACT/SAT Exam: 1/13 at SSHS February: Ø March SAT Registration: 2/9. Late Fee Required: 2/28 Ø College Symposium: 2/1, 7pm Ø ACT Test Date: 2/10 (away) March: Ø April ACT Registration: 3/9. Late Fee Required: 3/23 Ø SAT Test Date: 3/10 (away) April: Ø May SAT Registration: 4/6. Late Fee Required: 4/25 Ø ACT Test Date: 4/14 at SSHS May: Ø June SAT Registration Deadline: 5/3. Late Fee Required: 5/23 Ø June ACT Registration: 5/4. Late Fee Required: 5/18 Ø SAT Test Date: 5/5 at SSHS Ø HOLLER College Consortium at Molloy College: 5/14, 6pm June: Ø SAT Test Date: 6/2 at SSHS Ø ACT Test Date: 6/9 (away) Ø Senior Awards: 6/5, 7pm Ø July ACT Registration: 6/15. Late Fee Required: June 22 Ø SSHS Graduation at Hofstra: 6/22 Junior Conference Checklist - 10