As of Monday, all Juniors have been given their Naviance registration codes. This means the class of 2013 can be the latest group of students to become deeply addicted to the world of scattergrams, scholarship searches, and college planning. When I first got Naviance the summer before I started here at ElRo, I spent HOURS exploring the site.
See the last post for basic information about the steps that Juniors need to take. If you are a junior, don't be surprised if I start hounding you when we are back from break if you haven't set up your account and taken your survey.
For now, a few words of caution for new Naviance users.
- Data is tricky. What I mean by that is when you look at something like a scattergram don't follow the temptation to assume that where your red circle falls is a definite indication of if you will or won't get in to that particular school. Just because someone 'lower' than you got in, doesn't mean that you will. Same as just because someone 'higher' than you got denied, it doesn't mean that you will too. The data can also be misleading because as amazing as Naviance is, it isn't smart enough to combine and take the highest of the ACT/SAT to display on one graph. So, sometimes, a student will come up looking rather mediocre on the SAT grid when in actuality that little green dot has a very high ACT score hiding in the wings. (You can toggle between the ACT and SAT graphs by using the drop down menu on the page)
- Your 'red circle' on the scattergram is based on your GPA (which is from your transcript and includes grades from 9th and 10th grade - 11th grade grades will be added when they are posted in June - we are annualized!) and your current testing. If you've taken the ACT or SAT and I've been sent scores by the company, those will be reflected. If you haven't taken those tests yet (which is most of you) your circle is going to be based on your highest PSAT scores.
- Don't just explore the colleges you know. Half of the fun of a great program like Naviance is you can quickly get information about a slew of campuses that you may never have heard of before. I'd never heard of Tufts before I went there. Give new places a chance.
- Do confirm that the information listed in your profile is accurate. You can update your email address if there is one you use more frequently. You can also enter your parent/guardian information, fix errors in your address/birthday/etc.
- Your parents/guardians will get access to Naviance at the junior meeting. If they can't wait and need it now, first enter their information and email address into the 'about me' profile page. Then email me and ask me to activate their account. Remember, STUDENTS need ownership of this process, so while parents can view Naviance for their child, they cannot edit information (or see the Junior Survey).
- Don't forget to take a break to do things like eat, shower, and sleep. The website isn't going anywhere ;)
Not a junior? Email me and I can give you the guest log in for our Naviance site. It isn't quite the same since you can't see your specific information, but I hope it can take the edge off until spring of your Junior year.
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