Let the Madness Begin!

(And I don't mean Junior meetings - I mean basketball!) You can take the girl out of Indiana (ranked as a #4 seed, aahhhh!), but you can't take the Indiana out of the girl. My favorite time of year is here again where my love of amateur sports is combined with my love of colleges - it is time for March Madness!

This year is a bit unique for me, in recent memory, because there are soooo many more 'little guy' teams that made the cut.  This is exciting to me from a college counseling prospective because regardless while you could argue if it is fair or not, the exposure that comes from being a part of the tournament really can help students and families discover schools that they may ordinarily have overlooked. See the full Men's bracket here and Women's bracket here.

Some of my perennial faves? Davidson - pleassseee consider schools in the south, they can be awesome! Creighton - yes, it is in Nebraska. But it is ranked the #1 Regional University in the Midwest (yes I hate rankings, but I do like them if it helps a student/family open their mind to new options). Plus, it is Jesuit so it is automatically close to my heart as someone who has previously worked for a Jesuit school. And while we're in the Midwest, don't overlook Kansas - it is far less rural than it sounds and offers some really top offerings in journalism and communications without being prohibitively difficult to get into (I'm looking at you Northwestern and Syracuse).

So the next time you tune in to a game, fire up the Naviance as well and learn more about the schools themselves. PS - just for fun - if you are into the competition of it all, consider joining a charity bracket like the one being run by the One Percent Foundation - their mission is to encourage all people to donate 1% of their income to charity. Check it out!

Class of 2012 by the Numbers

I've recently transitioned form working mainly with seniors to working mainly with juniors. This is a significant thing for a lot of reasons, but this year in particular it is unique because the junior class came to ElRo the same year that I did. I can't believe two and a half years has gone so quick! But, I thought this would be an appropriate time to share some preliminary numbers about the Class of 2012 and their college application process.

# of seniors currently on register at ElRo: 135
# of applications filed: 1154
Average # applications per student: 8.5
# of teacher recommendations written: 286
# of acceptances, so far: 442
Average SAT score, 2400 scale: 1812
Average SAT score, 1600 scale: 1201*
Average Composite ACT score: 26

*This is our first year where the average SAT score ended up above 1200 on the 1600 scale. 

I plan to post a full summary, along with the list of schools where students were admitted, in May.

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Action Needed by Juniors!

On February 13, students from the class of 2013 were given their Naviance registration information - something significant in the path toward college applications but something also significant because it unlocks the chance for a student to sign up for their Junior College Meeting.

What do students need to do to get their meeting set up?

First, complete the Junior Survey (listed on Naviance, on the left of the About Me tab, see below). Please note, the survey will timeout if the page is not refreshed, so save often if you are not able to complete it in one sitting. This survey is required before you get a junior meeting because it is the foundation of your college file and can sometimes be used in your guidance letter of recommendation. This survey is for STUDENTS ONLY. Parents were mailed a paper survey where they can contribute to the student's file.

After you submit your survey, go to the Naviance home page and click on the bottom right hand side where there is a link about making your Junior College Meeting (see below). This will take you to a Google survey where you will tell me your preference for your Junior meeting. Remember, you may not miss class for your meeting, so you'll need to give me all the periods during the week when you are not in class (this includes lunch periods). This form should be completed by the student (it is linked with their ElRo email) with the input of parents/guardians.

Once the Junior survey on Naviance and Google based meeting request form is submitted you should hear from me within a few days with the day and time of your meeting. Meetings are given out on a first come/first serve basis so I strongly recommend taking advantage of this February break to get these items in.

Welcome to the World of Naviance!

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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Junior Kick Off!

I've been waiting for this week for awhile now - the start of the college process for students that came to ElRo the same year that I did! Well Class of 2013, the time is now! On Monday, we had the official kickoff to the college process with our College Office assembly. Students heard a very broad overview of the process in an assembly and were also given a paper copy of the College Office Handbook to hopefully take home, read, and share with parents/guardians. As an aside, each student will only get one hard copy of the handbook, so guard it well and don't lose it! Just in case, a digital copy of the College Office Handbook can be found here

Next Monday, Seniors will visit Advisory classes to present on how to use Naviance and then Juniors will register for their Naviance accounts. (Registration codes will be emailed to students on Monday and every student is expected to sign up by mid-week).

Once registered with Naviance, Juniors should complete their Junior Naviance Survey and then fill out the Junior Meeting Request online form in order to be assigned their Junior meeting with me. I know that is a lot of steps-- so, let's summarize:

1) Get trained on Naviance on Monday
2) Log in to ElRo email, get registration code, and sign in to Naviance for the first time
3) Fill out Junior Survey on Naviance
4) Using link posted on Naviance, fill out Junior Meeting Request
5) Keep an eye on your inbox to find out when your Junior meeting will be!

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Thanks University of Miami!

Thank you to the University of Miami for hosting me and 30+ other counselors on a counselor fly-in program so we could see the campus first hand. We have had an action packed day where we have had a chance to hear from various staff, students, and even President Donna Shalala - and one theme is clear - Miami occupies a niche that is very hard to find. As a private school, with an acceptance rate below 40%, with a student body of 10,000 students, near a city - it is a combination that is very, very, hard to find. Even more impressive is the significant diversity on campus - with around 50% of students identifying as students of color and 20% of students are international. If that isn't a global campus with a diverse perspective, I don't know what is.

In addition, it is one of few selective schools that still offers merit based scholarships and it is also one of few selective private schools that does not ask for the CSS profile. Multiple university staff poked fun at their counter intuitive tendency of offering a staggering amount of options to a relatively small group of students. In other words, for the number of clubs, services, majors, minors, and on-campus events amenities they offer students they should have a student body and revenue stream three or four times their size. But instead, they prioritize an individual student centered approach - willing to spend more money if it means making more students happy.

I was particularly impressed with the presentation by Dr. Patricia Whitely, VP for Student Affairs. She had such a clear passion for working with students and taking a human approach to discipline. Speaking of being impressed, we were lucky enough to have dinner with President Shalala. The photo above is a nod to a story that was shared that embodies her approach to serving the campus. A performance artist installed hammocks on campus and was upset when students were 'sitting' on the art. After hearing this, and after the art installation was over, President Shalala now has hammocks hung up during finals week every semester. On an additional side note, next time you have dinner with her at her gorgeous home, make a special request to have the cake-pops for dessert. They were amazing ;)

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PTA Meeting Summary - Understanding College Admissions Standardized Tests

Many thanks to Maureen from Revolution Prep for coming to present to the PTA last week about how to understand the various college admissions tests. Below are some useful slides that she shared (all graphics used are from Revolution Prep, to learn more about test prep from this company go to www.revolutionprep.com)

The format of the PSAT

 The format of the SAT

The format of the ACT

The differences and similarities between the PSAT, SAT, and ACT

As always, my advice is as follows:

All students are encouraged to examine their performance on both the SAT and ACT (usually via their PSAT and mock ACT scores). Whichever test the student is naturally better on is the one they should take twice for real. Some students feel they will maximize their score by taking a prep course or using a tutor. A course or tutor should only be used for the one type of exam they already know they have a natural ability in. If a student tests the exact same on the two tests, they should pick the test they like studying for best. Colleges will all take either the SAT or ACT with writing.

Testing should be done during the spring (January to June) of Junior year, with senior year fall as an option for re-testing. Most students at ElRo are best served by trying to maximize their SAT Reasoning Test or ACT with writing score as opposed to worrying about taking tons of SAT Subject Tests. Two or three Subject Tests are required by a small subset of the most selective colleges. If a student wants to apply to those schools, they will need to take the tests, but the majority of students will not need to focus on them. If a Subject Test is taken, it is encouraged to be taken in June, at the end of the course in that subject.

If a student is not satisfied with their testing scores, they are encouraged to look at www.fairtest.org a website that indicates schools that are testing optional (meaning no test scores must be submitted in order to be admitted).

See you Thursday!

Just a reminder that tomorrow (Thursday, January 19) is a college related PTA meeting: Demystifying Standardized Testing. I encourage any parent, guardian, or student grades 9-11 to attend to learn more about how testing works. The meeting is at 6:00 pm in the auditorium!

Financial Aid PD Tips and Reminders

Thank you to the New York State Financial Aid Administrator's Association and HESC for offering their annual Financial Aid professional development yesterday, which I was able to attend. I can't even begin to put all of the information that I learned into one blog post, but I do want to share some highlights that I think students, parents, and guardians will find useful.

- The FAFSA is really starting to push the option of linking your taxes (if filed electronically) with the FAFSA to reduce the need to be selected for verification and to lower the chance of making an error with the data entry. The Data Retrieval Tool (or DRT) is not available right now, but should be in a few weeks (ideal since that is when most people will start filing taxes). The site should remind/encourage families to use this too, but it is highly recommended. My understanding is you WILL be able to submit the FAFSA now indicating that you 'will file' taxes for 2011 then when you log back in in a month to update after you have filed your taxes you can opt in to the DRT feature.

- Student aid is at constant risk of being cut by your federal legislators. Go to 'Save Student Aid' on Facebook to learn more and find out how to speak to your representatives to try and reduce further cuts.

- TAP is a grant given to NY state residents if they attend a college in NY state. You will be prompted to fill out a TAP application after you submit your FAFSA, but the link is pretty small (it is next to the orange arrow that says 'optional feature' on the page that comes up after you submit). If you miss this link (or close the window after you submit the FAFSA without clicking it) you will need to wait 5 days before you can complete the TAP application. If this happens, don't worry, it is not very time sensitive and you will probably have to edit your TAP application in May anyway once you decide where you are going. (The TAP award is only calculated for one school - the first New York State school that you list on your FAFSA. If you end up not getting in or not going to that school, you can manually update the school via that TAP site). Your adjusted gross income for your NY state return must be under $80,000 per year to qualify for TAP. The awards can be up to $5,000 per year.

- Colleges that require the CSS Profile can provide fee waiver codes to low income students if the ones provided to the student when they fill out the CSS are not sufficient. Students should call the individual college where the CSS is required, but whose fee was not covered by the College Board, and ask about Fee Payment Codes. This was the most exciting thing I learned at the whole workshop!! (Please note, this does NOT mean that every family can call up the schools and ask for fee waivers. These still only apply to students who have a financial hardship in paying the fees associated with filing the CSS. Remember, it is a financial based form. Colleges will be able to see your income and assets, only ask if you really need it).

- If your family has a change to their financial situation that is not clear on the FAFSA or CSS, call the Financial Aid office at the school and inquire about what kind of professional judgement can be made to adjust your award package. This would be in a situation say where a parent lost a job in February of 2012, or got an illness diagnosis in November of 2011.

- NEW THIS YEAR: If your EFC has an asterisk * next to it and you've been selected for verification, you can no longer provide documentation to the colleges via a 1040. Thanks to fraud and lots of people faking these documents, colleges are now only supposed to accept a tax transcript from the IRS, which the parent will have to call the IRS to request. It was suggested to have the transcript faxed as opposed to mailed on paper, since mailing it will take significantly longer. If a family doesn't have access to a fax machine please use the school's fax number and make me aware of when to expect it so I can be sure the main office is prepared to get such a sensitive document. If you are are not selected for verification, you don't need to worry about this step.

- For students that are undocumented, I highly recommend connecting with the New York State Youth Leadership Council. They offer a support group for undocumented students and are a fabulous resource to understand how to apply, attend, and afford college. If you fall into this category, please see me so I can give you more information. Their website is www.nysylc.org  if you are not undocumented but want to help support legislation to open up paths to citizenship for students in this category, look up ways to support the DREAM Act.

- Overall the main idea with Financial Aid is MEET DEADLINES and triple check every number before submitting. It is easy to make mistakes, especially when you rush. File the FAFSA this month then be sure to remember to log back in and update the entire thing with your 2011 numbers. They make you jump through a lot of hoops, but ask yourself if that is worth the chance to get money. Usually, it is.

Apps wind down, Faf$as wind up

Source: flickr.com via One Crafty on Pinterest

The New Year brings a new beginning! It also brings lots of financial forms. January is the month where senior families need to be filing the FAFSA (in addition to the CSS Profile if it is required and hasn't been completed already).

Most Common Questions About Financial Aid: 
Click below to read!