Student/Parent Night for:

1. Seniors Student/Parent Night for: School Counselors: Alice Tice (A-J) Tara Bufis (K-Z) September 18, 2014

2. By now you should have… • …researched, visited and compared prospective colleges in Naviance, Scattergram, etc. You should have 2 – 3 “reach” schools, 2 - 3 “target” schools and 2 – 3 “likely” schools that you are getting ready to apply to. • …updated your “Colleges I’m Thinking About” list to indicate the schools you are planning to apply to. • …personally asked your teachers to write your letters of recommendation. • …signed up for College Visits and Essay Writing Workshops on Naviance. Another list is also in your packet.

3. Very important next steps… • review and return your transcript (if any edits) • Go to www.commonapp.org to obtain and fill out your common application online. Remember your password and CA number as we do not have access to that if you lose it. Helpful tip… when your application is complete, print a copy for your records. • Use the same email address that is in Naviance when signing up for the Common Application. • Sign and return the FERPA Agreement (in your handouts) and the Common Application FERPA agreement (online under Recommenders and FERPA). • Permission to Send Transcripts/Grades form – if not returned, hand in immediately!! • Match Common App and Naviance accounts: • First fill out FERPA online under Recommenders and FERPA • Second, log into Naviance and go to College tab and click into “College’s I’m Applying To”. Fill in the area that says Common App email address and Birthdate. THEY MUST MATCH or transcript/letters cannot be sent.

4. Letters of recommendation • By now you should have asked teachers to write your letters. If you have not, ask now! Once you have asked, then go into Naviance and put their names under the Teacher Recommendations section in the “College’s I’m Applying to” link (do not put them in this section before asking them!). • If you are asking people OUTSIDE of HTHS to write your letter: • Address envelopes for supplemental recommendation letters and include a return response card (if you want to know it has been received). • Give a copy of the supplemental recommendation letter to Guidance (if possible).

5. Application types: • Early Decision - usually an early November deadline and it is BINDING. That means you find out early and are bound to attend that school if admitted! See handout titled “How to Apply Early Decision” if applying in this manner. • Early Action - is not binding. You find out early but still have the choice of attending (if admitted) until May 1st. • Restrictive Early Action – not at a lot of schools, but if so follow directions carefully! • Rolling Admissions - students are reviewed and accepted as applications are received. Complete these applications ASAP!!! • Regular - applications are usually due Jan. 1st or later and you don’t find out about acceptance until late Spring. • Instant Decision Days - Students bring an application, fee, scores and transcript to the appointment and they find out instantly if they are accepted. It is not binding.

6. College Applications • Submit these apps early: Rutgers, Penn State and Univ. of Maryland. • In-state public schools may ask for your NJ Smart ID…that is on your transcript in the box labeled State ID. • Go to www.admissions.rutgers.edu if applying to Rutgers- deadline is December 1st for scholarship consideration • Always apply by Common App if the college accepts it! • All applications should be sent ONLINE. See your Guidance Counselor if thinking of applying using a paper application.

7. Information you need to know… • GPA is not weighted • We are on a 100 point scale (see Guidance if you need it on a 4.0 scale) • We do not rank • 68 Seniors are in your class • All main courses are taught at Honors level – important for self reporting courses! • Counselor title is School Counselor • Our emails are: • Tara Bufis - tbufis@ctemc.org • Alice Tice - tice@ctemc.org • 765 Newman Springs Rd. Lincroft, NJ 07738 • Phone is 732-842-8444 • Fax is 732-219-9418 • CEEB code is 310694

8. Standardized test scores: • HTHS CEEB Code: 310694 • If taking an SAT this Fall, put your top four college codes in the registration page to have your scores sent for free to those four schools. • Register for the ACT (if taking) - Go to www.act.org • It is your responsibility to have all standardized test scores sent to all colleges that require them. They do not get sent from the Guidance Office.

9. College Essays • Five College Essay Writing Workshops were set up to help you get ideas of what you should write about and what you should NOT write about from the people who read the essays! • Write your essay and get feedback from counselors, teachers, parents, or friends. • Don’t wait for the last minute to get help! • Most applications have supplemental essays or short answer questions. Don’t forget them or the application will be incomplete

10. Sending your transcript… • To send your HTHS transcript: • see handout titled “How to request your transcript from the Guidance Office”. • To send your transcript for credits earned at Brookdale, Project Lead the Way (RIT) or Georgian Court, please see Guidance for these transcript request forms. Please keep in mind that these transcripts cost money and will need longer than 10 days to arrive to the college you are applying to, so plan accordingly.

11. NCAA • Initial Eligibility is filed at end of junior year if you are looking to play Division I or II. If you haven’t filled it out already and are looking to be recruited/play in college, do ASAP. • Eligibility is done online at: www.eligibilitycenter.org • To send your SAT scores to the NCAA use report code 9999. • Let Guidance know you filed by submitting a HTHS Transcript Request – we need to send your transcript.

12. Scholarships • Check Naviance for scholarship opportunities. • Scholarship opportunities will be available in Guidance and at www.monmouthcountyscholarships.com. • Most scholarships come out in the Spring, but there are a few on the website now. • Go to www.fastweb.com for national scholarships. • Never, ever, ever pay for a scholarship search! • Look on the college websites where you are applying to for college specific scholarships.

13. Paying for College and other thoughts… • District Financial Aid Night will be on October 20th at 6:30pm at BioTech. • Complete FAFSA after January 1, 2015. Go to www.fafsa.ed.gov to apply and have your tax info for 2013 available to complete the form (you can go online prior to this date to obtain your pin number). • CSS Profile Form - some universities require this financial form as well as the FAFSA. Go to www.cssprofile.org to see if your schools require it. • Please check with the schools you are applying to and make sure there are not any additional financial aid forms they require. • National Deposit Day is May 1st which means that your deposit must be submitted to hold your place in the class. • Waiting is the hardest part.