R each H igh S cholars

1. Reach High Scholars

2. The Reach High Scholars Program • Formed to help RHS students apply for and attend the best colleges and universities in the country. • Our mission is to: • Show RHS students why these colleges are so valuable • Provide assistance to help them successfully apply for a spot at a top school! • We are parents, teachers, students and RHS alumni.

3. Tonight’s Meeting Part I. (6:00 – 7:00 ) • What are highly competitive colleges • Advantages of attending • Financial aid Part II. (7:00 – 8:00) • Student visits to highly competitive colleges • Preparing students for admissions process

4. RHS Alumni Student RHS Class College Grad School . Charlotte R. Christian 1950 Tufts/Jackson John McDaniels 1952 Brown Yale Law School Arthur Proulx 1964 Tufts James Dannis 1974 Dartmouth Harvard Law School Eugene Stockel 1978 West Point Alan Iverson 1985 Bowdoin Univ. of VT/ Medicine Deborah O'Donnell 1990 Bates Yale M.S., M. Phil., PHD Eric Austrew 1995 Yale BU MBA, MIS Rich Jesmer 1997 Univ. of So. Cal. Hannah Lee 2000 Wellesley Joshua French 2001 Duke BC Law School Amy Silverstein 2002 Brandeis Justin Smulski 2005 George Washington Dominique White 2006 Boston College Layne Flower 2007 Wesleyan

5. Highly Competitive Colleges • Large Private Universities - Brown, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale • Large State Universities - Univ. of Cal. - Berkeley, Univ. of Michigan • Small Private Liberal Arts Colleges - Amherst, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Williams • Technical and Engineering Colleges/Universities - Cal.Tech, M.I.T. • Military Academies - Annapolis, West Point

6. Why Attend a Highly Competitive College? • Greater intellectual stimulation from faculty and fellow students • Availability of more academic facilities (classrooms, libraries, labs, etc.) • More small, seminar-type classes • Better job opportunities after graduation • Better chance of acceptance in top graduate schools (business, law, medicine) • Better long-term support system among alumni and faculty

7. Endowment per Student at Selected Colleges

8. Great Schools, Great Prices % receiving ave. cost ave. discount % of grads ave. need-based after grant from total cost with debt amount grants of debt Averages of 34 top colleges 45% $19, 536 56% 44% $11,250 Univ of NH -- -- -- -- $25,000 St. Anselm -- -- -- 77% $27,300

9. Trends in Financial Aid at Colleges Where RHS Alumni Have Been Accepted Brown • Eliminated loans for students whose annual family incomes are less than $100,000 • Reduced loans for all students receiving financial aid • No parental contribution from most families with incomes up to $60,000 Dartmouth • Free tuition for students whose annual family incomes are less than $75,000 • Eliminated loans for all students Duke • Free tuition for students whose annual family incomes are less than $60,000 • Eliminated loans for students whose annual family incomes are less than $40,000 • Students whose annual family incomes are between $60,000 and $100,000 will have loans reduced on a graduated basis and above that line, loans will be capped at $5,000 per year. Williams • Eliminated loans from all aid packages Yale • Families earning less than $60,000 annually pay nothing • Families earning $60,000 to $120,000 pay 1% to 10% of income • Contribution of aided families earning above $120,000 will average 10% of income.

10. Part II. (7:00 – 8:00) • Student visits to highly competitive colleges • Preparing students for admissions process

11. Highly Competitive Colleges Near Raymond Within Two Hours Bates College Boston College Bowdoin College Brandeis University Brown University Dartmouth College Harvard University Holy Cross Mass. Institute of Technology Tufts University Wellesley Within Three Hours Amherst College Colby College Connecticut College Middlebury College Mount Holyoke College Smith College Trinity College U.S. Coast Guard Academy Wesleyan University Williams College Yale University

12. Transportation Contribution • To encourage visits to the highly-competitive colleges and universities reachable in a day from Raymond. • Parents, faculty or friends taking at least two students for organized visits will be reimbursed $0.25 per mile. • Typical Contributions: Brown $62.50 Middlebury $77.50 Colby $76.50 Holy Cross $45.00 Dartmouth $45.00 Yale $95.00

13. How to Get Into a Top College Things you should be working on starting in grade 9 • High school courses and grades • Activities • Standardized tests • Athletics Application specific topics – Not covered today • Application Essay • Recommendations

14. Courses and Grades • Rule 1: Take the most challenging courses Raymond offers • Rule 2: Get A’s

15. Courses and Grades • Most top schools will require: • Math: 4 years • English: 4 years • Science (including Chemistry, Physics, and Biology): 4 years • Foreign Language: 4 years • History: 2 years

16. Courses and Grades • Plan out your course schedule in advance • Course planning worksheets available as handouts

17. Courses and Grades Study for and take an AP test on your own:

18. Courses and Grades • Residential summer programs: • Saint Paul’s Advanced Studies Program • Boston University’s Tanglewood program • MIT & Caltech Research and Science Institute (RSI) • Harvard Summer School

19. Activities Activities let you stand out from the pack • 21,000 high schools (and valedictorians!) each year in the U.S • 400,000 students graduate each year in the top 10% of their class • 75% of the valedictorians who apply to Harvard are rejected

20. Activities • The Writer • Won multiple state and national essay contests • Wrote youth oriented articles for the local paper • Edited the yearbook • Wrote in the school literary magazine • Received very good recommendation from an English teacher • Showed other interests by: Taking Astronomy at Saint Paul’s, playing on the soccer team, youth mentoring, math club, student rep on school board, and others • The Future President • Worked at the Senate as a page during the summer • State speech champion • President of his class all four years • Student representative to the school board • 4th of July Parade committee • Showed other interests by: Editing sections of the year book, managing the soccer team, refereeing soccer games, volunteering at community television and others

21. Activities • Sports • Art • Music • Theatre • School clubs • Community service • Start something new!

22. Activities If you have an interest and don’t know how to take it further we want to help! • Be sure to fill out your interests and contact info before you leave!

23. Preparing for Standardized Tests • SAT I • Kaplan and the Princeton Review – Expensive but effective • Books and web sites for individual study • PSATs – Good practice and a chance for a scholarship • Student led study groups – sign up tonight!

24. Preparing for Standardized Tests

25. Preparing for Standardized Tests • How well do you need to do? • Look up the range of scores for the schools you want to attend

26. Preparing for Standardized Tests • SAT II Subject Tests

27. Athletics • Coaches get slots in Admissions Offices. At top schools being a recruited athlete can increase your chances of getting in from 1 in 10 to 1 in 2! • How do you get yourself noticed and recruited by college coaches?

28. Athletics – Getting Recruited • Email coaches at schools in which you have an interest (or send a completed questionnaire for this purpose on the website). • By the end of your sophomore year or beginning of your junior year • Express your interest in the team and the school • Send detailed information on your sports accomplishments to date • Play on a competitive club or AAU team that competes in “Showcase Tournaments.” • Attend summer camps or clinics run by those coaches (or known to attract coaches for scouting)

29. Athletics – Final Notes • Academic eligibility is a major concern for coaches at colleges with high academic standards. • They will want your grades and PSAT and SAT scores. • Athletes get a preference in early admissions. • There is an advantage in knowing which school is your first choice.