Welcome to College Kick Off 2013!

1. Welcome to College Kick Off 2013! Oswego High School Counseling Services

2. What are colleges looking for? Challenging Curriculum Self-Starter Well-rounded Go-Getter Leader

3. How will applicants be evaluated?

4. Seniors Should… • Make an appointment with counselor for Senior review • Review college admission requirements and deadlines • Visit colleges of interest/meet with college reps at OHS • Retake SAT’s, ACT’s or SAT II’s • Ask teachers/counselors to write letters of recommendation, if required by college • Must first complete OHS Succeed Survey in Naviance. Let counselor know when finished • Include at least one safety school

5. What Counselors are Doing… • Senior Reviews- individual meetings to help with future plans and review graduation requirements • Senior English classroom presentations • Providing after school help sessions for seniors. Tuesdays and Thursdays in room 167 from October 1st – November 19th • Taking interested students to College Day at Cayuga Community College on Oct. 24th, • Taking students interested in careers in Construction Technology to a Building Trades Fair on Oct. 17th • “Coaching” students through the college application process

6. What Parents Can Do… • Encourage seniors to treat the college application process like a “job” • Foster independence in your child, as he/she will need to be advocating for him/herself in college • Allow your child to express feelings and/or anxieties regarding this process

7. Applications • Neatness counts • Be aware of deadlines • Apply! Online applications are preferred by colleges • Use Common Application when possible • 10 school day advanced notice needed for school processing • THANKSGIVING VACATION-GOAL DEADLINE

8. With Naviance • 4th year using Naviance – very successful! • Students have personal Naviance accounts • College search and application management • OHS Succeed Survey • Signing FERPA waiver-students should ‘waive’ right to access • Family Connection (https://connection.naviance.com/fc/signin.php)

9. NCAA Eligibility • Students interested in playing interscholastic sports at the Division I or II level must register with the NCAA Clearinghouse (www.ncaa.org) • Students must be academically eligible to play Division I or II sports in college • Communicate with high school coach • “Put your best foot forward” at all times

10. Apply! • Use the onlineCommon Application (www.commonapp.org) if at least 2-3 colleges you are applying to accept it. • Students who apply online using Common Application will have all materials (transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc.) sent electronically through Naviance • If you are only applying to SUNY colleges, apply online using the SUNY application. • If applying to a 2 year community college, go to the college website and apply online directly at college website.

11. About Financial Aid/Scholarships… • Pay attention to announcements for college-specific scholarship opportunities • Encourage your senior to apply for local scholarships available online through the OHS website. This OHS Scholarship Booklet becomes available online in January • Attend Financial Aid Night at OHS on Monday, December 2nd at 7:00 PM right here! • Apply for a PIN # to complete your FAFSA form online at www.fafsa.ed.gov (FAFSA work session in February at OHS) Starting January 1st, complete theFAFSA form

12. Tips for Success • Encourage your senior to be the contact person regarding college communication • Most colleges now have opportunity for online status check. Senior should be monitoring this. • Please communicate with us if you have questions or concerns. We are here to help!