BEACON NAVIANCE USER GUIDE 2018-19

1. BEACON NAVIANCE USER GUIDE 2018-19 Overview Welcome to Naviance! This database will be a powerful tool to aid you as you navigate the college process. You should make sure to save this packet of information to use as you research and apply to schools. With Naviance, you’ll be able to search for colleges that match your interests, identify those schools you’re considering applying to, keep track of important deadlines, and more. Naviance is also the way in which the College Office sends your transcript and recommendations to colleges. This system will help both you and the College Office ensure that all parts of your college applications are completed and sent in a timely fashion. Setting Up Your Profile You can access Naviance through the following URL: https://student.naviance.com/beaconschool We recommend bookmarking this website for future use. The first time you log in, you will need to use the password “college” and your username is your entire email address (the one you have in Pupilpath). The College Office recommends that you change the password to your Beacon password so that you will remember it later. You will then be taken to the welcome page. From here you can update your profile, conduct a college search, and list those colleges to which you intend to apply.

2. Updating Your Profile Select ABOUT ME in the top-left corner, then select MY ACCOUNT. You will notice this screen is mostly empty. It is very important that you enter this information by clicking EDIT. When you are finished click SAVE. NOTE: We ask that you fill out all fields, particularly “ethnicity.” Doing so will allow us to forward you information about scholarships for which you may be eligible. Filling Out Your Junior Questionnaire In order to schedule your Junior College Meeting, you will need to complete the Beacon Junior Questionnaire as thoroughly as possible. Select ABOUT ME in the top-right corner, then select MY SURVEYS and SURVEYS NOT STARTED, and JUNIOR QUESTIONNAIRE. Once complete, your college counselor will email you a link to her calendar to schedule your 45-minute appointment.

3. Conducting a College Search Naviance allows you to find schools that match your interests in terms of size, location, programs of study, etc. Start your search for colleges by selecting COLLEGESat the top of the home screen, then FIND YOUR FIT, then ADVANCED COLLEGE SEARCH. You can specify the types of schools you are looking for based on the following categories: • Type (public vs. private, type of campus, etc.) • Location (particular regions or individual states) • Students (size of the student body, ethnic and gender makeup) • Admission (percent of students accepted) • Athletics (NCAA division sports) • Majors • Costs • Special programs (extracurricular activities, ROTC, etc.) NOTE: You can input information for as many or as few categories as you wish. However, a too-defined list of parameters will likely return a very limited list of schools. We suggest selecting only your top priorities to start. Click VIEW MATCHES to see the list of schools that matches your search criteria. The information you entered when conducting your search will also be shown at the top of the list. You can edit the search by selecting any of those categories.

4. Your “Colleges I’m Thinking About” List Scroll through your list of matches. For any schools you’re interested in learning more about or applying to, check the box to the left of that college’s name. • You can also pull up all of a school’s information (e.g. location, size, majors offered) by clicking on its name, or use the MORE tab to visit the school’s website or review its Scattergram. Once at the end of the list, with all the schools you’re interested in learning more about checked off, scroll back up to the top and select the link with the heart icon to add these schools to your COLLEGES I’M THINKING ABOUT list. NOTE: If you know the name of the school you are interested in, or wish to see what schools are located in a particular state, you can find those by clicking on COLLEGE LOOK UP on the left side of the screen. Alternatively you can use SUPERMATCH, also listed under FIND YOUR FIT in the COLLEGE tab. This is a more detailed search engine.

5. College Information Available in Naviance • When you click on the name of a college you are interested in, it will pull several important points of information on various tabs. • Overview – From here, you can find quick stats on the college, including average net price, six-year graduation rate, overall acceptance rate, deadlines, and information about school size, student-faculty ratio, and more. At the very bottom, you can also view the college’s admissions office address, phone number, and email address. • Studies – This provides a list of all programs of study offered at the college, and what type of degrees are available (e.g. bachelor’s master’s, etc.) • Student Life – This includes information on student diversity, as well as what types of organizations, athletics, and resources (e.g. career counseling, testing accommodations, health services, etc.) are available on campus, as well as housing information. • Admissions – This tab indicates requirements to be considered for admission to the college with regards to standardized tests, application fees, and course requirements. This is also where you can view each school’s Scattergram (see more information on next page). • Costs – On this tab, students will find expected costs for tuition, room and board, and various other fees. The school may also indicate what percentage of students receive financial aid, and what forms that aid comes in (i.e. scholarships, grants, loans, work study). • NOTE: Costs for each school may not be up-to-date in Naviance, so double check that information with each individual college.

6. Understanding Reach/Target/Likely Schools One of Naviance’s most helpful features are schools’ Scattergrams. These can be found by searching for a college in Naviance and then selecting the “Admissions” tab on that college’s Naviance page. These can help you understand how your Beacon GPA (available in Naviance shortly) and standardized test scores compare to past Beacon applicants, and whether students with similar stats were accepted (or denied, deferred, waitlisted, etc.). In addition to the average data on these Scattergrams, you should also be thinking about schools’ overall acceptance rates. Any school with an acceptance rate below 40% is a reach for all applicants. These Scattergrams are helpful when thinking about a balanced list of schools. Ideally, students will apply to 2-3 schools in each category. GPA SAT (1600) Key: ☐ Accepted ✕ Denied Deferred Based on the Scattergram above, for a school with a 55% acceptance rate: For a student with a 2.5 GPA / 900 SAT, this would be a reach school. For a student with a 3.4 GPA / 1200 SAT, this would be a target school. For a student with a 3.7 GPA / 1400 SAT, this would be a likely school. NOTE: Please remember that this function IS ONLY A GUIDE, as it has limited data, so this feature should NOT be used as the only tool in determining your chances of admission.

7. IMPORTANT – USING THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS WILL BE MANDATORY IN YOUR SENIOR YEAR *** • The College Office requires that you follow these steps in order for your applications to be complete. If you have questions about how to do these things, please ask a friend or your counselor. You should play around with Naviance until you feel comfortable using it BEFORE senior year. There are a number of Naviance tasks you’ll be responsible for updating throughout your senior year, including organizing your college list, adding your teacher recommendations, setting your deadlines, keeping your school list and admissions decisions up-to-date, and indicating where you’ll be attending college. • 1. Organizing Your College List • You will have to keep track of which schools you are considering, and then indicate those schools you intend to apply to in order to communicate with the College Office. • Click on COLLEGES at the top-right of the homepage. Then select either COLLEGES I’M THINKING ABOUT or COLLEGES I’M APPLYING TO. • To add colleges to either list, first select the list, then +ADD COLLEGES TO LIST at the top. • You can search by college name, location, school affiliation, or alphabetically. • Click LOOKUP to locate the college you are interested in. Once you’ve picked your school(s), clickFAVORITE (at the top) or ADD APPLICATION. • You can also easily move schools from COLLEGES I’M THINKING ABOUT to COLLEGES I’M APPLYING TO by selecting the school(s) in COLLEGES I’M THINKING ABOUT and then MOVE TO APPLICATION LIST at the top. • To remove a school from your list, click in the box to the left of the school name, then click REMOVE at the top.

8. 2. Adding Teacher Recommenders • Select the COLLEGES drop-down on the homepage. • Under the APPLY TO COLLEGE, select LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION. • Select ADD REQUEST, then select your teacher from the drop-down menu. Check off ALL CURRENT AND FUTURE COLLEGES, then SUBMIT REQUEST. (Reminder: You should not be adding your advisor! You may only ask two academic teachers for recommendations.) • 3. Setting Deadlines for “Colleges I am Applying To” • It is important to keep the information on your application list up to date, so the College Office is aware of your deadlines. • To select your application strategy (i.e. Early Action), click on any pencil to EDIT. • App Type: Indicate when you are applying (e.g. Regular Decision, Early Decision, etc.) The date your application needs to be submitted to the school should appear automatically into the “College Deadline” box to the right. • NOTE: Naviance relies on individual college to provide them with this information, so it is always in your best interest to confirm deadline information independently on the school’s website and/or the Common App. • Once you’ve selected your App Type, Division, and/or any other necessary details (i.e. whether you’ll be applying via the Common App), select UPDATE APPLICATIONS at the top of the screen.

9. 4. Keeping Naviance Up-to-Date If you decide not to apply to a college that is on your list, remove it by selecting the box next to the college name under COLLEGES I’M APPLYING TO and the REMOVE icon. If you are accepted (or denied, waitlisted, or deferred) to a college, update your status by clicking EDIT next to that particular school’s name. This is a crucial step, as the College Office often sends important application materials (first quarter/semester grades), based on admissions outcomes. If these aren’t updated in real time, colleges may not receive the required materials in time. 5. Indicate Where You’re Going to College On your COLLEGES I’M APPLYING TO list, choose the college you will be attending from the drop-down under COLLEGE THAT I AM ATTENDING.