PHS Jr/Sr Counseling Newsletter
September 2019
Juniors and Seniors,
I'm so excited to be your counselor for these two important years of high school! I've put together this resource for you to access at any time with dates, links, and reminders of things to accomplish during the first couple of months of school.
Juniors and Seniors have also each received a folder with resources for the school year in planning and preparation for life beyond high school. I shared the folders with the students when I met with them in the classrooms in August. Students also received study guides for ACT, SAT, and the PSAT (juniors), as well as magazines to help with research and planning for college and beyond.
There is a lot to balance and accomplish this year with setting and achieving goals in and out of the classroom. My hope is that you will accomplish all of your goals and have a very successful year. I'm excited to see your successes this year and beyond!
This newsletter is simply a tool and resource with navigating the end of the high school and with transitioning into the next phase of your life. As your counselor, I am so excited to help with this transition and to be a support for you in this exciting time. Junior and Senior years can be stressful with all of the decisions to make, graduation requirements, and with maintaining good grades.
As your School Counselor, I will help you navigate this process and the steps to come. With planning and preparation this year will be successful. I look forward to working with you!
Mrs. Losey
PHS College Night
- Purdue University (first time!)
- Marian University (first time!)
- IU Bloomington
- Hanover College
- Bellarmine University
- University of Louisville
Bring all of your questions about college; the panel will answer them this evening.
College Visits to PHS
Admissions Representatives from the following Colleges and Universities have already scheduled visits to PHS! Take advantage of the opportunities to speak with each of them, and learn more about the programs and scholarships offered by each school.
Bellarmine University - 8/26/19
University of Evansville - 8/28/19
Villanova University - 9/3/19
Marian University - 9/16/19
Earlham College - 9/16/19
Hanover College - 9/16/19
Purdue University - 9/17/19
St. Mary's College (Notre Dame) - 9/18/19
IUPUI - 9/19/19
Indiana Institute of Technology - 9/19/19
Valparaiso University - 9/19/19
The University of Alabama - 9/20/19
The University of Chicago - 9/23/19
Spalding University - 9/23/19
US Naval Academy - 9/25/19
Wabash College - 9/25/19
La Salle University - 9/26/219
Anderson University - 9/27/19
Brescia University - 10/16/19
IU Bloomington - 10/16/19
Xavier University - 10/23/19
Franklin College - 10/28/19
Austin Peay State University - 11/11/2019
Scholarships!
The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship has quickly approaching due dates.
For Clark and Floyd residents: Scholarships should be submitted to counselor by end of day 9/9/19. Hard deadline for both counselor and student portions are 9/13/19 at noon. http://cfsouthernindiana.com/scholarship-overview/
For Harrison County residents: Submit to counselor by end of day 9/30/19. http://www.hccfindiana.org/scholarship-applications/
Please see the PHS website for more scholarships, scholarship/event calendar, and links to additional resources: https://www.providencehigh.net/academics/guidance/scholarships-to-college/
Junior Year Goals
- Signing up for Remind to stay connected all year and senior year too: https://www.remind.com/join/phs21blue
- Attending College Night on 9/5/2019 at 7pm at PHS
- Improving (or maintaining) GPA
- Getting involved in school organizations/clubs and applying for leadership positions
- Get out and visit some college campuses and explore options
- Identify college majors of interest
- Ace the PSAT this October 16th and achieve goals for SAT/ACT this spring
- Visit college campuses - Fall Break is a great opportunity
- Register with the NCAA if needed
- Attend a summer camp, mission trip, or take advantage of a leadership opportunity that is related to your future field
Student Athlete?
Resources:
NCAA - Registering as an athlete: https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/
NCAA- These steps need to be completed senior year/at graduation: https://pub.s1.exacttarget.com/ecmz0pds1uy
NAIA for information and to register: http://www.playnaia.org/eligibility-center
Registering for the dual credit courses this year:
IUS/IU/Ivy Tech dual credit
Students taking the Ivy Tech Communications 101 with Ms. Miller this year, should already be registered for this fall semester. I came to the Communications classrooms in August to assist students with the online application for dual credit: (www.ivytech.edu/dualcreditapplication). Please let the counseling department know if there are any issues with registration.
Students taking ACP (Advanced College Placement) courses through IU Bloomington will need to register for the course(s). These courses include ACP Physics, ACP Biology, ACP Spanish III/IV, ACP French IV, etc. Directions and links to apply will be shared later in September. In order to receive college credit the student must be enrolled with IU Bloomington for the course. Enrollment window will be open September 16-27. Students are encouraged to enroll early in the window to ensure registration is complete.
PSAT/SAT/ACT
Juniors will take the PSAT at PHS on October 16,2019 in the morning. This exam is the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) and is a standardized test administered by the College Board and cosponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The scores are used to determine eligibility. Study guides are provided to Juniors for the PSAT exam.
Juniors should register to take the SAT or the ACT in the spring of 2020. Seniors can retake the exam to try for a higher score this fall. Seniors should take either the SAT or ACT, or both.
SAT: To study for the upcoming exams, the College Board recommends the free online Khan Academy course. https://www.khanacademy.org/sat There are also several free practice exams on the College Board website.
For more information about registering, studying, and interpreting scores:
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat?affiliateId=cbhomeexp&bannerId=sat
ACT: Students may pick up a paper copy of the ACT study guide at any time from the counseling department. To register for upcoming test dates, or to order the online study course please visit the website: www.act.org There is also a free copy of the study guide online: https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Preparing-for-the-ACT.pdf
The College Application
Congratulations to those of you who have started applying! I'm so excited to see students have already begun to apply to their chosen schools! If you haven't started yet there is still time, but use the months of September and October to apply. Early priority date for many colleges is November 1st and this is the ideal deadline to guide your applications by. Many college scholarships may not be available if your application is submitted after this priority date.
Also consider the application type.
- Early Decision: Students may apply to their first choice and if admitted they MUST commit and enroll. Students may only apply to one college in this way at a time and may apply to other colleges with a regular admission application, but if selected to the "Early Decision" college, they must withdraw their other applications. This application type should be reserved for your TOP choice and #1 school.
- Early Action: Students may apply and receive an admission decision earlier than normal but are not required to commit until the regular deadline set by the school.
- Regular Decision: Students submit an application by a specific date set by the college/university and receive a decision by the school's deadline.
- Rolling Admission: An admission policy of considering each application as soon as all required information (such as high school records and test scores) has been received, rather than setting an application deadline and reviewing applications in a batch. Colleges that use a rolling admission policy usually notify applicants of admission decisions quickly.
- Wait List/Deferred List: An admission tool designed to protect an institution against shortfalls in enrollment. This is a list of applicants who may be admitted to a college if space becomes available. Colleges wait to hear if all the students they accepted decide to attend. If students don’t enroll and there are empty spots, a college may fill them with students who are on the waiting list. Learn more about waiting lists.
Here is a College Application Dictionary to help explain more lingo and terms: https://www.commonapp.org/application-dictionary
When applying to your chosen college or university, read all directions before beginning. The Counselor Portion is required and may be sent to the counselor prior to the completion of the students' portion. Only submit ONE application to each college. The application can take multiple hours and require a lot of work.
Take your time with the essay portion and have others proofread it before submitting. This essay gives the admissions committee invaluable insight into what you think, believe, value, and why. Suggestions for who should proof read it are: an adult, teacher, parent, or your counselor. Essay tips: https://youtu.be/0MaLsIu1vdE Avoiding common essay mistakes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t__jNTOwePU
Seniors received a blue folder and juniors received a white folder in their theology classes that contained many resources for them to reference this year. If your student hasn't shared their folder with you yet, please ask to review it and discuss the contents with them.
12th grade students received their Senior Guide and a college checklist to help organize and keep track of the application activities throughout the year. They also received a scholarship information packet from the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana, a magazine highlighting area colleges, access to Parchment to send transcripts, and additional resources to help navigate this year.
An application tip if planning to apply to more than one of the IU schools (IUB, IUS, IUPUI): Apply through the IU application portal and you will only need to complete one application, one essay, and one application fee. You can then send this application to all three campuses.
Ordering Transcripts
Congratulations! You have completed your college application and now it is time to send your transcript! Log in to Parchment and request your "Credentials" to be sent to your chosen institutions. Check your email for the link to the log-in code if you have not yet logged in. This nine digit code is super helpful with creating your account and will automatically link you with PHS. You may also request to see a copy of your transcript. When using the Common Application, please send your transcript to the Common Application as well. After each semester is complete, the counseling department will upload your current transcript to be sent to the colleges. The final transcript will also be sent to the NCAA and to your chosen college at the end of the year.
Juniors and Seniors:
PHS will host a Financial Aid/FAFSA night on 9/26/19 at 6:30pm. Students and parents are invited to attend. A guest speaker from a local college will be here to answer questions and guide families with the FAFSA application. Two follow up FAFSA Workshop Nights for any family who still needs assistance with completing the FAFSA will be held in November and February. Parents of students in other grades are welcome to attend and hear the information.
FAFSA Window: The application will open on 10/1/19 (Fall Break is a great time to check this off the to-do list). This year, the deadline has been extended to April 15th, 2020. All seniors should complete the FAFSA this year and each year of college enrollment.
Why should I fill out the FAFSA?
If you don’t fill out the FAFSA, you could be missing out on a lot of financial aid! We’ve heard a number of reasons students think they shouldn’t complete the FAFSA. Here are a few:
- “I (or my parents) make too much money, so I won’t qualify for aid.”
- “Only students with good grades get financial aid.”
- “The FAFSA is too hard to fill out.”
- “I’m too old to qualify for financial aid.”
If you think any of these statements apply to you, then you should read “Myths About Financial Aid.” The reality is, EVERYONE who's getting ready to go to college or career school should fill out the FAFSA!
Video for more information: https://youtu.be/gUis5lityCQ
Website to complete application: https://fafsa.ed.gov/
Additionally, some schools will offer scholarships to students just because they completed the FAFSA! The University of Dayton is an example. They award a renewable scholarship for books even if students don't qualify for additional aid if they have completed the FAFSA on time.
PHS College Night
Thursday, Sep 5, 2019, 07:00 PM
707 Providence Way, Clarksville, IN, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Essay Workshop with Mrs. Van Laan
Monday, Sep 9, 2019, 07:30 AM
Our Lady of Providence High School, Providence Way, Clarksville, IN, USA
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Essay Workshop with Mrs. Van Laan (Day 2)
Thursday, Sep 5, 2019, 09:00 PM
Our Lady of Providence High School, Providence Way, Clarksville, IN, USA
Financial Aid/FAFSA Night at PHS
Thursday, Sep 26, 2019, 06:30 PM
707 Providence Way, Clarksville, IN, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
College Acceptances
In future newsletters additional college acceptances will be published here. We can't wait to celebrate your acceptances! Please share your college letters (or emails) with the counseling department throughout the year. The counseling department will compile a master list of college acceptances as well as all scholarship offers. During Awards Night and at Graduation there will be recognitions of your offers and awards.
Congratulations to these students who have already been accepted to these colleges:
Allender, Kennedy - Indiana State University, Western Kentucky University
Arnson, Jack - University of Louisville
Kristiansen, Elyse - Indiana University, Southeast
Oakley, Faith - University of Louisville
Russell, Liberty - Brescia University, University of Southern Indiana
Stumler, Avery - Western Kentucky University
Our Lady of Providence High School
PHS Junior/Senior Counseling Newsletter
Contact your counselor, Mrs. Losey, with questions.
CEEB Code: 150540
Remind Code for Class of 2020: https://www.remind.com/join/phs20blue
Remind Code for Class of 2021: https://www.remind.com/join/phs21blue
Visit our website for more information on upcoming events, scholarships, and resources!
Email: elosey@providencehigh.net
Website: https://www.providencehigh.net/index.php/guidance
Phone: 812-945-2538