DestinationCollege2021
Crosby Scholars Sophomore Newsletter, June 2019
Our Mission
We will assist public middle and high school students in Forsyth County in preparing themselves for successful college enrollment.
Our Vision
We seek to ensure that every public school student in Forsyth County has the opportunity to attend college.
This newsletter is published quarterly to keep you informed of activities, deadlines, and program opportunities. It is your responsibility to know deadlines and program requirements, so read your newsletter and log in to your Crosby Scholars student portal regularly to find out all the latest information. The June issue is the final issue of the 2018-19 school year.
The Crosby Scholars Junior Experience
1. Junior Academy - The Junior Academy sessions take place in August and September and are held ONLY at Forsyth Technical Community College and Goodwill Industries. You will have the opportunity to complete the Academy requirement in early August before school starts. Academy topics include Preparing for College Admission 101 and Building a Target List of Colleges.
2. College Tours - Throughout the school year, we will offer many campus visits for juniors. This gives you the opportunity to visit colleges that interest you while completing the college fair/college visit requirement. Registration is through your Crosby Scholars Student Portal, and spots are available on a first-come, first served basis.
3. Community Service - While the community service requirement of two (2) hours remains the same, the deadline to submit your service form has changed. Community service for all Juniors is due on January 31, 2020. Any hours completed over the summer will count toward the 2019-20 requirement.
4. Think Like a Senior Session/Webinar (TLS/TLSW) - The Think Like a Senior Session is the final requirement of the Junior year. During this meeting, we will discuss in-depth the college admission process and inform you of all you can look forward to as a senior Crosby Scholar.
5. Webinars - Throughout the year, we will host webinars and other supplemental sessions that offer information and direction about college admissions. Topics include PSAT Prep, SAT Prep, Campus Visits, Building a Target List, and the Crosby Senior Advisor Program.
The DO's of Summer '19
Spend your time balancing relaxing activities with productive ones and your future self will thank you!
Do
Work - Employment is one of the most practical ways to build your resume while demonstrating initiative and responsibility. Any job is good, but working in a leadership position or in an academic area would be ideal. The more a job challenges you, the more it builds the skills that colleges and future employers are interested in seeing in applicants.
Volunteer - Community service is another great way to gain some valuable work and leadership experience. At the end of the year, teachers can always use help cleaning up in their classrooms and around school, and nonprofit organizations are always looking for volunteers, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find an organization near you that could use an extra pair of hands for a few hours a week during the summer.
Summer Enrichment - These programs are a good way to explore and gain experience in fields you may want to study in college. Many of these organizations have residential or day camps for high school students focused on specific topics such as music, creative writing, science, engineering and a variety of other areas of interest.
Visit Colleges - Campus visits should be part of any college applicant’s summer plans. Taking the time to explore your options early will help you throughout junior and senior years as you begin to narrow down your target list of colleges. You can fulfill your college fair/college visit requirement by taking this form with you on any college visits you attend.
ACT/SAT Prep - Standardized tests are an important part of the admission equation at many colleges across the country. If you've already taken the SAT or ACT, or even the PSAT or Pre-ACT, and your scores aren't what you think you'll need to get into your top choice colleges, then the summer is a great time to work through an exam preparation book or take a test prep class.
Source: ThoughtCo. - The Best Summer Plans for High School Students
Next Year's Community Service form is Ready!!!
As a Junior, the deadline for you to submit a community service form is January 31, 2020. The community service form is available here. You may volunteer and fulfill the requirement this summer. Don't forget to submit your form as soon as you volunteer, but no later than January 31. Watch for community service contest announcements - the earlier you submit your form, the better chance you will have to win prizes!
At the end and the beginning of each school year, schools and teachers are looking for student volunteers to assist with campus and classroom clean up, moving furniture to different locations, campus beautification, and other helpful projects. Check in with some of your teachers to see about volunteering with them over the summer. This is a quick way to fulfill your community service obligation and improve your everyday surroundings..
Remember, you can always go to the Crosby Scholars Community Service page on our website to see which organizations are looking for volunteers for their upcoming events. Please make a copy of your form or take a picture of the form with your cell phone before you submit it. It is always important to keep a record of the forms you submit to our office.
You voted...
...and the winners are (drumroll please...):
2019-20 Crosby Scholars Junior Vice-Presidents:
Atkins: Walter Sellers
Carter G. Woodson: TBD
Carver: TBD
Early College: Ellie McCutchen
East Forsyth: Kari Caines
Glenn: Skylar Peddle
Kennedy: Mirtha Medel Crispin
Mt. Tabor: Ehime Abhulimen
NC Leadership Academy: Clarice Arnold
North Forsyth: Taniya France
Parkland: Niyah Pope
Quality Education Academy: Aileen Santos
Reagan: Caroline Bartlett
Reynolds: Caleb Lumpkin
Walkertown: London Gray and Emma Myers
West Forsyth: Lyba Qureshi
WS Prep Academy: Porsche Smith
Catch Up on Grade Advisor Materials
While the Grade Advisor Meetings were not mandatory, they were a great way to learn more about college admission as it pertains to sophomores. Preparing you for the future is our goal, and if you missed any or all of the Grade Advisor Meetings, you still have an opportunity to get the information you missed.
Download the meeting handout in your Crosby Scholars Student Portal and read through it to receive credit for any meetings you may have missed. Once you've downloaded the handout, go to our website to find the recording of each webinar for a quick overview of the meeting handout and activities for each meeting. You can earn credit for attending the Grade Advisor meetings by downloading and reviewing the handouts before June 30.
As a Junior, the Grade Advisor Program will differ from your freshman and sophomore years. Instead of group meetings after school, the Junior Advisor Program will be in the form of evening sessions and webinars that will prepare you for the college admission process as a junior. These sessions will conclude in the Spring of 2020.
Summer Activities: Build Your Activities Resume in your Crosby Scholars Student Portal
How do you keep track of your membership in school clubs and activities, leadership roles, awards received, service provided, etc? You create an activities resume! The Crosby Scholars Program provides you with a guide to build your activities resume through your Crosby Scholars Student Portal. Log in and view the Activities Resume tab. Then start to build your resume by completing the chart provided. Building your resume now and keeping it current will make applying to college easier!
Remember, colleges want to see your commitment, passion and leadership and will be impressed by the depth and length of your involvement in few activities more than mere membership in several activities.
HOW TO USE A RESUME
You can’t believe all the uses there are for a resume. Here are a few:
- High school counselors, teachers and others have dozens of recommendations to write. Anything you can do to make their jobs easier—as in providing an activities resume—will be greatly appreciated. The truth is that offering a well organized, easy-to-read, comprehensive resume can only have a positive effect on what recommenders say on their recommendation forms and letters.
- You can also use a resume as a giveaway to a college admissions representative with whom you interview. What better way of “breaking the ice” with an interviewer than by giving him or her a copy of your resume as you arrive?
- Having a resume ready to give or send to a college coach, college professor or someone else you meet on campus or at a college fair is a good way of being remembered.
- Resumes can be used with scholarship applications and special program applications, such as research or volunteer internships, and even summer job applications.
Source: HuffPost's The Blog
Activities Resumes: A Surprising First Step to Having a Successful College Application Experience
It's NEVER Too Early To Speak with College Admission Representatives!
Crosby Scholars can fulfill the college fair requirement beginning in the sophomore year by speaking with four college admission reps about their respective schools. We define “speak” with admission reps as initiating a conversation rather than simply asking them for a signature.
In addition, Crosby Scholars can take four official college visits and have an admissions representative or tour guide sign their college visit form. These must be official visits scheduled through the admission office or official recruitment visits for athletics, arts, etc.
A final alternative is to combine campus visits and speaking with admission reps at the college fair for a total of four visits and conversations.
In order to get the most out of attending a college fair or campus visit, Crosby Scholars should:
- Review the list of colleges represented at the fair ahead of time, and consider which ones you want to investigate further.
- Visit the websites of colleges that interest you prior to the fair or campus visit. This will prepare you to ask questions that matter to you.
- Develop a list of at least three questions for admission reps regarding admission requirements, campus life, and academic programs.
- Find out about special campus visitation days, application deadlines, and new programs.
- Think about what matters to you, and guide your conversations with admission reps accordingly.
Remember to prepare in advance in order to get the most from attending the college fair or going on campus visits. Once you have collected four signatures, submit your college fair participation form to our office to receive credit.
Click here to view and print the college fair form for sophomores.
Upcoming Summer Enrichment Opportunities
- Crosby Scholars Night at the WS Dash Baseball Game - June 10, 7:00pm. Enjoy free hot dogs, corndogs, and fries until 8:30pm. Purchase discounted tickets here.
- Crosby Scholars Community Service Fair - June 18, 11am-1pm, 2701 University Parkway. Register to attend in your Crosby Scholars Student Portal **you can also sign up to volunteer during the morning of the Community Service Fair with our Middle School Scholars**
- Right Decisions/Right Now Summer Camp - June 24-27, morning and afternoon sessions available. Registration will open in the Crosby Scholars Student Portal on June 10.
- Volunteer at the Wyndham Golf Tournament - August 1-August 4. Visit the Crosby Scholars Student Portal for more info and to sign up.
Parents can monitor their student's Crosby Scholars student portal, view announcements and events, and confirm if their student has fulfilled program requirements by logging in to their Crosby Scholars parent portal. If you need assistance accessing your parent portal, please email highschool@crosbyscholars.org.
Crosby Scholars Community Partnership
Email: highschool@crosbyscholars.org
Website: crosbyscholars.org
Location: 2701 University Parkway, Winston-Salem, NC
Phone: 336-725-5371
Facebook: facebook.com/crosbyscholars
Twitter: @crosbyscholars