College Counseling
9th and 10th Grade
NAVIANCE SELF DISCOVERY
NAVIANCE
- NAVIANCE is a web-based, post-secondary education and career research and planning tool for students, parents, and educators. NAVIANCE can help a student prepare for college or a future career.
- Students and families can use Naviance for career and interest assessments, college search and application guidance.
- Guidance counselors use Naviance to manage and send required college application materials such as transcripts, letters of recommendation, and required forms.
- Parents can also have an account that is associated with their child's. Please email your student's counselor:
- Mrs. Martin - A-E, nmartin@nchstx.org
- Mrs. Perales - F-Le, tperales@nchstx.org
- Dr. Quarles - Li-Ra, squarles@nchstx.org
- Mrs. Johnson - Re-Z, sjohnson@nchstx.org
It's never too early to start planning!
Naviance offers a series of career assessments that help students:
- Discover multiple career options based on their interests and strengths and personality traits.
- Plan their career paths based on general areas of interest.
- Allow students to realize their goals, skills, knowledge, values, constraints and interests to help them make better academic decisions.
During this process, students gain a clear understanding of the academic preparation required to pursue careers that are likely to be fulfilling to them.
Complete one of more of the career assessments offered in Naviance.
#1 Career Cluster Finder
Discover careers that match your interests!
The Career Cluster Finder helps you identify your interests and discover career clusters that contain careers that might interest you.- Tell Naviance activities that you like and dislike.
Tell Naviance about your personal qualities.
- Tell Naviance school subjects that you like and dislike.
- Naviance then shows your best match Career Clusters so you can favorite them and explore related pathways and careers.
#2 Career Interest Profiler
Identify your personality traits!
The Career Interest Profiler captures your interests to help identify your personality traits and suggests careers based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s data.
How it Works
- Plan to spend at least 15 minutes on this assessment.
- The Career Interest Profiler then maps your results to Holland’s 6 personality traits.
- You’ll answer 60 questions about your interests.
Naviance then shows you careers that map to your traits and educational aspirations.
#3 Strengths Explorer
Find out what your talents are!
Strengths Explorer, powered by Gallup, will help uncover your talents and reveal your potential strengths to you and the people in your world. From there, you will begin a wonderful journey of discovery, and you'll have the tools you need to make the most of your talents.
Quick tips:
- You'll answer 78 short questions.
- You can only take this once. (We can't reset this for you.)
- You can't go back and change your answers as you progress.
- Your answers are automatically saved, but we recommend finishing it in one sitting.
#4 Road Trip Nation
Explore your career options and find professions that match your interests by reading and watching interviews about how inspiring people started doing what they do.
The Road Trip Nation group has interviewed 1290 leaders creating 10700 videos on struggle, triumph, and self discovery that have been broken into 48 themes and 29 interests .
START WHERE YOU ARE!
If you're just starting high school, you can do some things now to help get ready for college. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
- Read every day
People who read more know more. Read at least 30 minutes every day, in addition to studying and doing homework. This habit will pay off when you take tests with timed reading sections, like college admission tests.
- Get involved
Getting ready for college isn't all work. Find something you really like doing, and then dive into it. Maybe you're drawn to sports, student council, music or art. Join a school group or club, or find other ways to follow your passion. You'll develop skills and show colleges you can make a commitment and stick with it.
- Explore your interests
Identify your interests — likes and dislikes — not just in classes but also in every area. This will help you focus on your goals. Talk to other people, such as your school counselor, teachers, recent college graduates who are working, professionals in the community, etc., about careers you might find interesting.
- Involve your family
If your family members haven't been to college themselves, they may think they can't help you with college planning. That's not true. They know you well and can help you make good choices. Have your family members work with your teachers and school counselors to get you on the path to college.
- Find a mentor
Look for adults who can support you and help you reach your goals. If you're interested in a particular subject or activity, let a teacher or school counselor know about it. Find someone you trust to talk to about your goals.
- If a problem comes up, ask for help
If you have a problem that's getting in the way of schoolwork, ask someone you trust and respect for advice or help—whether it's a friend, family member, coach, doctor or teacher. If you're having trouble with a class, talk with a teacher or school counselor about what type of tutoring or other assistance is available.
- Take challenging courses
Take available advanced courses. Colleges look at your grades, but they also pay attention to how tough your courses are—they want to see that you've challenged yourself. Also, if you take college-level courses, such as Advanced Placement classes, you may be able to get college credit.
- Get ready for the SAT
You can get on track for the SAT while you're a sophomore. Taking the PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, or PSAT 8/9 is a great way to practice for the SAT. And taking the PSAT/NMSQT again as a junior, can help you qualify for scholarships. All 9th and 10th graders take a SAT based test in October. Remember to sign up for Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy®, so you can access free, personalized study tools to help you get ready for the test.
- Talk to people in the know
Find out about college admission, academics and campus life by asking someone who's experienced it, such as students from your high school who are now in college. Ask your school counselors and teachers questions and learn about their experiences. Talk to a college professor or administrator to get more information.
MAKE A 4 YEAR PLAN
- What type of Diploma would you like to earn: Regular Diploma or Honors Diploma?
- Review the courses you've taken and the courses you would like to take over the next couple years at Nolan Catholic. Map it out! Use the 4 Year Plan below.
- Review the course options for each grade below.