PHS Jr/Sr Counseling Newsletter
August/September 2020
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.
Seniors have also each received a folder with resources for the school year in planning and preparation for life beyond high school. Juniors will receive their folder the week of 8/24. I shared the folders with the students when I met with them in their theology classes.
Juniors and seniors should also connect with me on Remind for convenient reminders throughout the year.
Juniors: https://www.remind.com/join/bpride2022
Seniors: https://www.remind.com/join/bpride2021
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. This year is challenging in new ways with some classes meeting virtually and activities being altered, but I am so excited to see your successes in meeting the challenges 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
Junior Year Goals
- Signing up for Remind to stay connected all year and senior year too: https://www.remind.com/join/phs21blue
- Improving (or maintaining) GPA
- Getting involved in school organizations/clubs and applying for leadership positions
- NHS application (by invitation only, weighted GPA of 4.0 required)
- Get out and visit some college campuses and explore options, virtually at minimum
- Identify college majors of interest
- Ace the PSAT this October 14th and achieve goals for SAT/ACT this spring
- Register with the NCAA if needed
- Attend a summer camp before senior year, participate in a mission trip, or take advantage of a leadership opportunity that is related to your future field
Registering for the dual credit courses this year:
ACP and Ivy Tech dual credit
Students taking the Ivy Tech Communications 101 with Ms. Miller this year, or the Ivy Tech Business and Psychology classes this semester, should already be registered for this fall semester. The link to apply for the student ID# was sent to all students in July. (www.ivytech.edu/dualcreditapplication). Please let the counseling department know if there are any issues with registration or if a student is unable to access their Ivy Tech class through the MyIvy/Canvas platform.
Students taking ACP (Advanced College Placement) courses through IU Bloomington will need to register for the course(s). These courses include ACP Biology, ACP Spanish III/IV, ACP French IV, etc. Directions and links to apply have been emailed directly to students. In order to receive college credit the student must be enrolled with IU Bloomington for the course. Enrollment window will remain open until September 11th. 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 14, 2020 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 2021. Seniors can retake the exam to try for a higher score this fall, or take for the first time due to Covid-19. Seniors should take either the SAT or ACT if possible. Most colleges have gone test optional for the class of 2021. It's important to review the individual college admission requirements for each school in consideration.
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
Seniors,
There will be many local scholarships you can apply for to help cover the costs of college. I will post links and applications in the newsletters throughout the year, post them in the school announcements, post them in our Google Classroom, email them directly to you as I receive them, and send reminders through the Remind app. My advice is to try to apply for several of them. Not all students will be eligible for all scholarships but there will be some matches for you during the year.
Currently, the Lilly Application is open for students who live in Clark and Floyd counties and the minimum GPA requirement is 3.5: https://www.cfsouthernindiana.com/scholarships/apply-for-scholarships/ Application closes September 14 at noon. Counselor portion must also be completed by 9/14 by noon, so please add me as soon as possible.
Harrison County residents can apply for the Lilly at: https://hccfindiana.org/Scholarships The application opened August 15th and will close September 30th.
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 plenty of time, but use the months of September and early 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 (week of August 24th) 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, 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 order 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:
What is the FAFSA?? It's a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the official application for money to help pay for college. The application opens the door, so to speak, for federal aid, state aid, and direct need-based aid from the college.
FAFSA Window: The application will open on 10/1/2020 (Fall Break is a great time to check this off the to-do list). This year, the deadline has been extended to April 15th, 2021. 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!
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.
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
College Acceptances and Scholarships for the Class of 2021:
In future newsletters additional college acceptances and scholarship offers from colleges 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.
Our Lady of Providence High School
PHS Junior/Senior Counseling Newsletter
Contact your counselor, Mrs. Losey, with questions.
CEEB Code: 150540
Juniors: https://www.remind.com/join/bpride2022
Seniors: https://www.remind.com/join/bpride2021
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