Central Catholic College Counseling
Class of 2021 - Sept 14, 2020
Request a College Counseling Meeting with Mrs. Martin
Senior College Planning Night Recap
Do you need a copy of your transcript?
Login to Naviance Student and follow the clicks below:
- About Me
- My Stuff
- Documents Shared With Me
- Unofficial Transcript
- 6th Semester Transcript
Naviance Student
- Naviance Student is a great college search tool! Use the Find Your Fit or Research Colleges Tab to explore options that you might not have thought about!
- Update your "Colleges Applying to" List
- Use the Compare Me and Scattergram tool in Naviance Student to explore admissibility.
Letters of Recommendation Process
WHO, WHEN, HOW?
How many letters do you need? Usually you will need:
A letter of recommendation from your academic counselor.
A letter of recommendation from 1 teacher - but check your Common Application requirements under college information tab or if it isn't a Common App school check the college's website (or check with me). You may need 2 teachers.
Which teacher should you ask?
A teacher from your junior year if you are applying to college with a November or other fall deadline. If applying for a January or February deadline you could use a senior year teacher.
Teacher of a core subject - MATH, SCIENCE, ENGLISH, SOCIAL STUDIES, WORLD LANGUAGE. If you plan to apply to nursing or engineering schools you should ask a math or science teacher.
When and how should you ask a teacher and your counselor to write for you?
Email them and ask nicely if they would be willing to write a positive letter of recommendation.
Please follow these 2 important guidelines for emailing:
- Email Subject Line should read - LOR Request, your name
- Copy me (nmartin@centralcatholichigh.org) on the email!
First come first served! So ask early! We give teachers and counselors 4 weeks from the official request date (the date you tell me you are ready for letters).
What do you have to do before a letter will be written for you?
Teachers and counselors need some assistance from you so that they emphasize what’s important to you! Help them help you!
Complete the Letter of Recommendation Survey in Naviance Student (About me, My surveys, Letter of Recommendation Info).
Parents are also welcome to complete the Naviance survey, Family Comments for College Recommendations (About me, My surveys, Family Comments...)
Resume of Activities - Naviance student has an easy to use resume tool -- or email me a resume and I will upload it to your Naviance account.
LAST BUT IMPORTANT STEP!
Copy or forward me the letter of recommendation (LOR) Email. Letters will not be in process until you let me know you’ve completed all the steps above!
TESTING - ACT & SAT
- Most colleges are not requiring an ACT or SAT test score for admissions.
- If it's Common App school -- check under the testing requirements for each school.
- If it's not a Common app school -- check the college website -- or ask me!
- If you have the opportunity to take a test it may help you (depending on the schools you are applying to). If you have questions please email me - nmartin@centralcatholichigh.org.
University of Oregon and Scholarship Requirements - HERE (scholarship requirements are currently under review by UO -- so stay tuned!).
How To Write an Awesome Essay for College & Scholarship Applications
☑ Follow directions.
This simple tip is the most important one. Answer the question asked of you, keep within page or word limits, and pay attention to any special formatting requests.
☑ Write your best.
For most applications, you will only be submitting one or two written pieces. The people who read your applications assume that what they see is the best you can do. It’s your job to make sure you prove them right! Your essays should be examples of your best writing.
☑ Proofread.
This is good practice no matter what you’re writing, but you’ll want to make sure you proofread these essays extra carefully. Better yet, have a friend or trusted adult proofread for you, too. You’d be surprised at the number of applicants who write that they really want to go to Oregon State University on their application to Linfield University! Thorough proofreading can prevent these simple mistakes.
☑ Be yourself.
Essays are an opportunity for the admissions and scholarship committees to learn about the parts of you and your experiences that aren’t captured by the “numbers” (GPA). Use your essay to show them what’s important to you and to let your personality shine through. For example, some students wonder if it’s okay to write a humorous essay. The best advice we’ve heard about this is “Funny essays can be great to read, but if no one’s ever told you you’re funny, this isn’t the time to try.”
☑ Remember you have an audience.
Most of the time you won’t meet the person who is reading your application, so it can feel like you don’t have an audience. It’s important to remember that you do. While it’s okay to write about the things that matter to you, it’s always wise to consider that you don’t know the politics, religion, or personal beliefs of the person who is reading your application. Choose a topic that interests you, but be careful not to offend.
☑ Reduce, reuse, recycle.
There’s no question that writing essays can be time consuming. Reduce the amount of time you spend by reusing your work when possible. Many prompts are just slightly different from one another, and with some careful editing (and proofreading!), you should be able to recycle an essay for one application into a usable essay for another.
Virtual Financial Aid Workshops hosted by the University of Portland
You are invited to attend one of the 3 Financial Aid Workshops being hosted by the Financial Aid Department at University of Portland.
- Wednesday, September 30 at 3:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 21 at 3:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 18 at 3:00 p.m.
Register to attend (Zoom webinar format) here
All sessions will include a Q & A portion and all sessions will cover the same information.
Net Price Calculators - How much will a college really cost?
Search for Net Price Calculators on each college's financial aid page or search HERE
What is a Net Price Calculator?
Net price calculators are available on a college’s or university’s website and allow prospective students to enter information about themselves to find out what students like them paid to attend the institution in the previous year, after taking grants and scholarship aid into account.
What does Net Price mean?
Net Price is the amount that a student pays to attend an institution in a single academic year AFTER subtracting scholarships and grants the student receives. Scholarships and grants are forms of financial aid that a student does not have to pay back.
Complete a NETPRICE CALCULATOR for each school on your list! Students and parents will need to work together to provide the required information.
How to Pay For College Virtual Event - English
- FREE
- Participants will be able to privately interact with financial aid officers from across Oregon via a secure chat room
- For more info, contact Jennifer Satalino, TCP director at 971-722-4493 or via email at jsatalino@ecmc.org.
REGISTER HERE
Wednesday, Sep 16, 2020, 06:00 PM
undefined
How to Pay For College Virtual Event - Spanish
Este gratuito evento esta accesible a todos con una conexion a Internet o una señal celular fuerte en su teléfono mobil. Las familias seran capaces de interactuar personalmente y en privado con funcionarios de ayuda financiera de universidades en Oregon a traves de una sala de chat segura, a fin de que puedan recibir información sobre sus preguntas específicas. Para obtener mas informacion, pongase en contacto con Jennifer Satalino, a jsatalino@ecmc.org.
Register - HERE
Wednesday, Sep 30, 2020, 06:00 PM
undefined
Virtual College Visits for Central Catholic Students and Families
- View list with dates, times, and zoom links HERE. (students can access using a Central Catholic email. Parents must request access to view the list).
- Visits will be offered Monday through Thursday at 3:00 PM and 3:30 PM.
- Sign up is not necessary -- just join the zoom meeting!
Virtual Jesuit Excellence Tour
- Wednesday, September 23: 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM (ET)
- Sunday, October 11: 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM (ET)
- Thursday, November 5: 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM (ET)
See the JET webpage for all updates and the link to join : HERE. Use this code to register - JetTour2020.
Catholic College Admission Association Virtual Events
National CCAA Virtual College Fair #1
- Tuesday, September 29, 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm ET
- Registration link for students will be available on our website on September 18
- Thursday, October 15, 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm ET
- Registration link for students will be available on our website on October 5
NACAC Virtual College Fairs
Log in on these fair dates to meet with 600+ colleges and universities. They'll be online to talk with high school juniors and seniors. Find out when they're having Zoom sessions and drop in to attend! Click below to see which colleges will be there on each fair date:
- Monday, Oct. 12 (or download PDF version), 1 - 9 p.m. ET
- Sunday, Oct. 18 (or download PDF version), 12 - 8 p.m. ET
- Sunday, Nov. 8 (or download PDF version), 2 - 10 p.m. ET
Each virtual fair is a free, one-day event. Attend as often as you like. Parents invited, too.
Simply sign up at virtualcollegefairs.org now and register for one or more fairs. On the event date, use your phone or computer to log in. Learn, connect, ask questions, and discover your best college fit!
SCHOLARSHIPS
- Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs Scholarship - $2,500 scholarships to students majoring in programs that lead to careers in manufacturing at trade, technical, community or 4-year colleges. Due September 30
- #WeBelongInCollege Scholarship - $1,000 scholarship for sharing stories of struggle and triumph on social media. Due September 30