Sequoia College & Career Newsletter
Week of September 20-26, 2020
Welcome Students & Families
Scroll through for important grade level announcements, dates/deadlines, virtual college visits, scholarships and student opportunities.
How to reach us?
For general questions and inquiries please email us at sequoiaccc@seq.org
Student Virtual Appointments:
Ms. Ignaitis, All HCA and Study Skills Students and Last names A-L
Ms. Rocha, All DAA and ELD Students and Last names M-Z
Important Dates and Deadlines
Sept. 14 - Oct. 9 - School Counselor individual Senior meetings
Sept. 24 - IB Junior/Senior Virtual College Fair
Sept. 22 - Sequoia College Club Starts
Sept. 30 - Virtual Private/Common Application Workshop hosted by Ms. Ignaitis & Ms. Rocha
Oct. 7 - Freshman Grade Level Meeting for 4YR/IB Information
DUE DATES
Sept 25th - LAST Day to Submit your SR/LOR form for application deadlines on or BEFORE Dec 15th
Nov 6th - LAST Day to Submit your SR/LOR form for application deadlines AFTER Dec 15th
Annual Grade Level IB/College Meetings
Freshman: October 7th
All grade-level presentations will be available on the website following each meeting.
The annual college/IB/ICAP meetings are specifically focused on the requirements, deadlines of the IB Diploma, the IB/ICAP program, and the college application process for attending a four-year college. Ms. McCahon (IB Coordinator) and Ms. Ignaitis/Ms. Rocha (College Counselors) present specific information and a different focus for each grade. Meetings are for students and parents. A meeting in Spanish for parents will be held directly after this meeting.
All meetings are virtual from 6-7 pm (Followed by meeting in Spanish). Zoom links are posted below and on the Sequoia Homepage Calendar.
Webinar Link - Passcode: 965878
Español Link - la reunión virtual comenzará a las 7 pm or zoom
College Rep Visits This Week
SENIORS keep in mind that you should make every effort to attend College Rep visits hosted by Sequoia or another school in our district as it allows for a bit of an advantage to personally get to know the school’s admissions’ representatives - sometimes the very people who will be reading your applications!
Mills College
Tuesday 9/22
8am
Occidental College
Tuesday 9/22
3pm
Stony Brook University, State University of New York
Wednesday, 9/23
11:30am
Michigan State University
Wednesday 9/23
1pm
Merrimack College
Wednesday 9/23
2:15pm
University of San Francisco
Thursday, 9/24
8am
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Thursday, 9/24
2:30pm
Miami University-Oxford
Thursday 9/24
2:45pm
Carnegie Mellon University
Friday, 9/25
8am
Districtwide Virtual College Visits
All students are invited to attend Districtwide college informational meetings. For a complete list and zoom links click here.
Virtual College Events (Information Sessions and Workshops)
Fall for Tufts
Sept 19th- Oct 17th
Offering a series of programming to better understand Tufts and the competitive admissions process. Space is limited, register here!
USC Virtual Presentation
Sept 21st at 5 PM
Meet your local representative Reuben Hernandez. Register Here!
Oberlin
Sept 21-22 and Oct 7-8
Oberlin is a competitive small liberal arts college and a College of Conservatory of Music is offering two Multicultural Visit Program
For more information and registration, click here
Virtual College Fair for California IB High School Juniors and Seniors
Sept 24th
There are multiple sessions available. Register for each session individually
For more information and registration, click here
Other Virtual Events
Military Academy Information Night from US Representative Jackie Speier
Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 5pm
This event is for middle school and high school students who are interested in attending a military academy and for counselors and teachers who would like to learn about the nomination process. Representatives from the Military Academies - U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Military Academy West Point, U.S. Air Force Academy, and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy - will be presenting and available to answer questions. The application and more information can be found here.
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 920 4192 8928
Dial In: +1 669 900 9128
If you have any questions, please contact Raghda Karajah in my district office at raghda.karajah@mail.house.gov or (650) 342-0300.
The deadline to apply for a Congressional Nomination through her office is Thursday, November 5, 2020.
Upward Bound
Upward Bound is an academic program to support students from Freshman through Senior Year.
Services Include daily online tutoring, college, career, financial and academic advising,
For eligibility and application information click here or call: (650) 306-3332
Community Service Opportunity at Riekes Center
The Riekes Center for Human Enhancement is continuing to offer opportunities for students to volunteer within our community this fall. Community service opportunities are now virtually available 6 days a week. During our virtual meetings, students collaborate on projects that directly give back to the local community as well as engage in learning opportunities-- all in the spirit of helping others.
Visit their website to learn more and sign up!
Interested in Working on a Political Campaign?
Students can get involved in a high energy progressive run by joining the Kumar for Congress 2020 all-year Internship program. There are many opportunities that work for your flexible schedule, that involve pandemic work, community work, political campaign work and activism with specific local challenges.
To get involved, submit your info at RishiKumar.com/Fellowship and you will be invited to a short interview.
General 4 Year College Information
Requesting Initial Transcripts
Students request transcripts on Naviance on the Colleges I'm Applying to tab.
The only transcripts that need to be requested AT THIS TIME are for OUT OF STATE public colleges and some Non-Common App private colleges that do not require a school report.
DO NOT REQUEST TRANSCRIPTS FOR:
1. UC/CSU - Not required with your application
2. ANY College Listed on your School Report/LOR Form- They will be sent automatically by your counselor with your school report. *There is a five school day turn around for the Guidance Department to send transcripts.
For help, please watch this short video How To Request a Transcript
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SAT/ACT SCORES
If you have SAT/ACT scores, send them to ONE UC and all the other UC's will receive the same scores automatically.
*As of 9/20/20 Berkely, Santa Cruz and Irvine are test blind and will not be using test scores.
If you are applying to Private and Out of State Colleges – You should send your SAT and/or ACT scores to EACH school BEFORE your application due date if you have them.
Common Application Information
Private College/Common Application Workshop - Students Only
Sept 30th
A lot of students make the same mistakes entering school information on the Common Application including exams and senior courses, have trouble correctly requesting LORs and/or correctly entering application information in Colleges I’m Applying to on Naviance.
Please join Ms. Ignaitis and Ms. Rocha on Wednesday, Sept 30 at 4 PM for an interactive workshop. Zoom link.
Sequoia School Information for Common Application
For the Education – Grades Section of the Common Application
Graduating Class Size: 473
Class Rank Report: None
GPA Scale Reporting: 4
Cumulative GPA: Correct GPA is now on your transcript on IC
GPA Weighting: Weighted
CSU INFORMATION
If you started an application, all the information will be deleted! The application that is open now is for Spring 2021.
Application Workshop dates/times coming soon!
UC INFORMATION
Understand How Each UC Admits Students
EVERY UC reviews applications differently. Although there is one application, when you select an individual university on the UC application, that school’s specific colleges and majors can be seen to choose from. Some UCs admit by major for all majors and some only admit by majors for certain colleges and majors. Although they all use the 14 factors for a comprehensive review, they all weigh those factors differently.
*UCs are super competitive, take your time to research the way each review and admits students.
Application workshop dates/times coming soon!
OTHER IMPORTANT SENIOR INFORMATION
Senior Appointments with School Counselor
Counselors are meeting virtually with seniors for mandatory individual appointments from September 14th through October 9th to review graduation status and post-secondary plans.
(Note: You can check to see who your counselor is on IC under the Reports tab and click on Unofficial Transcript or on your IC schedule)
Seniors must schedule a 30-minute appointment with their assigned counselor by clicking on this link
College Club
We are gearing up to start College Club which will be meeting on Tuesdays from 4:00 - 5:00 pm. (Start Date Tuesday, September 22).
College Club is an opportunity for any senior that needs help with the college process with step by step instructions for the Cal State, the University of California and Private School, and any other college processes! Get your questions answered, stress minimized, and have some fun virtually! We want to support each and every one of you through this process! If you are interested sign up by completing this form and the College Center will follow up with you.
Complete this form to sign up!
Senior Portrait Information
Make appointments as soon as possible with Prestige Portraits in San Carlos!
*Try to get your picture taken by Halloween, Thanksgiving at the latest.
Questions? Contact Eileen Bray via email: ebray@seq.org
Do you want to vote but don't know how? - Message From the Teen Wellness Center
Do you want to vote but don't know how? Read our introduction for first-time voters! Learn how to register to vote online, with simple, understandable instructions, written by youth for youth!
Click this Link to the slideshow
SENIOR Scholarship of the Week!
Sequoia Awards
The Sequoia Awards provides scholarships to high school seniors who are outstanding community volunteers.
To apply for a Sequoia Awards scholarship, you must:
- have performed voluntary community service;
- be a high school senior, and
- reside at a Redwood City mailing address. This includes unincorporated Redwood City, North Fair Oaks, Emerald Hills, and Redwood Shores
For more information and scholarship application click here!
DEADLINE NOVEMBER 30
How To Videos for students now on our website!
All Newsletters Available Online!
September 6-12 Newsletter
Seniors: Do you need a School Report/Letter of Recommendation
September 13- 19 Newsletter
How to Request a Transcript
Common Application - Education Section Sequoia Class Size and GPA
How to Vote