September 18, 2013
 Through group advisement, we have given each senior
a folder with information about the college application
process –if you haven’t seen it yet, please look at it!
Especially the FAQ pages!
 They also gave us an email address that we will use at
least once a month with important information.
 Through individual advisement, we have started
meeting students in their senior conferences, to
discuss their after high school plans
 What does your child need to know to apply to colleges?
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What college is right?
Applications
Transcripts
Letters of recommendation
Essays
SAT/ACT Scores
Senior Athletes
 What do you need to know about paying for college?
 Financial aid
 Scholarships
 Hopefully, they have visited some college campuses
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Do they want close to home or far away?
Do they want small town or big city?
Do they want public or private?
Do they know what major they are planning on?
 Have they considered going in as “undecided”? Have they
talked to the college about what this means?
 Hopefully, they have researched the GPA and
SAT/ACT requirements
 The “best fit” is a realistic one
 We always encourage a “safety school”
 www.cfnc.org has a “matching assistant”
 Community college is a great option for students who want a 2-year
degree or want to save money by going there for 1-2 years (complete
their basic courses) and then transferring to a 4-year university
 Requirement: High School Diploma
 $69-72 per credit hour
 If they are interested in transferring to a four year University, be sure to
talk to the community college about the “transfer program”
 RCCC, CPCC, Stanly CC- Medical Assistant, Dental Hygiene, Culinary,
Automotive, Heating and Refrigeration, Welding, etc.
 The minimum GPA required for a public NC
college/university is a 2.5
 After researching and visiting colleges, your child
hopefully has an idea of what colleges are realistic for
them
 Appalachian State University
Student
GPA
1
2
3
4
5
3.4166
3.6311
4.1172
4.5185
4.00
Class
Rank
121 of 338
98 of 338
42 of 338
11 of 338
82 of 335
No. of AP
Classes
2
0
4
2
4
SAT Scores
(r/m)
580/600
640/570
600/650
690/620
600/630
 Clemson University
Student
GPA
1
2
4.63
4.32
Class
Rank
7 of 287
33 of 287
No. of AP
Classes
4
3
SAT Scores (r/m)
650/650
660/710
Students can get scholarships ranging from $500 to in-state
tuition rates at Clemson. Usually, recipients of academic
recruiting scholarships have an SAT score of at least 1370 in R/M
(ACT 31) and rank in the top 10 percent of their senior class.
Davidson College
Student GPA
1
2
4.7164
4.84
Class Rank
5 of 283
2 of 287
No. of AP
Classes
5
6
SAT Scores (r/m)
730/730
630/720
Duke University
Student
GPA
Class Rank
1
5.0432
1 of 227
No. of AP
Classes
8
SAT Scores (r/m)
No. of AP
Classes
2
1
0
1
1
SAT Scores (r/m)
740/780
East Carolina University
Student
GPA
Class Rank
1
2
3
4
5
4.35
3.0304
3.7469
4.0031
3.16
41 of 335
190 of 338
82 of 338
56 of 338
160 of 287
540/580
480/570
390/510
450/610
460/520
North Carolina State University
Student
1
2
3
4
5
GPA
3.8348
4.1684
4.2531
4.5714
4.15
Class Rank
71 of 338
38 of 338
29 of 338
7 of 338
71 of 287
No. of AP Classes
1
8
0
2
4
SAT Scores (r/m)
520/590
550/680
570/550
590/570
670/680
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Student
1
2
3
4
5
GPA
4.2436
4.2917
4.5046
4.8300
4.34
Class Rank
31 of 338
25 of 338
12 of 338
1 of 338
30 of 287
No. of AP Classes
3
2
5
7
3
SAT Scores (r/m)
590/630
510/570
600/660
580/770
570/610
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Student
1
2
3
4
5
GPA
2.8378
3.1296
3.7515
4.2345
3.03
Class Rank
212 of 338
168 of 338
81 of 338
32 of 338
175 of 287
No. of AP Classes
1
2
4
3
0
SAT Scores (r/m)
580/610
450/500
600/650
570/510
450/550
 We recommend applying to 3-5 colleges, if the student
can afford the college application fees
 If your child is on free/reduced lunch and got a fee
waiver for the SAT, they can have 2 college application
fee waivers
 Just ask your counselor for those
 With the conversion to Power School that the state of
North Carolina has gone through this year, transcripts
are not yet finalized. If you need a transcript right
now, you will receive a NCWise transcript that will not
reflect everything:
 We have not yet re-ranked (so rank could change)
 Classes taken over the summer will not show up
 Schedule changes made over the summer will not show
up
We will announce when Power School transcripts are
ready
 Transcript Request Form (online, in their folder, or in
the guidance office)
 One filled out per college
 If student is under 18, you have to sign; if they are 18 or
over, they need to sign the request form
 Give Ms. Galloway 48 hours to process
 Student will receive a note that says “Your transcripts are
ready to be picked up” – you put postage on the envelope
and mail it
 County Policy: First 3 are FREE and after that $5 each
 Students can send transcripts electronically if they
prefer through www.cfnc.org for FREE
 If asking for one right now, you will get a NCWise
transcript and an updated schedule
 Be sure your child checks their “transcript manager”
on CFNC to see if the transcript has been received
 Common App and SendEdu are also ways some
colleges may ask for transcripts to be sent
electronically (they count as one of the 3 for free)
 We are not able to process these just yet (should be able
to in a couple of weeks)
 Students can apply to colleges online through a variety
of ways:
 Preferred method by some colleges: the college’s own
website (wolfpaw for NCSU, etc.)
 www.cfnc.org for any and all colleges in North Carolina
– fill out application once and then it self populates for
additional colleges
 The Common Application-which is the only way to apply
this year for Chapel Hill (www.commonapp.org)
Login Screen
http://www.commonapp.org
 It asks the student to send the transcript electronically
through common app and we can do this once the
PowerSchool transcripts are ready
 If transcripts are not available within the next few
weeks, we will resort to sending them by mail!
 We are hearing that DPI should have them ready by
October 1st.
 Some colleges require them, some are optional and some
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do not look at them
Give the teacher or counselor 2 weeks to write a good letter
Fill out the letter of recommendation request form and
make copies of it (PDF on student services website or in
their folder)
If using cfnc.org or common app, be sure to look at
“supplemental forms” for each college
It will be given back in a sealed envelope (student waives
their right to see it)
 You put postage on it and mail it
 Some schools have them and some don’t
 Most importantly, be sure your student gets someone
to PROOFREAD the essays
 Writing a good essay includes:
 Don’t write a “generic” answer – it should reflect the
student!
 Tailor the essay to the school’s mission – you need to
show that you will fit in at that college
 Spell correctly! Don’t count on spell check alone
 All juniors took the ACT last year at least once
 Hopefully, students also took the SAT—they would
have signed up through www.collegeboard.org
 Our transcripts do not have ACT/SAT scores listed
 Students must go to collegeboard.org and/or
actstudent.org and tell them what colleges should
receive scores -- when registering for the test (4 free –
after the test, a fee of approximately $11 per college)
 Colleges look at the best score in each category (even if
students took it multiple times)
ACT Composite Score
36
35
34
33
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
SAT CR+M (Single Score)
1600
1560
1510
1460
1420
1380
1340
1300
1260
1220
1190
1150
1110
1070
1030
990
950
910
870
830
790
 If your senior wants to play a sport at college, they
need to be registered with the NCAA clearinghouse
 There are GPA and SAT/ACT requirements for
Division I and II schools – know your requirements
 NCAA looks at only “core classes” including English,
Math, Science, Social Studies and World Languages
 This website also contains an informational video
about the requirements for Division I and II schools
 Complete online college applications
 Including writing/proofreading essays (if applicable)
 Ask teachers/counselor for letters of recommendation
 Sometimes schools/scholarships will want a “community
recommender” – consider the student’s boss, church youth
group leader, etc.
 Send ACT or SAT scores to all colleges that you are applying
to
 Send in transcripts either now or when PowerSchool
transcripts are ready
 Be registered with NCAA (if trying to play a sport in
college)
 Financial Aid comes from the Federal Government in
the following forms:
 Grants: Funds that usually do not have to be repaid. An
example would be the Pell Grant
 Student Loans: Funds that do have to be repaid. Some
of these are subsidized by the Government (they pay the
interest while the student is in college)
 Work Study: these are government
funded jobs on college campus
 Direct Costs:
 Tuition
 Books
 Room/Board
 Meals
 Required Fees
 Indirect Costs:
 Transportation to and from home
 Personal Computer
 Loan Fees
 FAFSA –Free Application for Federal Student Aid –www.fafsa.ed.gov
 (notice it is not FAFSA.com!)
 You can’t fill out the FAFSA until January of your senior year, but you
can begin researching the process
 www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov – predicts what funds you could be eligible for
based on last year’s income
 Go ahead and get a PIN number
 Issued to an individual and is a “signature” for Federal Student Aid
purposes
 Faster than using paper signature
 PIN is valid for years
 Parent’s PIN may be used for multiple children
 Each student must have own PIN
 Obtain PIN from www.pin.ed.gov
Results available online in 48 hours and to the institutions you list on the
FAFSA
 EFC---Expected Family Contribution
 EFC is the end result after submitting a FAFSA
 It is the determination of the amount per year a
student’s family can pay toward their child’s college
education
 The higher the EFC, the lower the chance a student
will have to receive “free” money from the government
 Calculating Your Financial Need
Cost of Attendance (COA)
– Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
= Financial Need
 Students are independent if:
 24 years old or older
 Orphan, foster child/ward of the State
 Have children for whom they provide more than 50% support
 Have a legal guardian
 Married
 Veteran or on active duty
 Graduate students
 Legally emancipated
 Homeless or at risk of homelessness
Students not meeting one of the above must include
parental information for full aid consideration.
 Significant change in your family…
 Unemployment of a parent
 Death in the family
 Change in parents’ marital status
 Medical expenses not covered by insurance
 Student cannot obtain parent information
Notify the financial aid office at your college of any special
circumstances. Be prepared to provide documentation of
any change, including the financial impact of the change.
 Subsidized Loans are available to undergraduate
students with financial need and they do not accrue
interest while the student is in school.
 Unsubsidized Loans are available, even without a
financial need, and they DO accrue interest while the
student is in school.
 Check to see if the school you will be attending
requires an additional application. Hundreds of
schools require students to complete the CSS
PROFILE, an online application that is more extensive
than the FAFSA. Your school will let you know if the
form is required when you apply for aid.
 Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, and Davidson are just some
colleges that require the PROFILE
 Financial Aid Video from CFNC
 College Foundation of North Carolina
 www.cfnc.org
 Federal Department of Education
 http://studentaid.gov/
 Student Financial Aid for North Carolinians
 www.cfnc.org/fabook
 The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid
 www.finaid.org
 Merit Based: given primarily based on grades, SAT
scores, rank, GPA, etc.
 Need Based: scholarships that consider a family’s
financial need for money to pay for college
 Criteria Based: given based on criteria such as a desire
to study Nursing or Accounting (a specific major).
They usually have a merit component
 We send to the students, via email, a listing of
scholarships for that month and the next at the
beginning of each month (Senior Notes)
•
“The scholarship is guaranteed or your money back.”
No one can guarantee your scholarship before it is awarded.
•
•
•
•
“Come to our free seminar and we’ll show you how to get more
financial aid.”
This is a sales pitch. Don’t pay for information that you can get
elsewhere for free.
“The scholarship requires a small fee.” Never pay a fee to get a
scholarship.
“You are a finalist” for an award you never applied for.
If you did not apply, it is not a legitimate offer.
“You can’t get this information anywhere else.”
Everyone has access to the same information.
 September 24, 2013 6 to 8 pm
 Cabarrus County Schools is hosting an annual College Fair at the
Boys and Girls Club in Concord
 Come prepared to speak to college admissions officers
 Get on their mailing lists (your address label)
 Be sure to stop by the HRHS table and sign in
 November 5th at Winkler Middle School (time TBD)
 Cabarrus County is hosting a Financial Aid workshop with a
speaker from CFNC
 November 18-22, 2013
 College Application Week – certain colleges will waive their application
fee if you apply during this week
 FAFSA DAY: February 22, 2014