Just In Time Information for October 5, 2018 – College Prep Info for Juniors and Seniors
Just In Time Information for October 5, 2018 – College Prep Info for Juniors and Seniors
The counselors would like to share some information regarding upcoming events. Much of the content is geared towards juniors and seniors, but younger students can also benefit from this information. Please know the counselors are always available to talk to your student.
College Application Blitz
On Wednesday, October 24, seniors will have a great opportunity to work on their college applications. The fall is filled with activities and things to do, so while this is technically a day off of school for them, we strongly encourage Seniors to come work on college applications that morning! Representatives from Boise State University, Lewis-Clark State College, the University of Idaho, Northwest Nazarene University, and the College of Idaho will be in the cafeteria from 9am – 11am to help students with their applications. All parents and seniors should have received a letter from the State Board of Education with details about applying to the Idaho colleges and universities through the Apply Idaho initiative. Seniors planning to apply using the Apply Idaho application will need to bring their social security numbers (necessary to receive financial aid). Application fees have been waived by all Idaho colleges and universities with the Apply Idaho application or their own university’s application. We will have access to your EdUID, which has been assigned by the state and is needed to complete the application. A link to the Apply Idaho application, as well as instructional videos can be found on the Next Steps website. https://nextsteps.idaho.gov/
The counselors will also be present to help students with non-Idaho applications, essays, and general college application questions. English teachers will also join us to help with essay proofreading. This is a great opportunity for seniors to get a head start (or complete) their college application process, so we hope to have a big crowd show up for the morning.
The counselors would like to remind seniors and parents of the three week time period needed to complete letters of recommendation. Students with a November 1 deadline must have all materials (especially the Senior Snapshot) to their counselor by October 11. We have a large number of seniors this year, so materials, submitted with less than three weeks notice may not meet deadlines. This information was conveyed to all seniors in their Government classes, and with parents at the Senior Parent Information Sessions. If you have questions, please contact your counselor, or see this link.
FAFSA and CSS Profile
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application window opened October 1st, 2018 for current seniors and parents planning on attending post secondary education institutions in the fall of 2019. Some need-based aid is based on a first come first served basis, so we encourage you to complete the FAFSA early. The head of household filing taxes as well as the student applying for Federal Student Aid both need individual FSA ID’s prior to completing the FAFSA. You can register for your FSA ID at https://fsaid.ed.gov/ and you can complete the FAFSA at https://fafsa.ed.gov/ You will need a copy of your 2017 tax records to complete the FAFSA.
Some schools also require the CSS Profile (https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/) as a part of their financial aid application. This allows the colleges to look at other information that is not available on the FAFSA in an effort to obtain the best financial aid package for your student.
Boise National College Fair and College Visits to Bishop Kelly
The Boise National College Fair will be held on October 31 at Expo Idaho. This is a national fair, so please know that the local planning committee tried to change this from Halloween, but were unsuccessful. Juniors and Seniors will have a 10:30am start that day so that they may attend the fair beginning at 9am. The colleges that have signed up to be present can be found here. We encourage students to look at the school’s websites and come prepared with questions to ask the college representatives. Parents of freshmen and sophomores are encouraged to attend the evening session from 5-7pm with your student.
A large number of schools also visit our campus during this time of year. Student’s must sign up in advance to attend these visits. Sign-up lists are available in the College Visit Notebooks or on the Google Form emailed to each junior and senior. Attendance at our Bishop Kelly visits has been low, so we would like to encourage our juniors and seniors to take advantage of this opportunity to speak to college representatives in a small group setting. The list of colleges visiting our campus is always available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d2EvUKdFZup54engEMgIrkHMV5xDg_U6XyqNlTECa0c/edit
College Fair Bar Codes
The National Boise College Fair will be held on October 31st at Expo Idaho Fairgrounds in Garden City. Students need to register at https://www.gotomyncf.com/Registration/EventSelectForState?stateName=idaho prior to attending. Note: “When you register for NACAC College Fair services through Technology Resource Corp. (TRC), you are providing personal information. This information will be provided exclusively to NACAC and those colleges and universities that you choose at the college fair. By allowing a college or university to scan your electronic barcode, you agree and give permission for all personal information to be shared with that college or university. TRC does not sell, rent, or lease any registrant information to third parties.” Students will be able to access their registration barcode on their cell phone screens after registering. The college and university representatives will scan the student barcodes on their cell phones when they visit with them at the fair. Again, this gives the college and universities access to the student personal contact information and self disclosed academic/career interests for future follow up. Counselors will be working with juniors and seniors at school to help them register, or update their account if they registered in the past. Younger students can sign up to see their counselor for help with this task. Using the bar code allows the college representatives to spend more time answering questions rather than gathering contact information.
PSAT Prep
All sophomores and juniors completed the pre-administration component of the PSAT this week in their history classes. This exam will be administered at Bishop Kelly on Wednesday, October 24. Students have been instructed to set up accounts with both CollegeBoard and Khan Academy so they can do additional test preparation. https://www.khanacademy.org/sat is a great way for juniors to link their sophomore PSAT test results for personalized OFFICIAL SAT practice with Khan Academy. If you do not have a prior PSAT test experience, you can still create an account for official PSAT/SAT test prep using the link above. Here is a helpful short video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz7Odl6e8EI
In addition, Official full length practice PSAT/SAT tests can be found on the SAT suite of assessments webpage https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/practice
Junior Pre-College Planning
The counselors hope to meet soon with juniors to go over some early college planning information. Time was spent during a recent Advisory Period encouraging students to prepare for the PSAT by linking their CollegeBoard and Khan Academy accounts. Mrs. Crum is now the College and Career Counselor for all grade levels. She, as well your student’s regular counselor, welcome the opportunity to meet with students and parents to get a head start on the college application process. Stay tuned for more information regarding a Junior Parent College Information Night in the early spring.
Boise State University Visit Opportunities
College of Idaho Fall Discover Day – check out the details here
Idaho State University Campus Visit Opportunities
On October 23rd, we have Health Science Experience Night. This event is at the Meridian Campus and is designed for students thinking about going into the health care field. https://www.isu.edu/hsen/
View demonstrations in the Treasure Valley Anatomy & Physiology Virtual Laboratory (all ages welcome)
Lewis-Clark State College Warrior Discovery Day Bus Information
Nov 1-2, 2018
Free transportation and overnight accommodations for students interested in visiting LCSC. Register Here: www.lcsc.edu/discvory-day
University of Idaho Visit Opportunities:
High School Design Day, October 12
Other University of Idaho Visit Opportunities
