Helpful advice from college planning night

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Brandi Marlin

KC writer Brandi Marlin recaps some of the important advice offered from Tuesday night’s college planing event.

TOWAMENCIN- As all students know, planning and getting ready for college can be the most stressful part of your time as a high school student. To many, it seems that no matter how you attempt to plan, you are doing it wrong. On February 26th, North Penn High School held a college planning night to help students who feel lost in the college buzz. Here are the highlights from the night and the top tips the counselors provided:

Naviance:

  • About tab: do strength explorer surveys and write your resume to keep track of all your accomplishments
  • College- advanced college search: do college search and research colleges that you might want to apply to

The Options: different degrees

  • Four year college: bachelor’s degree, 2+2 or 3+2 masters program built in
  • Two year college: associates degree or certificate, MCCC 4 year program with partner school, technical or trade school certificate
  • How to pick your college: location, size, academic majors, competitiveness, cost, experiences

Academic Performance: what will colleges see

  • All classes 9th-12th and final grades
  • Attendance
  • Weighted and unweighted GPA

The process: year by year what to do

  • Sophomore year: work hard, earn good grades, get involved, PSAT, career day, college and career research
  • Junior year: work hard, earn good grade, continue with activities, work on Naviance, visit campus
  • Senior year: visit campus, begin working on applications, be aware of deadlines, Naviance boot camp, college application night September 10th

Standardized Testing: options

  • SAT, SAT II, ACT
  • A tutor or tutor book can help boost your scores

Your statistics (GPA and class rank)

  • Based on 5 majors
  • IFE: ineligible for exclusion (certain classes are ineligible to be excluded)
  • 9-12 ranked

Resources Available

  • College and Career center (student and family appointments)
  • Naviance
  • Guidance office
  • College representatives and fairs
  • College admission websites and offices
  • FAFSA: application required to be considered for all federal aid; must be submitted as soon as possible after October 1st of senior year
  • FAFSA4Caster: provides students and families with an early estimate of eligibility for federal student financial assistance
  • FAFSA Pin: apply for your pin number required to complete FAFSA
  • Smart Track
  • CSS/Financial Aid Profile- College Board: some colleges or scholarships require completion of this profile to apply for aid
  • PA HIgh education assistance agency
  • Smart Track: A college and financial aid predictor. Percentages of college aid from each specific college
  • Fast web, Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid: scholarship search engine
  • Merit Aid: guide to merit and academic scholarships across the U.S.