College Application Day

College Application Day at JBHS

Friday, November 14, 2014

            JBHS has been selected by the Department of Education to be one of 11 schools in PA to “pilot” College Application Campaign Day! The American College Application Campaign is a national effort to increase the number of first-generation, low-income students pursuing a college degree or other form of post-secondary education. The primary purpose of this campaign is to help high school seniors navigate the complex college process and ensure each student applies to at least one postsecondary institution.

What does this mean for your student?

All seniors will have the opportunity to apply to college on November 14^th between 8:30am-3pm. Seniors can stop by the library during their English, Lunch, Study Hall, Co-Op Theory, or Honors Economics periods to fill out applications. Admissions counselors and college advisers will be on hand to assist students in the process, answering their questions and ensuring applications are complete. Students who have already completed their applications will have the opportunity to apply for scholarships during these periods. College Application Day is an easy, stress-free way for your child to pursue post-secondary educational opportunities.
            College representatives from the following institutions will be available to help with applications to any college, in addition to answering questions about their own schools: Shippensburg University, Franklin & Marshall College, Penn State, Hagerstown Community College, and Harrisburg Area Community College.
            Shippensburg University Admissions Counselors will also conduct the first-ever JBHS Live Application Day. Students who apply to SU on November 14^th will have the $45 application fee WAIVED and admissions counselors will be on-site to give admissions decisions [Note: sign-ups are required for this portion of the event].
            ALL seniors who submit an application on November 14^th will also get to spin a prize wheel. Seniors who submit an application on November 14^th OR who show proof that they have previously submitted applications will be entered to win the grand prize: $50 to Sheetz!

            In more ways than one, this opportunity will prove beneficial for our students. Please encourage your student to attend this event. In order to attend, please ensure your student has completed all components of the Preparation Checklist. Even if your student is uninterested in attending a four-year college, they can apply to a community college for FREE – just as a back-up plan!

            We are excited about this opportunity for the Class of 2015! For more information or to ask questions, please contact our college adviser, Ms. Loh at 717-328-2146 ext. 2290 OR Amanda.Loh@tus.k12.pa.us. Thank you for your time, and we look forward to working with you and your student on their educational plans!

Scholarships!

Don't forget to check out Ms. Loh's website for scholarship opportunities. She has included links to popular scholarship search engines, as well as information on scholarships that students at JBHS qualify

Just go here to check out the opportunities.

As a reminder, when writing your scholarship essays...

• Make sure your essay fits the theme and answers the prompt
• Have a thesis statement, even if the essay is only 150 words! The reader still wants to see a clear idea
• Share a slice of your life - don't be stiff, use your voice!
• Be creative
• Showcase your talents: don't just recite your resume. Show, don't tell.
• Can you work in your interest for continuing your education?
• Show positive energy and avoid the sob story
• Proofread and get a second opinion!

A Second Chance: Taking the ACTs

A Second Chance

By Courtney Horst

Ahh colleges are saying that I need to take a standardized test! Now many think that the SAT’s are the only way to go, but maybe you didn’t do so well on them the first time around, and now you’re freaking out about your future. First calm down, your life isn’t over! There could be a lot of reasons that you didn’t do your best the first time around. Maybe sitting in the same room for close to 4 hours was so boring you couldn’t concentrate.  Or writing the essay threw you off track. Those tough vocab words couldn’t have been harder! Or maybe you’re simply just better at science and math than at reading and writing. If any of these are true, then I think that taking the ACT’s could raise your score!

First of all there’s the time issue, why do these tests have to take so long? The ACT only last 2 hours compared to the SAT’s which last 3 hours and 45 minutes. This made the test easier to get through. Whenever I approach a standardized test, I always dread the amount of time I’ll be sitting at a desk. When I took the ACT’s, the time seemed to fly by because it was almost two hours shorter than the SAT’s. In between sections we were given breaks, but everyone in my testing room opted to take shorter break to minimize our time at the test. During the ACT’s all the of the Math section is done together, but in the SAT’s it’s split into three different shorter sections. Personally, I liked the ACT approach better. Being able to spend time on one subject and not have to come back to it later made the test easier for me. I like knowing that I knocked out one whole subject out before getting ready to conquer the next one. The SAT approach was harder for me because I didn’t have time to focus. I felt like I constantly had to keep moving from subject to subject.

The ACT’s also don’t deduct points for wrong answers, so you never have to worry about if you should guess or not. During the SAT’s I was always debating if the answer I had come up with was worth a possible point deduction. But when I was taking the ACT’s, I never had to worry about losing points for guessing, so I felt less stressed while taking the test because I could answer each problem without fear.

Along with that, I found the ACT questions to be straightforward and clear. During the SAT’s, I wasted time trying to figure out what the vocabulary words meant and how they fit into the sentences, and I was wasting time as a result. But unlike the SAT’s, the ACT’s don’t have as much of an emphasis on vocabulary. So if you aren’t a skilled wordsmith you might do better on the ACTs. This is because the ACT is geared more for students who do better in the Math and Science world vs. the Reading and Writing one. And to some this can make all the difference in the score.

So if you were discouraged after getting your SAT scores back, maybe the ACT will suit your testing style better. When I got my SAT scores back I wasn’t pleased, but after being encouraged to take the ACT’s I was relieved to get a better score. So if you’re in the same boat as I was don’t stress just take the test!

For ACT testing dates and locations, see Miss Loh!

Learn about the Net Price Calculator

For all those students interested in college, but unsure how they are going to pay for it, use the Net Price Calculator.

The NPC is a calculator that is federally mandated - all colleges that accept federal aid MUST have the NPC on their website. The NPC helps students estimate their "net price" to attend each institution. It is generally a great tool that helps families determine which schools are actually affordable.

Remember...

Net Price = Sticker Price (Full Cost) - Grants & Scholarships

Net Price is the total each student is responsible for paying after receiving free money to attend the institution.

To find the NPC on a school's website...
-Go to the school's financial aid webpage.
-Click on the calculator link. It may be labeled "Net Price Calculator, "Calculate your Costs," "Tuition calculator," or something like that.

BUT beware: sometimes the NPC can be misleading.

See Miss Loh with questions!

Learn about the SAT

Basic Facts:

What Does it include?

• Three subjects: Math, Reading, and Writing
• One 25 Minute writing section
• Six total 25 minute  Math and Reading sections
• Two total 20 minute Math and Reading sections
• One 10 minute reading section
  The SAT’s test the skills learned in the classroom because these skills are highly necessary in college and life after school.  An essay begins the test.  This essay is scored 0-6 by two people, then those scores are added together to obtain the final score.  This along with multiple choice questions on identifying errors and improving grammar and usage.  Critical reading and mathematics questions can be found in all of the other sections of the test.  The critical reading questions include reading passages and sentence completions, while mathematics includes questions on arithmetic operations, algebra, geometry, statistics, and probability.

Scoring:

How are the SAT’s scored and did I do well?

• Total score is out of 2400
• Each section (3 sections) is out of 800
• National averages (according to Study Point in 2009)
• Critical Reading: 501
• Mathematics: 515
• Writing: 493
• Total: 1509
• College’s average scores (according to College Board)
• Shippensburg: 1520 - 1600
• Penn State Mont Alto: 1230 - 1570
• Juniata: 1040 - 1260 (Only math and reading available)
• University of Pittsburgh: 1750 - 2030

For more information on the SAT’s go to: http://sat.collegeboard.org/home

Clean up Your Social Media

As college admissions counselors begin to review applications, it is important to start cleaning up your social media.

More than 30% of admissions counselors utilize social media when evaluating applicants! Check out this New York Times article if you don't believe me!

Make sure you take steps to clean up your profiles. You want colleges to see you at your best, not your worst.

Follow these tips to ensure you give yourself the best chance in front of admissions committees.