Meet Our Ambassadors: Carly Hawk

Our final College Ambassador spotlight goes to Carly Hawk. Not only is Carly involved in College Ambassadors, but she is also a member of varsity cheerleading and a member of the softball team. Carly wants to be an occupational therapist and fittingly enjoys her anatomy and physiology class here at JBHS. Something you may not know about Carly is that she has met Heath Miller, tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Carly’s favorite books are the Harry Potter series and her favorite movie is Armageddon. Carly is very excited about Decision Day.

This concludes our Ambassador profile series. We really hope you have enjoyed getting to know more about our 2015 College Ambassadors!

College Crack: Blog question of the Week

This is the last blog question of the week for College Crack since the competition ends next Thursday! Be sure to answer so you can boost your score!

What was the first coeducational college in America and where is it located?

Answers need to be in before the school day ends on Thursday!

Meet Our Ambassadors: Lauren Dukehart

This week’s Ambassador spotlight is on Lauren Dukehart. Lauren is involved in messa voce, chorus, international exchange club, drama club, NHS, and managed the cross country team. Lauren’s favorite class has always been chorus. When she graduates, Lauren isn’t totally sure what she wants to major in, but is thinking about journalism. Lauren’s favorite school memory is when she got the lead of Kim McAfee in JB’s production of Bye Bye Birdie last year. As an Ambassador, Lauren is most looking forward to our upcoming Decision Day.

College Crack: Question of the Week

Just because you graduate college doesn't mean you sever ties with your alma mater! Alumni play a big role in a college's success. They provide donations, mentoring, connections, and support for the institution. 

Here is today's trivia question:
What college has the largest dues-paying alumni association in the country?

Send all answers to Miss Loh by Thursday!  

Meet Our Ambassadors: Emily Hoffeditz

Our College Ambassador spotlight this week goes to Emily Hoffeditz. Emily is involved in Tri-M honor society, band, orchestra, symphony, and NHS and her favorite class was American History. Emily loves Marvel movies and the Harry Potter series. Many colleges offer interesting classes and when asked to find one she found most interesting, Emily chose the class “Gender and the American Civil War.” As a College Ambassador, Emily is looking forward to Decision Day in May and decorating the Ambassador bulletin board.

Field Trip!

On March 17th, JBHS took a field trip to Lebanon Valley College (LVC) and Harrisburg Area Community College. 

LVC has a very nice environment. One thing I learned is that LVC does not put a lot of pressure on your SAT scores, as they are an SAT-optional school. As we toured the campus, I discovered that the dorms were nicely laid out. If you are a person who likes small classrooms, this is the place for you.

This is the cafeteria where they have lots of food choices!

The library was multiple floors - some just for studying!

Students also visited HACC, Harrisburg Area Community College. This school is nice for multiple reasons. One reason is if you don’t have the best grades in high school you can go to community college for the first 2 years and then transfer to a four-year college. This also is nice for students who want to get their basic classes done then focus on their specific major later on.

While visiting both schools, students got to tour the campus with students who currently attend school there. There was also a time to sit and ask questions about the day to day lives of the students. College visits are an awesome opportunity for students to experience a general view of college life.

Here is our tour guide for HACC about to enter the dining hall.

   

Here is a picture of a classroom where students are hard at work

Here is a piece of art that is hanging up in the art department

By Austin Shoop

College Crack: Question of the Week

Here is today's question:

Every year, students who are enrolled in the mandatory International Relations class for the Social Sciences (generally referred to as the "SOSH" class) have to turn in a 15 page research paper that accounts for about 25% of the course grade. Typically, students' busy schedules prevent them from turning paper in early, so students tend to rush to turn the paper in by the 4:30pm deadline.

To mix things up, students dress up in costume and run to the building to turn in their paper. It has become tradition that all faculty, students, and staff line the sidewalks of campus to cheer on (or distract) the students as they run in their costumes.

Name this school.

E-mail your answer to Miss Loh by the end of the school day on Thursday!

Only THREE WEEKS until the College Crack winners will be announced: will it be you??

MY SAT EXPERIENCE - By Alex Angle


Starting out, I was really nervous and tired. I walked in and had no idea where to go. That’s how I met “what’s her face.” She was a nice girl and she showed me where to go. I was the second person into the room because she was first. I was sitting in the front waiting nervously. I decided why be nervous when I can complain about how tired I was. “What’s her face” listened and told me that it was her third time taking the test which made me feel better because I could always take it again. Then, more people started occupying the empty seats. I continued to talk to the girl beside me. Skipping ahead I found out halfway through the test that she also worked at Whitetail. Meeting new people really made the experience a little less crummy. 

Once the test began, I was sweating bricks. Why was I sweating bricks? If I’m being honest, I hadn't studied very hard for it. I kept telling myself “you have time study later, study later”...bad decision on my part. Also, remember to bring a snack with you. I personally forgot to bring one because I thought that I wouldn’t get hungry if I ate breakfast. There is nothing more painful that being hungry and watching everyone around you eating delicious snacks. I also forgot to bring a bottle of water, but it isn’t needed necessarily because they have water fountains at the test center. 

One thing that I did remember was my calculator. It would have been a very bad situation if I would have forgotten it because I used it a lot during this test. Also, remember to put the calculator under your desk when you are not working on a math section, or the ladies working there will give you the “what do you think you’re doing” look. For some of the math sections I felt confident because I remembered learning about it. However, for a lot of the sections I had no idea what to do especially in the reading and writing portions. All you have to remember is to stay calm, work fast, and skip problems you are unsure of.  

Anyways, the SAT wasn't too bad. It went by pretty quick and I was happy that I didn’t sit there with no one to talk too. So everyone who is going to take the SAT my advice is to make new friends. It makes the experience a lot better because you can complain and laugh about other fun things instead of stressing out. Another fun fact, I was reunited with my old friend. I knew him back in middle school before he went to the Academy. I was able to talk to him during the breaks….. after the lady was done yelling at people for standing up too early. Looking back, the SAT was a learning opportunity: a chance to make new friends, and see old ones.   

Meet Our Ambassadors: Alex Angle

Alex Angle is another one of our dedicated College Ambassadors here at JBHS. Besides being an Ambassador, Alex is involved in track and field and cross country at JB. Alex’s favorite class he’s taken is personal finance. Some other favorites of Alex’s include the book Of Mice and Men and the movie The Interview. Something you probably didn't know about Alex is that he goes scuba diving every year. As an Ambassador, Alex is most looking forward to our upcoming Decision Day.

This week's College Crack Question

Piggybacking off of this morning's trivia question, here is another basketball-related college question.

Remember to e-mail Miss Loh by the end of school on Thursday with the correct answer.

The NCAA women's basketball championship is TONIGHT (8:30pm on ESPN). 

Which two teams are playing and what are their mascots?

Meet Our Ambassadors: Sammy Fritsche

This week’s college ambassador spotlight goes to Sammy Fritsche. Sammy is involved in the orchestra at JB and her favorite class is Mrs. Yoder’s AP Literature class. In the future, Sammy is looking for a college that is small and rural, has many extra curricular activities, and an emphasis on education. Sammy is interested in majoring in English and after changing her mind a few times, currently wants to be a secondary English teacher. As a College Ambassador, Sammy most enjoys running the Trivia Crack game at lunch.

College Debt

One of the most common things a student says to me during our advising meetings is "I can't go to that school. It's too expensive."  In this post, I am going to address student debt, loans, and smart shopping.

First off, about 70% of graduating college seniors leave college with some sort of student loan debt. This means you are not alone! Many students take on debt in order to fund their education, as they are fully aware that the perks of spending money on a college degree are greater than saving your money and not getting an education.

So, if 7 of every 10 students has taken out at least one loan, the next question then becomes "how much money should I take out?" Well, it really depends. The rule of thumb is you should never take out more money in loans than what you will make your first year out of college. It is important to think about your potential career then research it (bls.org) to determine your average salary. That average salary should be your loan limit while in college.

When looking at schools, it is important to ask admissions counselors the following questions about student loans/debt:
1. What is the average student debt at this school? (How much money do students still owe after graduation)
2. What is the total cost of attendance at this school?
3. How many students graduate each year? (Then compare this number with the number of students who start freshman year. If there is a wide gap, then you know that a lot of people are not graduating on time!)

When in doubt, use this great tool: http://ticas.org/posd/map-state-data#

Be a smart shopper!

-Miss Loh