Sophomore Newsletter
Class of 2010 Newsletter
May, 2008
Pre-College Information:
- Sign up to take the PSAT in October 2008 for more practice and to try to qualify for National Merit Scholarships.
- Make sure you sign up to take the SAT April, May or June, 2009.
Go to www.collegeboard.com to register.
- Take a free official SAT practice test and receive a score and skills report by going to: collegeboard.com/satready
- You may also want to consider taking one or more SAT II subject tests in May or June of your junior year. Check with the colleges you are planning to apply to see if this test is required.
- Attend college fairs whenever possible.
Summer checklist:
*Complete “Summer Packets” for any “Advanced or AP Courses you are signed up for.
*Do some “Volunteer” work in the local community and document what you do.
*Consider getting a “summer job”.
*Start looking at colleges. Do a virtual school tour by visiting: www.eCampusTours.com
*Explore college majors and careers by visiting:
| www.collegeboard.com |
| Apply online to colleges |
| Complete a college search |
| Information about SAT, PSAT, AP Test |
| Register for SAT |
| Prepare for SAT |
| Download a practice test |
| Information on dates for testing and deadlines for registration |
| Learn about college costs and financial aid |
| Complete a college search |
| Apply on line |
| Complete a scholarship search |
| Information on test prep for PSAT, SAT and ACT |
| Take virtual tours of colleges |
| Provides financial aid information |
| Utilize a career center |
http://www.princetonreview.com
•
| Complete a college search |
| Provides links to college web sites |
| Apply to school on line |
| Download practice tests for SAT and ACT |
| Advisement on choosing a major |
| Advisement on writing a college essay |
| Financial aid information |
*Develop a list of colleges you may want to visit (Spring Break 2009 is a great time to do this).
*Start researching scholarships. In this newsletter we have supplied you with many scholarship search web sites.
*Update your activities and awards file. If you don’t already have this information written down, do it!!
*Make sure that you have selected the right courses for your junior year.
*Register to take the PSAT in September/Early October through your lunch blocks ($13.00).
September-December 2008
*Take PSAT and review score report in December and work on your weak areas.
*If you are an athlete planning to continue playing a sport in college, register with the NCAA Clearinghouse near the end of junior year at: http://www.ncaaclearinghouse.net
January-June 2009
*Take the SAT in the spring
*Work hard to maintain or improve your grades. Remember, your junior year grades are the most current ones the colleges will be reviewing. Show them your very best!
*Start thinking about your post secondary options: community college, 4 year college, technical or professional school, apprentice programs, the military, or going directly into the work force.
*There are over 2500 colleges to choose from….start narrowing down the options.
To help you do this visit:
(These are college search programs)
Scholarship Search Web Sites
http://www.allscholar.com: is a free scholarship search resource for students, parents, and educators. All Scholars’ free scholarship search tool offers simple, concise, and easy scholarship searches.
http://www.fastweb.monster.com: has a data base of 600,000 scholarships.
http://www.collegeboard.com: offers a data base with 2, 3000 sources of funding.
http://www.nextstudent.com: offers students a free scholarship search, student loans, and loan counseling
http://www.collegeview.com: is still another of the major online free scholarship searches.
http://www.srnexpress.com: has a data base of over 8,000 programs and 150,000 awards.
http://www.collegenet.com/mach25: allows you to search 600,000 awards.
http://www.collegeanswer.com: offers free scholarship searches
http://www.scholarships.com: will match your profile against 900,000 scholarships
http://www.fastaid.com: is another free scholarship search service.
http://www.princetonreview.com: is offered by the test prep and college guide organization of the same name.
http://www.scholarships101.com: has a data base containing more than 600,000 awards.
http://www.eduprep.com: maintains a data base of more than 2.5 million awards.
http://www.supercollege.com: maintains a free scholarship search data base.
http://www.collegescholarships.com: provides scholarship searches and personalized scholarship application letters.
http://www.petersons.com: is maintained by the well known college guide publisher.
Clubscholarship.com Scholarship Search: is part of the Collegiatefunding.com network, and lists more than 500,000 awards.
StudentAwards.Com: maintains a large scholarship search data base.
Other Important Websites and Telephone Numbers
Best College Deals
http://www.bestcollegedeals.com
FAFSA on the web
Federal Student Aid Hotline
1-800-4FED-AID (1-800-433-3243)
Wired Scholar
Campus Dirt.com
Reminder to students in the Honors Program
20 hours of community service are required as part of this program. Some examples of community service are as follows: tutoring sponsored by the National Honor Society, volunteering at a nursing home and cutting grass for an elderly neighbor. These hours are to be accumulated outside the regular school day and no money may be accepted for services rendered. You have from the 9th grade through the first quarter of your senior year to fulfill this requirement.
Students MUST SUBMIT completed community service documentation to their School Counselor by November of their senior year!
Virginia Public Colleges
Christopher Newport University http://www.cnu.edu
College of William and Mary http://www.wm.edu
George Mason University http://www.gmu.edu
James Madison University http://www.jmu.edu
Longwood University http://www.lwc.edu
Mary Washington College http://www.mwc.edu
Norfolk State University http://www.nsu.edu
Old Dominion University http://www.odu.edu
Radford University http://www.runet.edu
University of Virginia http://www.virginia.edu
Virginia Commonwealth University http://www.vcu.edu
Virginia Military Institute http://www.vmi.edu
Virginia Polytechnic Institute http://www.vt.edu
Virginia State University http://www.vsu.edu
Take a look at your GPA, Extracurricular and Volunteer Activities and work to improve your college resume now!!!
There is nothing wrong with applying to several long shot schools! However, make sure you pick a few sure shots as well!!!
What You Need to Get into Virginia’s 4-Year Colleges
Public College GPA- average SAT- average
Christopher Newport University 3.4 1165
College of William and Mary 3.75 1260-1420
George Mason University 3.3 1170
James Madison University 3.5 1080
Longwood University 3.3 1078
Norfolk University 2.3 (minimum) 800
Old Dominion University 3.3 1080
Radford University 2.83-3.42 950-1120
University of Mary Washington 3.67 1226
University of Virginia 3.75 1280-1490
University of Virginia at Wise Rank in top 1/2 900 minimum
Virginia Commonwealth University 3.3 1091
Virginia Military Institute 3.39 1164
Virginia State University 2.64 830
Virginia Tech 3.58 1231
Glossary
Award letter-A means of notifying aid recipients of the financial aid assistance they are being offered by the college/university.
CB code-A four digit College Board number that students use to designate colleges or scholarship programs to receive their SAT score reports. High Schools have a CB code as well. Grafton’s is: 472-504
Early Action-A program in which the student receives a decision earlier than the standard response date but is NOT required to accept the admission offer or make a deposit before May 1st.
Early Decision-A program that commits participating students to enroll at the college if admitted and offered a satisfactory financial aid package. Application deadlines are usually in November or December, with a mid-to-late December notification date.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)-A form completed by all applicants for federal student aid. The FAFSA is available on the Web at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. There is no charge for completing this form. They will be available at the high school and may be filed any time after January 1, 2006.
NCAA Clearinghouse-The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) requires all prospective student athletes to register with its central clearinghouse. The clearinghouse determines an incoming freshman’s eligibility to participate in Division I or Division II college sports.
Open admission-A college admissions policy of admitting high school graduates without regard to conventional academic qualifications, such as good grades and acceptable admission test scores. Under open admission virtually all applicants are accepted.
Rolling admission-An admission procedure by which the college considers each student’s application as soon as all required credentials, such as school record and test scores, have been received. The college usually notifies an applicant of its decision without delay.
Transcript-A copy of a student’s official academic record, listing all courses taken and grades received.
Wait list-A list of students who meet the admissions requirements but will be offered a place in the class only if space becomes available.