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SENIOR PARENT INFORMATION POWERPOINT

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SO FAR THIS YEAR: Most students hoping to graduate in June or August 2014, have discussed their remaining credits with Ms. Brooks By October 10 th, seniors will have completed a post-secondary planning survey. Senior conferences begin October 7 th.

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WHAT COLLEGE IS RIGHT FOR YOUR CHILD? Hopefully, they have visited some college campuses Do they want close to home or far away? Do they want small town or big city? Do they want public or private? Do they know what major they are planning on? Have they considered going in as undecided? Have they talked to the college about what this means? Hopefully, they have researched the GPA and SAT/ACT requirements The best fit is a realistic one We always encourage a safety school www.cfnc.org has a matching assistant (right click to open links) www.cfnc.org

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COMMUNITY COLLEGE Community college is a great option for students who want a 2-year degree or want to save money by going there for 1-2 years (complete their basic courses) and then transferring to a 4-year university Requirement: High School Diploma $69-72 per credit hour If they are interested in transferring to a four year University, be sure to talk to the community college about the transfer program RCCC, CPCC, Stanly CC- Medical Assistant, Dental Hygiene, Culinary, Automotive, Heating and Refrigeration, Welding, etc.

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WHAT COLLEGE IS RIGHT FOR YOUR CHILD? The minimum GPA required for a public NC college/university is a 2.5 After researching and visiting colleges, your child hopefully has an idea of what colleges are realistic for them

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Appalachian State University Clemson University StudentGPA Class Rank No. of AP Classes SAT Scores (r/m) 13.4166121 of 3382580/600 23.631198 of 3380640/570 34.117242 of 3384600/650 44.518511 of 3382690/620 54.0082 of 3354600/630 StudentGPA Class Rank No. of AP Classes SAT Scores (r/m) 14.637 of 2874650/650 24.3233 of 2873660/710 Students can get scholarships ranging from $500 to in-state tuition rates at Clemson. Usually, recipients of academic recruiting scholarships have an SAT score of at least 1370 in R/M (ACT 31) and rank in the top 10 percent of their senior class.

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StudentGPAClass Rank No. of AP Classes SAT Scores (r/m) 15.04321 of 2278740/780 StudentGPAClass Rank No. of AP Classes SAT Scores (r/m) 14.71645 of 2835730/730 24.842 of 2876630/720 Davidson College Duke University StudentGPAClass Rank No. of AP Classes SAT Scores (r/m) 1 4.3541 of 3352540/580 23.0304190 of 3381480/570 33.746982 of 3380390/510 44.003156 of 3381450/610 53.16160 of 2871460/520 East Carolina University

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StudentGPAClass RankNo. of AP ClassesSAT Scores (r/m) 12.8378212 of 3381580/610 23.1296168 of 3382450/500 33.751581 of 3384600/650 44.234532 of 3383570/510 53.03175 of 2870450/550 University of North Carolina at Charlotte StudentGPAClass RankNo. of AP ClassesSAT Scores (r/m) 14.243631 of 3383590/630 24.291725 of 3382510/570 34.504612 of 3385600/660 44.83001 of 3387580/770 54.3430 of 2873570/610 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill StudentGPAClass RankNo. of AP ClassesSAT Scores (r/m) 13.834871 of 3381520/590 24.168438 of 3388550/680 34.253129 of 3380570/550 44.57147 of 3382590/570 54.1571 of 2874670/680 North Carolina State University

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HOW MANY COLLEGE APPLICATIONS? We recommend applying to 3 colleges, if the student can afford the college application fees If your child is on free/reduced lunch and got a fee waiver for the SAT, they can have 2 college application fee waivers Just ask your counselor for those

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TRANSCRIPTS With the conversion to Power School that the state of North Carolina has gone through this year, transcripts are not yet finalized. If you need a transcript right now, you will receive a NCWise transcript that will not reflect everything: We have not yet re-ranked (so rank could change) Classes taken over the summer will not show up Schedule changes made over the summer will not show up We will announce when Power School transcripts are ready

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TRANSCRIPTS Transcript Request Send Ms. Brooks an email that includes the name of the college and the address of the admissions office. County Policy: First 3 are FREE and after that $5 each.

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ELECTRONIC TRANSCRIPTS Students can send transcripts electronically if they prefer through www.cfnc.org for FREE www.cfnc.org If asking for one right now, you will get a NCWise transcript and an updated schedule Be sure your child checks their transcript manager on CFNC to see if the transcript has been received Common App and SendEdu are also ways some colleges may ask for transcripts to be sent electronically (they count as one of the 3 for free) We are not able to process these just yet (should be able to in a couple of weeks)

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COLLEGE APPLICATIONS Students can apply to colleges online through a variety of ways: Preferred method by some colleges: the colleges own website (wolfpaw for NCSU, etc.) www.cfnc.org for any and all colleges in North Carolina fill out application once and then it self populates for additional colleges www.cfnc.org

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LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION Some colleges require them, some are optional and some do not look at them Give the teacher or counselor 2 weeks to write a good letter Send an email to your teacher, counselor, or principal requesting a letter of recommendation, some colleges have certain formsmake sure you provide those to whomever is writing the letter If using cfnc.org or common app, be sure to look at supplemental forms for each college It will be given back in a sealed envelope (student waives their right to see it) You put postage on it and mail it

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WRITING A GOOD ESSAY Some schools have them and some dont Most importantly, be sure your student gets someone to PROOFREAD the essays Writing a good essay includes: Dont write a generic answer it should reflect the student! Tailor the essay to the schools mission you need to show that you will fit in at that college Spell correctly! Dont count on spell check alone

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SAT/ACT SCORES All juniors took the ACT last year at least once Hopefully, students also took the SATthey would have signed up through www.collegeboard.orgwww.collegeboard.org Our transcripts do not have ACT/SAT scores listed Students must go to collegeboard.org and/or actstudent.org and tell them what colleges should receive scores -- when registering for the test (4 free after the test, a fee of approximately $11 per college) Colleges look at the best score in each category (even if students took it multiple times)

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SAT VS. ACT (WHICH ONE TO USE?) ACT Composite ScoreSAT CR+M (Single Score) 361600 351560 341510 331460 321420 311380 301340 291300 281260 271220 261190 251150 241110 231070 221030 21990 20950 19910 18870 17830 16790

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SENIOR ATHLETES If your senior wants to play a sport at college, they need to be registered with the NCAA clearinghouseNCAA clearinghouse There are GPA and SAT/ACT requirements for Division I and II schools know your requirements NCAA looks at only core classes including English, Math, Science, Social Studies and World Languages This website also contains an informational video about the requirements for Division I and II schools

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SUMMARY OF TO DO LIST FOR SENIORS Complete online college applications Including writing/proofreading essays (if applicable) Ask teachers/counselor for letters of recommendation Sometimes schools/scholarships will want a community recommender consider the students boss, church youth group leader, etc. Send ACT or SAT scores to all colleges that you are applying to Send in transcripts either now or when PowerSchool transcripts are ready Be registered with NCAA (if trying to play a sport in college)

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HOW ARE YOU GOING TO PAY FOR COLLEGE?

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FINANCIAL AID Financial Aid comes from the Federal Government in the following forms: Grants: Funds that usually do not have to be repaid. An example would be the Pell Grant Student Loans: Funds that do have to be repaid. Some of these are subsidized by the Government (they pay the interest while the student is in college) Work Study: these are government funded jobs on college campus

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FINANCIAL AID Direct Costs: Tuition Books Room/Board Meals Required Fees Indirect Costs: Transportation to and from home Personal Computer Loan Fees

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FAFSA FAFSA Free Application for Federal Student Aid www.fafsa.ed.gov (notice it is not FAFSA.com!) You cant fill out the FAFSA until January of your senior year, but you can begin researching the process www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov predicts what funds you could be eligible for based on last years income www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov Go ahead and get a PIN number Issued to an individual and is a signature for Federal Student Aid purposes Faster than using paper signature PIN is valid for years Parents PIN may be used for multiple children Each student must have own PIN Obtain PIN from www.pin.ed.govwww.pin.ed.gov Results available online in 48 hours and to the institutions you list on the FAFSA

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WHAT IS AN EFC? EFC---Expected Family Contribution EFC is the end result after submitting a FAFSA It is the determination of the amount per year a students family can pay toward their childs college education The higher the EFC, the lower the chance a student will have to receive free money from the government Calculating Your Financial Need Cost of Attendance (COA) Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Financial Need

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DEPENDENCY Students are independent if: 24 years old or older Orphan, foster child/ward of the State Have children for whom they provide more than 50% support Have a legal guardian Married Veteran or on active duty Graduate students Legally emancipated Homeless or at risk of homelessness Students not meeting one of the above must include parental information for full aid consideration.

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SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES Significant change in your family Unemployment of a parent Death in the family Change in parents marital status Medical expenses not covered by insurance Student cannot obtain parent information Notify the financial aid office at your college of any special circumstances. Be prepared to provide documentation of any change, including the financial impact of the change.

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SUBSIDIZED OR UNSUBSIDIZED LOANS Subsidized Loans are available to undergraduate students with financial need and they do not accrue interest while the student is in school. Unsubsidized Loans are available, even without a financial need, and they DO accrue interest while the student is in school.

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR NEED BASED FINANCIAL AID College Foundation of North Carolina www.cfnc.org www.cfnc.org Federal Department of Education http://studentaid.gov/ http://studentaid.gov/ Student Financial Aid for North Carolinians www.cfnc.org/fabook www.cfnc.org/fabook The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid www.finaid.org www.finaid.org

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SCHOLARSHIPS Merit Based: given primarily based on grades, SAT scores, rank, GPA, etc. Need Based: scholarships that consider a familys financial need for money to pay for college Criteria Based: given based on criteria such as a desire to study Nursing or Accounting (a specific major). They usually have a merit component

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SCHOLARSHIP SCAMS The scholarship is guaranteed or your money back. No one can guarantee your scholarship before it is awarded. Come to our free seminar and well show you how to get more financial aid. This is a sales pitch. Dont pay for information that you can get elsewhere for free. The scholarship requires a small fee. Never pay a fee to get a scholarship. You are a finalist for an award you never applied for. If you did not apply, it is not a legitimate offer. You cant get this information anywhere else. Everyone has access to the same information.

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UPCOMING EVENTS September 24, 2013 6 to 8 pm Cabarrus County Schools is hosting an annual College Fair at the Boys and Girls Club in Concord November 6 th at Winkler Middle School (time TBD) Cabarrus County is hosting a Financial Aid workshop with a speaker from CFNC November 18-22, 2013 College Application Week certain colleges will waive their application fee if you apply during this week College Application Week FAFSA DAY: February 22, 2014