SOLUTIONS: EXPLORING SUCCESS POST HIGH SCHOOL www.exploresolutions.org "1

Inside This Week

Message Board .................. 1

What’s Happening ............ 2 Solutions Events Community Events Reminders Testing

Money Matters.................. 3 Scholarship Spotlight

Spotlights .......................... 4 UC/CSU College Spotlight

Term of the week… Financial Aid Award. If you filed the FAFSA and all required forms, every college that accepts you will offer you a financial aid award by mail or online in your portal. In it you will find out how much financial support the school will give you for the coming school year. The award outlines how much the school will cost and what kind of financial aid package you will receive - including federal, state, and institutional sources.

Admissions Deposits and Housing Deposits: You have until May 1st to make your college choice, but you may want to investigate early deadlines for housing deposits for some colleges. A few colleges are unable to house all their freshman on campus, so they ask for early housing deposits from interested students. Some of these deposits are refundable and some are not. You can submit a housing deposit and not an admissions deposit, if you haven’t decided yet.

Making the Final Choice Part 2: In this and upcoming newsletters, we will be exploring questions to consider as you make your final college choice. That column can be found in the “College Spotlight” on page 3.

Visiting and Re-visiting Colleges to Make the Final Decision: If possible, it is important to revisit a college after you have been admitted to see if you can live and learn there. Accepted Student Days offer terrific programs to learn a lot about the college in one day. Local receptions for admitted students also give you a chance to meet your future classmates and learn more.

Notify Colleges That You Won’t Attend!: MADE YOUR DECISION? One piece of business that is critical, it is to notify the other colleges that accepted you that you will NOT attend their institution. As soon as you make your decision or have narrowed your choices, PLEASE notify all your colleges by email or their preferred method. Colleges will continue to email, call and send you information until they know you have committed elsewhere. Give students on the waiting lists a chance at admission to those colleges that you are not attending.

Say Thank You To The Admissions Counselors! We work closely with many colleges and they are very invested in you as a student and care about your decision. If you have corresponded with an admissions counselor or met a counselor at one of our events,/your high school it is courteous to write them a personal email informing them of your decision and thanking them for their time. Let them know that you appreciate their assistance and interest, but you have decided to attend _____(college). We wish to keep our good relationships with these colleges, so please help us by letting the college representatives know what you have decided.

Check your college portals and OPEN & READ all emails from colleges regularly: Continue to check student college portals for information relating to the student's application. Emails can contain critical information and are so important to open and read ALL emails. It also shows your level of interest in a college since they can tell if you opened them. READ ALL EMAILS!

Connect with us!

ISSUE 1 JUNIOR NEWSLETTER JULY 10, 2016ISSUE 12 SENIOR NEWSLETTER MARCH 8, 2018

SOLUTIONS: EXPLORING SUCCESS POST HIGH SCHOOL www.exploresolutions.org "2

ISSUE 12 SENIOR NEWSLETTER MARCH 8, 2018

What’s Happening?Save the Date

Solutions Events Open to the public

Career Speaker Series - Wednesday, March 14 - 6:00-8:00 pm Radisson Hotel RB, 11520 W. Bernardo Ct. Medical Career Night Meet and speak with a wide variety of professionals in the medical field. Currently we have the following panelists scheduled: genetic counselor, nurse practitioner, child life specialist, physical therapist, radiation therapist, pediatrician, speech pathologist, medical sales, pathologist, radiologist, and public health representative. Medical Career Night Registration.

Career Speaker Series - Tuesday, April 24 - 6:00-8:00 pm Radisson Hotel RB, 11520 W. Bernardo Ct. Sports Industry Career Night Spend an evening with professionals involved in the sports industry. Sign up information to follow.

Career Speaker Series - Tuesday, May 16 - 6:00-8:00 pm Radisson Hotel RB, 11520 W. Bernardo Ct. Computers and Engineering Career Night Meet and speak with the professionals in the computer and engineering fields. Sign up information to follow.

Reminders Financial Aid Timeline and Requesting Additional Aid: Financial Aid packages typically arrive 1-4 weeks after the admissions decision. Some colleges only post the financial aid package in your portal. You can tell it is the official Financial Aid package because it will include federal student loans, possibly grants, and not just merit scholarships. You should only request additional aid from a college if it is your first or second choice and you are seriously considering attending.

May 1st is National Decision Day: We understand what a stressful time this is while you wait for college decisions and financial aid packages. Please be patient and focus on finishing your senior year strong. Remember you have until MAY 1 to make a decision on which college to choose. Be sure you have received all financial aid packages and scholarship notifications before you make that decision. You must sign an agreement and send in an admissions deposit to attend one college by May 1. The housing deposit is usually due at this time too. (Some colleges with housing shortages may request a housing deposit earlier than May 1, which you may want to send to ensure housing.) Colleges should not be pressuring you to decide before this date. You have a right to have all your financial aid packages and information before you decide. •Research the college and programs to determine best fit. •Review merit scholarships and financial aid packages. •Narrow your final list to 2-3 schools. •Revisit or visit on admitted student days, if possible. •Attend local accepted student receptions. •Talk to current college students about their experiences at that college •Have a family meeting to discuss pros and cons.

Senior Year Still Matters: Your senior year academic performance and personal behavior matters ALL year. Colleges look at your senior year grades and a final transcript is due to your college of choice after you graduate. Be sure you follow the procedure at your high school to have your final transcript sent to your college. Colleges have been known to rescind or take back their offer of admission due to lower grades or poor personal choices.

SOLUTIONS: EXPLORING SUCCESS POST HIGH SCHOOL www.exploresolutions.org "3

Money MattersSCHOLARSHIP SPOTLIGHT LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS:

North County Italian Association Scholarship $1,000 Deadline: March 9, 2018 Student of Italian (at least 25%) heritage, minimum GPA 3.0 and a resident of North San Diego County (North of Highway 56)

Chavez Scholars Program High School Scholarship $200-$1,000 & laptop Deadline: March 10, 2018 Essay contest

Chelsea’s Light Foundation Sunflower Scholarship $1,000-$5,000 Deadline: March 12, 2018 San Diego County senior involved in extra-curricular and community service activities.

North County Society of Fine Arts Scholarship Amount varies Deadline: March 12, 2018 Student planning a career in visual arts from Scripps Ranch, Poway, Mt. Carmel, Rancho Bernardo, Del Norte, or Westview High.

Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Scholarships – San Diego Indian American Society $1,000 Deadline: March 15, 2018 Open to any San Diego High School senior regardless of ethnicity.

Naval Officers’ Spouses’ Club (NOSC) of San Diego Scholarship Amount varies Deadline: March 15, 2018 Dependent of an Active Duty Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard who has served in a San Diego area command at some point; a retired or deceased Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard member; or Reservist activated for at least nine months. Gregg’s Goals Scholarship $1,000 Deadline: March 15, 2018 Male or Female student 2.5 minimum GPA. Participated in high school, recreational and/or club SOCCER in Northern San Diego

ISSUE 12 SENIOR NEWSLETTER MARCH 8, 2018

Why College Graduation Rates are Important Financially

Getting in matters, but don’t forget about getting out! Before you make your final college choice consider the four-year graduation rates and the freshman to sophomore retention rates.

Graduation rate: Look at how many students are able to graduate in FOUR years. If a college has a low graduation rate, it may indicate roadblocks to getting the support and classes students need to stay on a four-year track.

Student retention rate: This refers to how many freshmen return sophomore year, and it can be a good indication of how satisfied students are with a college. A low retention rate may signal problems.

Why do graduation rates matter financially? Because that extra year or two to complete your degree could dramatically add to the cost of your education. Students go into college planning on a four-year degree, but some things can get in the way. Sometimes it is difficult to get the classes you need for your degree or you find that advising is not very good and you do not stay on track. Transferring can lead to longer degree completion when classes are not accepted for transfer credit. Changing your major one or more times during college, may delay your graduation. Having to take remedial courses can also lengthen your time to degree completion. Students may not understand that they must take 15 units per semester to graduate in four years at most colleges. Twelve units per semester is considered a full time student, but that will not get you out in four years.

What is shocking is that many families do not realize they are looking at five or six year graduation rates when they research colleges. The public universities are required to submit five or six-year graduation rates and private schools are required to submit four year graduation rates. It makes sense to use four-year graduation rates when you are looking at colleges and making your decision. Compare apples to apples. Some good sites to research four-year graduation rates are www.collegedata.com, http://collegecompletion.chronicle.com/, www.collegeresults.org, and www.collegeraptor.com.

The cost of an extra year at one of the California State Universities is about $25,000. Add to that the approximate loss of wages that a graduate could be earning in one year, $45,327 = $70,327. Over $70,000 for one extra year of college! This is information is from a Complete College America Report. http://completecollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/4-Year-Myth.pdf. The report did not include additional student or parent loan borrowing that would drive the cost even higher after four years.

The California State University system-wide FOUR-year graduation rate is 21%, which ranges from a low of 6.2% at Cal State Dominguez Hills to 48.2% at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and 33.8% at San Diego State. UC graduation rates are between 34.5%-73.9%. California public universities graduation rates have improved over the past couple years. Read this interesting Los Angeles Times article about what lawmakers are going to do about the low graduation rates. http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-csu-bill-20160222-story.html. It is important to research the graduation rates of ALL schools.

There are out-of-state public and private universities that also have lower graduation rates. If you are considering one of these colleges, be sure to understand why the graduation rate might be low. Find out the four year graduation rate for out-of-state students. Ask your admissions counselor or find out on your college visit.

While a private school may initially look more expensive, if you are graduating in four years, it may be less expensive in the long run depending on the aid you received. Research the graduation rates of the final colleges on your list. Sometimes there are reasons for a lower graduation rate and this is a good question to ask an admissions counselor. No one PLANS on going to college for five or six years, but make sure you understand what you are getting into.

SOLUTIONS: EXPLORING SUCCESS POST HIGH SCHOOL www.exploresolutions.org "4

FYI Column:

Some thoughts for high school seniors as you consider college majors: Almost all universities offer a liberal arts element in their degree programs. Even in programs such as engineering, students will usually be required to take courses in other areas of study in order to complete their degrees.

There are far more careers than there are college majors. The range of jobs in the world is extensive, and most of those positions don’t have a corresponding college major. For many careers, the right fit is much more about an individual’s unique skill set and personal areas of interest than whether they studied chemistry or literature in college.

Professional tracks - like medical school or law school - are open to students with any undergrad degree. As an example, a student pursuing a degree in art history is not precluded from becoming a doctor. However, they may have to take additional pre-med classes to qualify for medical school.

Students should actively explore various career paths. Discovering what you want to be when you grow up doesn’t always hit like a bolt of lightning. Focus on gaining professional experience in areas of interest through shadowing, internships, or just having conversations with professionals in different careers.

It’s okay to take your time. When it comes to college majors, feel free to take your time in the first year or two of college to discover what major best fits your needs. Some schools even require students to be undeclared during freshman and/or sophomore year. Ask colleges what programs are in place to help undeclared students navigate programs/courses as their college experiences unfold.

As you Approach Your Final College Choice - Part 2 In the coming weeks this column will share important questions to think about.

Academics: •What is the college’s retention rate for students between freshman and sophomore year? That often indicates if students are happy.

•Take a look at each school's course catalogue to see what classes are available in your chosen specialty. A wide availability of courses and times might be appealing to you.

•Are you able to enroll “undeclared” if you are uncertain of a major? •How easy is it to change your major? •Are there general education/core requirements and what are they? •Who will be teaching the majority of your classes? Professor or Graduate Student? •What kind of learner are you? Do you learn better in a small classroom setting or a large lecture setting? This is very important to maximize your learning style for success.

•How large are the classes for freshman, and upperclass students? Ask students, don’t rely on student to faculty ratio. Are the classes lecture style or discussion based?

•How difficult is it to get classes and why? •What majors are impacted and how difficult is it to get into them? •Are you going to have to apply to get into your major after freshman or sophomore year? What are the requirements and the difficulty to be admitted?

•Are the academic departments associated with your prospective major strong, offering depth and breadth in the curriculum?

•What is the availability and approachability of the professors and advisors? •Does this school offer me a level of challenge that matches my abilities and preparation? •What kind of academic support is available as far as tutoring, etc? •Do they have the courses of study you want? If you change your mind, are there other majors or academic departments that interest you? Browse course information online.

•Go directly to the site of the department you are interested in for detailed information about research opportunities, course offerings, internships and unique academic programs. Often an advisor is happy to answer questions.

•Ask how credit for AP, IB, or college level courses that you have completed can be obtained?

Outcomes: •Will the college enable you to fulfill your educational goals? •How long do most students take to graduate and why? Check the FOUR year graduation rate on collegedata.com. Is the number of years to graduate due to class availability or other circumstances?

•Do most graduates, particularly graduates in your major, go on to graduate school or a job in their chosen field within a reasonable amount of time?

•What are the graduate school placement rates? •What are each college's options for internship, career preparation, networking opportunities, and job placement? What career education is available?

•What employers are recruiting on campus and how many times a year does this happen? •Is there a Career Services Office? What services do they offer? When is career education introduced? It’s a good idea to look at what each school can do for your future by looking at its website or talking to academic advisors or career development counselors.

Safety and Health: •Talk to students, not the admissions office, about safety on campus. Are there late-night shuttles or escort services offered? Are there “blue light” emergency stations? •Are the dorms and campus secure? Are there late-night escort services? •How are safety issues handled by the administration? •How safe is the campus and surrounding areas frequented by students? •Check the college’s crime statistics on their website (up-to-date statistics are required by law to be posted). •Is there a Health Center on campus? What are the hours of operation and who staffs the center? Is my health insurance accepted or do I need to purchase university health insurance? Where is the nearest hospital? •Find out if there are counseling and mental health services available?

SPOTLIGHTSISSUE 12 SENIOR NEWSLETTER MARCH 8, 2018

College