How to Plan an Effective College
Application Week
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Chris Franken, Ed. S.
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Eastview High School-College Planning & Assessment
Amanda Ziebell-Finley, M.A.
 Minnesota

College Access Network-Director
Laura Ritter, M.S
 Cooper
High School- College Counselor
Session overview
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History of College Application Week nationally
Key stakeholders in Minnesota’s College Application
Week
Getting the word out
Resources for College Application Week
College Application Week at Cooper High School
Results of College Application Week
Questions/Discussion
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Nearly 90% of students,
including low income, first
generation students,
express and aspiration to
attend college.
1/3 of these students
never enroll in a postsecondary education
opportunity
College Access Matters II:
Diverse Student Pathways
to College in MN
College Application
Week looks different in
different states.

College Application Week
began as a single day, pilot
program of GEAR UP North
Carolina at one high school
Statewide Campaigns
PSA
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bill boards
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print ads
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Minnesota participated in 2011
focusing on directly supporting
pilot sites
Social media
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tv spots, etc.
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Many Governors (including
MN’s) issues proclamations for
“College Application Week
Some states have a week, some
have college application month.
What matters is that students are
given the chance during the school
day to complete applications with
assistance from staff and
volunteers.
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College Application Week
Toolkit:
http://www.sreb.org/cgibin/MySQLdb?VIEW=/public/d
ocs/view_one.txt&docid=1652
MN Commissioner of Education
Brenda Cassellius’
Welcome Message
http://youtu.be/kp7whMtg91U
MN College Application Week
Steering Committee
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Mary Lou Dresbach
Diane O'Connor
Mike Lopez
Julie Sweitzer
Jim Bierma
Mary Cecconi
Amanda Ziebell-Finley
Astrid Ollerenshaw
Brian Kao
John Manning
Shelly Landry
Joann Knuth
Ann Postelwaite
Jillian Hiscock
Chris Franken
Elia Bruggeman
Sally Wherry
Rose Chu
Kris Moe
Office of Higher Education
Office of Higher Education
Minnesota State College and Universities
University of MN College and Career Readiness Consortium
University of MN College and Career Readiness Consortium
Parents United
MN Minority Education Partnership/MN College Access Network
Chicano Latino Affairs Council
Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans
Minnesota Private College Council
Minneapolis Public Schools (School Counselors)
Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals
Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals
Minnesota Association of Counselors of Color
Minnesota Association for College Admissions Counselors
Minnesota Department of Education
Minnesota Department of Education
Minnesota Department of Education
Minnesota School Counselors Association
MACAC
Email to
Membership
Volunteers can participate in a variety of ways such as:
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greet and sign-in students,
assist students with the completion of college applications,
speak to student groups,
share information about the college going or college application process,
share personal stories about your college journey with students
share about your area of expertise (financial aid, diversity, college
preparation, essay writing, etc.)
How do you sign up?
Click on the link below to access our Google docs volunteer sign-up sheet and
fill in the appropriate information for the sites you would be interested in
visiting. The high school site coordinator for this event will contact you
about the possibilities at their site. Although College Application Week
occurs November 14-18th, schools may be interested in having you visit before,
during, or after this week.
CAW Volunteer Sign-up: GoogleDoc
MACAC College Counseling Institute (CCI)
Promoted at Fall Workshop for HS Counselors
MCAN
Website
Housed
Resources
Shared Resources
MACAC & NACAC
More Sample Resources…
Resources for Undocumented and
First Generation Students:
NAVIGATE: http://navigatemn.org/
First in the Family: www.firstinthefamily.org/
CollegeBoard Resources:
YouCanGo! – Free resource to inspire lower resourced students who want to go to
college.
CollegeEd Online – Flexible standards-based college planning and career
exploration program
Eastview
High School
College App
Week
Handout
MNSCU
Fee Waiver
List
Volunteer Feedback (Survey)
Article in MACAC Newsletter
College Application Week 2011
Cooper High School
COOPER HIGH SCHOOL
New Hope, MN
Demographic Breakdown of Seniors
Total number of seniors 385
American Indian/Alaska Native 4
Asian 53
Black/African American 124
Hispanic/Latino 34
White 170
Free/Reduced Price Lunch 46%
First Generation College Students (if you have Didn’t have
this information)
How did we get started??
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Put together a College Application Week
Committee
 College
Counselor, AVID teacher, College Prep and
Service Learning Coordinator
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Attended the MDE College Application Week
Training
Created a list of ideas for the week
 When
would we do it?
 What would we do?
 How would we do it?
When did we do it??
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College Application Week-Nov. 14-18th
 Every
period of the week starting on Monday during
3rd hour
 Scheduled 10-14 students per period in our “College
Application Computer Lab.”
 Thursday/Friday- sent out 2nd passes to students who
didn’t show up the first time
What did we do?
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Advisors facilitated advisory lessons 2 weeks before
the event
Volunteers signed up on the Google Docs created by
MDE
Made announcements in Advisory, through e-mail,
phone dialer, intercom
Sent all seniors a pass to their first hour class
Decorated the hallways— “Stepping to college” &
“Pathway to College”
Advisory Guiding Questions
What do you need to do to apply to a 4 year college, generally speaking?
What do you need to do to apply to a 2 year or technical college, generally speaking?
How do you request transcripts at Cooper?
Name 3 Minnesota State Colleges or universities? (there are 32 of them)
What is the Common Application?
What should seniors bring to College Application Week?
**So far, these colleges are waiving application fees for ALL students during College Application Week--- See attached list
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**So, if you have not applied yet and are going to apply to one of the above schools, please plan on doing it this week to avoid
paying the application fee!!
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WELCOME TO COLLEGE APPLICATION WEEK
Student Instructions
READY TO APPLY
WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS
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Step 1- Log in to Naviance
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Step 2- Add colleges to “Colleges I’m Applying to List”
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Step 3- Go under the college profile and choose “Apply Online”
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Step 4- Complete Application
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-Do you need a teacher recommendation?
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-Do you need to pay the fee or is it waived?
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-Do you need an essay?
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-Have you sent your ACT score yet?
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Step 6-Complete MCIS Survey
Step 3-Complete MCIS Survey
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Step 5- Request transcript through Naviance
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Step 2- Create a plan (research colleges in Naviance,
create a resume, career interest profiler)
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Step 1- Check in with College Application Week
Mentors
**If you are ready to apply, follow the instructions.
**If you are not ready to apply, schedule an
appointment with your counselor, college counselor,
or visit the career center.
Now that you’ve applied….what’s next?
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Call or e-mail the college in 2 weeks to verify that your application is complete
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In January, fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
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Parent/guardian income tax information will be needed in this process
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If you need help with the process, come to Cooper’s Financial Aid Night (Feb. 9th) to receive help
filling out the online form. We will have financial aid experts available to answer questions
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In March, you should receive financial aid packages back from the colleges/universities that you applied
to. Many students wait to pick their college until they know how much it is going to cost them.
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May 1st is the standard deadline for housing for most colleges; however, you should verify the housing
deposit deadline with each individual college. In order to get housing, it is important that you have your
decision and deposit completed by this date.
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Continue working hard in all of your classes. Colleges require an end of the year transcript!!
How did we do it?
COLLABORATION…..with college admissions counselors, high school
counselors, financial aid counselors, National Guard representatives,
and interns!!
Results at Cooper
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We met with 82% of available seniors
 Did
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not include PSEO or transition students
504 transcripts sent out
Student application rates
 Start
of week= 20%
 End of week = 65%
What about College Application Week
2012?
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Ideas for improvement
 Kick
off event for seniors in auditorium
 More lessons in advisory leading up to the week
 Various presentations during the week
 Advertise starting in September
 Staff will wear buttons “Ask me about college!”
 Celebration event at the end of the week
Minnesota CAW Results
MN College Application Week 2012
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November 12-16
75+ schools registered so far
Steering Committee is currently building a logic
model and securing institutional commitments
Continued collaboration between MACAC, MCAN,
MDE, OHE, and other partners
College Application Week Contacts
National Contacts
Minnesota Contacts
Joni Petschauer
Senior Fellow- ACE
jpetshauer@acenet.edu
Jessica Espinosa
Bobby Kanoy
Senior Fellow - ACE
bkanoy@acenet.edu
Amanda Ziebell-Finley
MN Dept of Education
jessica.espinosa@state.mn.us
MN College Access
Network
Aziebell-finley@mmep.org
College Application Week Results

Prezi Created by Jessica Espinosa, Dual Enrollment
Specialist at Minnesota Department of Education
 http://prezi.com/your/
Questions??

Amanda Ziebell-Finley
 Aziebell-finley@mmep.org

Chris Franken
 Chris.franken@district196.org

Laura Ritter
 Laura_Ritter@rdale.org