College
Readiness
Bishop O’Connell High School
Counseling Department
What do you think colleges look for?
 GPA
 Standardized test scores
 Rigor of course schedule
 Extracurricular activities
 Athletics
 Leadership positions
 Volunteer/work experience
 Awards/Honors
What year of high school do colleges
begin looking at your grades, extracurriculars etc?
A.
B.
C.
D.
May of senior year
October of junior year
Freshman year
Sophomore year
Why should I start
thinking about
college already?!
Our Focus
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TRANSCRIPT
COURSE SELECTION
GPA
STANDARDIZED TESTING
TYPES OF COLLEGES
Am I on track for getting into college?
TRANSCRIPT SAMPLE
YOUR HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT
COURSE SELECTION
• How challenging are your
courses?
• Will you meet O’Connell
graduation requirements?
• If you know where you would
like to go to college, will you
have taken the college’s
required high school courses?
More?
• Are you planning on playing
college sports?
GRADE POINT AVERAGE
• Throughout high school
you will have an ongoing
average of all your
grades called a
cumulative GPA.
• Every year counts so you
must consistently work
hard to learn and earn
high grades.
GPA
GPA Discussion
 How do you feel about your current GPA?
 How do you feel about what you need to do to move
up?
 What things can you start doing now to move
towards your desired GPA?
 Who can help you reach your goal?
AP Classes
 AP provides high school students the opportunity to
take college-level courses and achieve college credit
or advanced placement.
 AP courses signal to admissions officers that you’ve
undertaken the most rigorous classes your high
school has to offer.
 Must meet our school’s requirements!
AP Requirements
 AP English Language and Comp (Gr. 11) B+ in English honors, writing
sample, and recommendation of English 2 Honors Teacher; A in
English 2, writing sample, and recommendation of English 2 teacher,
and approval of department chair
 AP Spanish 5 Literature and Culture (Gr. 10-12) Recommendation of
Spanish 4 Honors teacher and approval of AP Spanish Language and
Culture teacher
 AP Biology (Gr. 11-12) B in Biology Honors and B in Chemistry Honors
or B+ in Biology and B+ in Chemistry, department approval and
consent of the current AP Biology Instructor
 AP Art History (Gr. 11-12) B+ in English and permission of instructor
 AP U.S. History (Gr. 11) A in History, A- in Honors History, or B in AP
History; B in current English class; Social Studies teacher
recommendation and approval of department chair. Students are
required to submit a writing sample
SAT
 The SAT is a globally recognized college admission
test that lets you show colleges what you know and
how well you can apply that knowledge.
 It tests your knowledge of reading, writing and math
— subjects that are taught every day in high school
classrooms
PSAT/NMSQT
 PSAT/NMSQT stands for Preliminary SAT/National
Merit Scholarship
 The PSAT/NMSQT is a test that can qualify you for
scholarships and other honors.
 It can also help you start thinking about and planning
for college, see which academic skills you need to
work on, and get ready for college entrance exams.
ACT
 The ACT is a national college admissions examination
that consists of subject area tests in English, Math,
Reading and Science.
 ACT results are accepted by all four-year colleges and
universities in the U.S.
Five Types of Colleges
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Open Enrollment Colleges
Traditional Colleges
Selective Colleges
Highly Selective
Most Selective
“Open Enrollment” Colleges
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Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA)
Germanna Community College
Lord Fairfax Community College
Montgomery College
University of DC
“Traditional” Colleges*
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Catholic University (#120)
Howard University (#120)
Temple University (#125)
George Mason University (#139)
West Virginia University (#165)
Virginia Commonwealth University (#170)
UNC, Charlotte (#199)
Hampton University
Shenandoah University
Longwood University
Radford University
* “National Universities Rankings” by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2013
“Selective” Colleges*
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Penn State (#46)
Boston University (#51)
Pepperdine University (#54)
University of Florida (#54)
Ohio State (#56)
University of Maryland (#58)
Texas A&M (#65)
Clemson University (#68)
Virginia Tech (#72)
American University (#77)
Drexel University (#83)
* “National Universities Rankings” by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2013
“Highly Selective” Colleges*
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Johns Hopkins University (#13)
University of Notre Dame (#17)
Georgetown (#21)
Carnegie Melon (#23)
UVA (#24)
Wake Forest (#27)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (#29)
UNC, Chapel Hill (#30)
Boston College (#31)
New York University (#32)
William & Mary (#33)
* “National Universities Rankings” by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2013
“Most Selective” Colleges*
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Harvard (#1) ~
Princeton (#1) ~
Yale (#3) ~
Columbia (#4) ~
University of Chicago (#4)
M.I.T. (#6)
Stanford (#6)
University of Pennsylvania (#8) ~
Duke (#8)
Cal Tech (#10)
Dartmouth (#10) ~
~ Ivy League
* “National Universities Rankings” by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2013
What do you need to know about getting into your dream school?
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Average GPA or GPA range
Average SAT/ACT scores
Requirements and recommendations for high school courses
“Students who challenge themselves with the upper-level courses
offered in their high school (i.e. Honors-level courses, Advanced
Placement classes, International Baccalaureate, dual enrollment, etc.)
increase their competitiveness.”
“For the 2013 admissions process, 58 percent of the applicants were
admitted; however, 87 percent of the applicants were competitive.”
- James Madison University Website
College Readiness Plan
HANDOUT
 Please fill out the handout
I will be back to pick it up ________
Example
Where can I find this information?!
BYOD
 Connection.naviance.com/bishopoconnell
 Bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search
 Look up specific colleges
 Search types of colleges
QUESTIONS?