Senior College Information Night



“A life is not important except in the impact it
has on other lives.”
Jackie Robinson
“Try to store everything that you can in the
cupboard of the mind, like one who aims at
filling a vessel.”
St. Thomas Aquinas
“The only thing you can take with you is that
which you have given away.” Frank Capra
Tonight’s Presenters
Mr. Daniel Petruccio
Assistant Principal for Guidance
Mr. Robert Hazelton
College Placement Officer
Mr. Matthew Kaplan
Assistant College Placement Officer
PRESENTATION TOPICS






Letters of
Recommendation
Transcripts
SAT/ACT
Financial Aid
NCAA
College Visits






Senior Year
Types of Admissions
Rank/Average
College Placement
Office
Naviance
St. John’s College
Advantage Program
Letters of Recommendation


School Letter of Recommendation (Sometimes
referred to as a Counselor’s Recommendation).
Already in your file.
Teacher Recommendation




An academic assessment.
A teacher who happens to also be the coach or moderator
of your team or club.
Not written automatically.
In the event of a paper application (see Mrs. Mansueto)
Teacher Letter of Recommendation




June of your junior year you were asked to submit the
name of a teacher to write a teacher recommendation
for you.
As a courtesy you should have already spoken to the
teacher personally.
In the case that you need a second teacher letter of
recommendation you must see me before approaching
a teacher. There is a form that must be filled out
If you need to change teachers you must see
Mr.Petruccio
Teacher Letter of Recommendation


Using Naviance on-line you will invite the
teachers you have chosen to write your letter
of recommendation by sending them a
notification email. Later in the program we
will walk you through the process.
By signing the FERPA form on Common App
and filling out the matching section in
Naviance you will waive your right to see the
recommendation. Without doing this the
teacher will not write the letter.
The Transcript

With each application sent to a college on your
behalf we include your official school transcript,
secondary school report and school profile.



Grades from Freshman, Sophomore and Junior year.
Summer school grades if applicable.
SAT and ACT scores are not on the transcripts sent to
You must submit them
electronically through College Board
and the ACT.
the colleges.
SAT & ACT




You are responsible for getting your scores to the
colleges you are applying to.
You are able to control what scores are sent to the
colleges by utilizing Score Choice. This is true in
most cases.
Limitations: Complete Test Scores for a particular
test date must all be sent.
ACT exams are an option for students who feel that
the SAT exams don’t represent their best effort.
FINANCIAL AID




50% of all full-time students receive some form of
financial aid.
Only ½ of 1% of the money a student receives
comes from private sources (non-school source).
This means most of the financial aid money comes
directly from the colleges that accept you.
2 basic types of financial aid: Merit and Need based.
Financial Aid



For most students the largest financial aid
packages will be offered by your “safe”
schools. There is a lot of money out there!
Affordability has to be the first criteria when
looking at colleges.
Colleges allocate funds on “first come, first
serve” basis.
Types of Financial Aid






Grants
Scholarship
Loans- Stafford & PLUS
Work-Study Programs
Merit Based Awards or “Discounts”.
The combination of all of these sources of
money is your “Financial Aid Package”.
How do you apply for Financial Aid?





FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
Filing can’t be done before January 2016.
Use your most recent tax return. If you have not
filed your 2015 return then use the one from 2014
and you can update the information at a later date if
there are changes.
CSS Profile is an alternate method of determining
that is used by some schools.
http://www.collegeboard.org
The CSS Profile is available in Mid-October.
Where to Look for Financial Aid?



Use the Naviance program.
If you are fortunate enough to be accepted at
one of your reach schools you will not likely
receive any merit based awards from that
school.
You must be prepared to pay the full sticker
price.
Financial Aid Meeting



An informative presentation regarding the
financial aid process.
Guest Speaker: Mr. Eugene Rogers (Senior
Financial Aid Counselor/ Molloy College).
Previously worked at Vanderbilt University.
November 18th at 7:30 PM in the Hearst
Auditorium at the A.A.C.
NCAA Eligibility Center







Potential College Student/Athletes must register
with the NCAA.
www.eligibilitycenter.org
Prospective Student/Athlete
Registration Form for US Students
$65
SAT/ACT scores come from you directly
Print and sign the form as directed and bring it to
Mrs. Mansueto.
College Visitations





Arrange visits on weekends, vacations or days when
Chaminade is not in session.
Visits are an essential part of the college application process.
In some cases schools are intentionally wait listing qualified
candidates because they have not visited campus.
Check the college website to see the schedule for visits, tours
and information sessions.
If you are just starting to visit now you are significantly
behind in this process
Checklist for College Visits









Check in with the Admissions Office
Ask a lot of questions
School newspaper
Housing (Greek Life)
Meal Plans
Transportation
Class sizes (T.A. teaching classes)
Surrounding Community
Career Placement Office
Senior Grades




Commit yourself to making senior year your best
academic year.
Aside from your college application, senior grades
are the only other factor in your admittance.
Mid-Year Grades are your First Semester Grades.
About 95% of the schools our seniors apply to
request these Mid-Year Grades. Colleges may
request your 1st Semester progress grades. We will
send these if they are requested.
Types of Admissions





2 Types of early admissions:
Early Action: not binding; the advantage is that you
will have an answer early in the process.
Early Decision: binding; if admitted, you agree to
enroll and not submit other applications.
Our internal deadline for these applications (EA and
ED) – Oct. 13th (Tuesday after Columbus Day)
ED II: Usually has a due date from mid-January to
mid-February.
Types of Admissions



Regular Decision: our internal deadline for all
remaining applications- November 23rd
(Monday before Thanksgiving)
The applicant is usually notified by April 1st
and must reply by May 1st.
Rolling Admissions: This process usually
begins in the early fall and continues into the
summer in some cases.
Rank and GPA (3-year average)


Last week in homeroom you received your
rank and 3-year average card in homeroom.
You have been “ranked” in each of your three
years; the rank you will receive is an average
of these rankings.
College Placement Office: Fall Visits

Starting last week, colleges began visiting
CHS on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and
Thursdays after school.



Posted in Homeroom, AM announcements,
Naviance generated e-mail, etc.
As many as 5 schools each day; these visits
take place in rooms 1-6
These sessions are led by the admission
representative who will read your application!
Evening Presentations

University of Notre Dame
October 21st at 7:30

Fairfield University
 September 24th at 7:30
College Placement Office: Strategy

On the average, our seniors apply to 8-10 schools.






2/3 “Reach” Schools
2/3 “ 50/50” Schools
2/3 “Safety” Schools
You must apply to a number of “Safety” schools.
Can you see yourself at all the schools to which you
apply?
One strategy that is often utilized and is not
recommended is to apply to 10 reach schools and
two safe schools. The result is a tremendous amount
of disappointment and dissatisfaction.
College Placement Office: Strategy

How do you create your list of schools?
1. Make an appointment with a guidance
counselor.
2. Read the College Placement Survey Book
in your homeroom or down in the Guidance
Center. Parents are encouraged to stop by the
Guidance Center and spend some time
looking at the book.
College Placement Office: The Essay



The part of the application you control.
Remember! The admissions rep reads
thousands of these!
Therefore,



1. Be concise.
2. Start the essay in a unique way.
3. Use a “slice of life” approach.
Assistance with your College Essay


Seniors will be working with their English teachers;
Mr. Hazelton, Mr. Kaplan and Mr. Petruccio are also
available to work with them on their essays.
Mrs. Wendy Bouchard a college essay consultant
will be available weekly (Tuesdays and Wednesday)
in the Library to meet with the students. Students
can utilize their study hall period as well as after
school to work with Mrs. Bouchard. See Mrs.
Mansueto for further details.
College Placement Office: Scholarships



A number of scholarships become available
throughout the school year.
Two main types: civic and college-related.
These scholarships will be posted on
Naviance and in homeroom with information
and deadlines.
NAVIANCE


Username and Password. Students received this
information at the Junior College Information Night
Any questions, have your son come down to the
Guidance Center and speak with Mrs. Mansueto or
Mrs. Bekisz. If you call to ask questions don’t be
offended if the response is to direct your son to come
down to Guidance and speak with us. If you take
over the process for him, he will let you.
NAVIANCE




It is imperative that the email address you enter for the
Common App matches the email you have already chosen for
your Naviance account last year.
If you have any problems with Naviance please see the
tutorial which can be found on the Chaminade website (
under the student tab ).
Filling out Common App is merely the first step in the
process. After completing the submission process on
Common App the student must enter the schools he applies to
on Naviance and hit submit and then proceed to send SAT
and ACT scores to each school.
Don’t forget the supplements on Common App!
Commonly Asked Questions:





Mr. Hazelton is the counselor of record for all
applications.
His phone number is 516-742-5555 Ext.442.
His email is rhazelton@chaminade-hs.org
His fax # is 516-209-4806
Do not check off the discipline box if you
have received demerits while at
Chaminade.
St. John’s College Advantage Program







Cost: $325 for each (3) credit course
Maximum of 3 courses may be chosen.
Spanish, French, German, Latin
English
Pre-Calculus and Calculus
American History
A St. John’s University transcript will be available to
the student after the Spring semester. It must be
requested from the University.
St. John’s Program




Forms will be distributed in homeroom
tomorrow morning.
Forms and checks for the full amount are due
to the Guidance Center by September 28th.
Make check payable to Chaminade H.S.
Additional work will be assigned above and
beyond the normal class load.

Ex. A paper or additional project.