Volume 2
Issue 1
Junior Notes
For Juniors and their Parents
Preparing for Senior Year,
and Beyond
March/April 2015
Volume 2, Issue 1
Milwaukie High School
North Clackamas School Dist #12
11300 SE 23rd Ave
Milwaukie, OR 97222
Inside this Issue:
 Career Center / ASPIRE
 Upcoming SAT & ACT test dates
 SAT/ACT Prep and Practice
 AP Exams
 MHS College Planning Night –
March 4, 6:30PM Auditorium
 Oregon Public College Tour –
At MHS April 8th
 Oregon Public University Spring
Preview Dates
 Portland Spring College FairApril 26, 12-3 PM
 Additional College Visits at MHS
 Preparing for College Checklist
Greetings Juniors!
This newsletter is a publication of the Counseling
Department. This is our way of keeping you informed about
college news.
The college selection process often appears to be
overwhelming at first glance. After all, with over 4,000
colleges and universities across the country, how does
anyone begin to choose which one to attend? Yet, with
careful planning, this process is manageable. It does take
some time, patience, and some detective work on your part
to research and analyze yourself and your options.
Visit the Career Center during your study hall, lunch, or
excused periods, if possible. You need to become very
familiar with both the Counseling Department and the
Career Center to be ready for your Senior year.
This publication will help keep you up-to-date on what you
should do to be ready for college and for life after high
school.
What can you expect in your Senior Year?
You will receive “Senior Notes” during your senior English
class, along with a counselor visit to your classroom. This
will be our way of communicating important events, explain
the college application timeline, and answer your questions
throughout your senior year. We will also present College
Info Night in October and Financial Aid Info Night in
December.
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Career Center /
ASPIRE
The Career Center, located in the Counseling Department, is a place for students to receive help and
guidance in preparation for their post-high school plans. The center’s resources are not limited to
college. Vocational information is also on hand, as well as military information. We have an ASPIRE
program that matches mentors with students, who are assisted throughout the college search and
application process, including researching and applying for scholarships. Juniors can start working with
and ASPIRE mentor now. Talk to your counselor or Ginny Denny, ASPIRE Coordinator, in the Career
Center to learn more about this opportunity.
Come in and discover the vast amount of information and help available.
The Career Center is your Friend!
SAT / ACT Information
There are two tests used for admissions purposes by the vast majority of American 4-year colleges and
universities: the SAT and the ACT. Both tests are similar in that they measure a student’s overall
potential for college success. Some students actually do better on one over the other, so we
recommend you consider taking both tests. A comparison of the two tests is on the last page of this
publication.
Spring of the junior year is a good time to take the first SAT or ACT. Colleges consider the highest
score only. Repeat tests are then possible in the fall of the Senior year if you are not happy with your
scores. If you are on free or reduced lunch and cannot pay for the test, please see your
counselor right away for a fee waiver. Students are required to upload a picture during the online
registration process. Registration flyers and practice tests are available in the Counseling Office and
Career Center. The following are the test dates and registration deadlines for this school year:
SAT Test Date:
May 2, 2015
June 6 (given at CHS)
*Registration deadline:
April 6
May 8
ACT Test Date**
*Registration deadline:
April 118, 2015 (given at CHS)
March 13
June 13
May 8
Register online: www.collegeboard.com
Late registration until April 21
Late registration until May 27
Register online: www.act.org
Late registration until March 27
Late registration until May 22
Make sure you sign-up to take the optional “writing” section of the ACT– colleges want to see
these scores!
*Late fee assessed after this date.
Milwaukie High School CEEB School Code: 380680
When you register, you can send test scores to up to four colleges. Colleges do not accept scores on
the back of your transcript, so if you know some of the colleges to which you will apply next year, go
ahead and have your scores sent to them now.
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SAT and ACT Prep / Practice
Here are several SAT or ACT test prep and practice test resources for Students Online:
www.collegeboard.org - provides SAT registration, free prep and practice tests online. Real
questions, detailed study plan and test-taking strategies are available free or for fee.
www.actstudent.org/testprep/ - provides ACT registration, free prep and practice test
questions online. The official ACT Online Prep Program is also available for a fee. Real
questions, detailed study plan, real-time scoring and test-taking strategies.
www.oregoncis.uoregon.edu - With your MHS CIS sign-on information you can access free
practice tests for SAT and ACT as well as community college placement tests and ASVAB
practice tests. After signing on, go to “My Portfolio” and click “Learning Express”. You will be
directed to Oregon State Library site for dozens of practice tests and tutorials.
www.number2.com - Number2.com's online test preparation courses are totally free! By
creating an account you can access a customized course that includes user-friendly tutorials,
practice sessions that dynamically adapt to each student's ability level, a vocabulary builder,
and more.
www.Princetonreview.org - offers many free online or on-site assessment and test events.
Also, for a fee, you can get private, classroom, or small group prep tutoring, or order test prep
books.
www.proprofs.com/sat/ - Lots of free SAT test prep materials and tests for students and
instructors are available.
https://www.march2success.com - March 2 Success is a free tool designed to help
students with SAT, ACT or ASVAB prep and practice tests.
We also have free practice tests for the SAT & ACT in the Career Center.
AP Exams
Advanced Placement (AP) exams will be held May 4-14, 2015. Many colleges recognize AP
as being equivalent to a first-year college level course and will grant a student credit toward
their college degree if they earn a qualifying score (usually a 3, 4, or 5) on an exam. Info will
be given to students in AP classrooms in late February. Registration is due March 12th. See
the bookkeeper to register.
If you have not taken an AP Course this year, consider taking one next year to earn college
credits.
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MHS College Planning Night
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
6:30 PM
in MHS Auditorium
Ready to learn more about college?
Attend this free presentation at MHS, an opportunity to learn about specific
college topics such as: financial aid and scholarships, applying to selective
colleges, college essay writing, college-credit options at MHS, Oregon
public universities and community colleges, and standardized tests – ACT
and SAT. You will come away with ideas, resources and helpful information
to get you on the road to college. This presentation is especially useful
for juniors and their parents!
There will also be an Introduction to Naviance presentation by Mr. Aguilar
to share about this useful tool that will be utilized for Extended Application
during senior year, as well as for career, college and scholarship research.
Oregon Public Universities and
Local Community Colleges come to MHS
On April 8th, 2015, the Oregon Public Universities, as well as Clackamas, Portland and Mt
Hood Community Colleges, will visit Milwaukie High School as part of their annual Oregon
High School Campus Tour. Participants will include Eastern Oregon, Oregon State, Oregon
State-Cascade, OregonTech, Portland State, Southern Oregon, University of Oregon and
Western Oregon Universities.
This is a great opportunity if you haven’t started your college search, as each school’s
representative will give a short “commercial” of what their site has to offer, then you can talk
with them in the auditorium lobby where they will have tables and informative materials
available, and you can get some of your questions answered.
Watch for more information about this event on the announcements and posted flyers.
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Additional College Visits at MHS
Posted on the bulletin board outside the Career Center is a calendar of up-coming visits to
MHS by college representatives of both private and public colleges. Sign-up sheets will be
posted if you’d like to attend one of these sessions. Meet the Admissions Counselors who will
actually be evaluating your admission application. There will be many opportunities to take
advantage of college visits next fall, but attending a couple of these this spring may give you
some informtion that will encourage you as you continue your collee research.
Best Bet – Go Visit the Campus
Oregon Public University Campus Visitation Dates*
These are the dates of the upcoming 2015 Spring Preview dates where you can take tours,
attend a class, eat in the food court and find out about admissions and financial aid. These are
organized events and most require pre-registration. This is the best way to find out if a
particular school will be a good fit for YOU. If you are interested in a school not on this list,
check out their website for visit opportunities.
F
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Th
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F
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Sa
March 13
March 20
March 26
March 26
March 27
March 30
April 3
April 3
April 3
April 6
April 10
April 17
April 23
April 24
April 25
University of Oregon Duck Day
U of O Duck Day
Western Oregon University Spring Break Visit
OSU – Cascades Campus Preview Day (Bend)
OSU Campus Preview Day
OSU Campus Preview Day
Southern Oregon University Campus Preview Day
U of O Duck Day
Eastern Oregon University Campus Preview Day
Portland State University Viking Visitation
OSU Campus Preview Day
U of O Duck Day
WOU Campus Preview Day
U of O Duck Day
Oregon Tech Campus Preview Day (Klamath Falls)
* See college websites for more information on these free opportunities to visit and
learn about each colleges in the Oregon University System.
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Portland Spring College Fair
University of Portland,
Chiles Center Arena
5000 N. Willamette Blvd.
Portland, OR 97203
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Noon - 3 pm
If you haven’t attended the big Portland Fall College Fair at the Convention Center, this
smaller version at UP is a great way to ease into your college exploration. In the past, about
100 colleges have attended. You will have the chance to talk to representatives of both public
and private colleges from all over the U.S. and some international schools, and explore the
beautiful UP campus overlooking the Willamette River. Watch for updated info on daily
announcements.
Preparing for College:
What should you be doing this spring and summer?
….
Attend MHS College Information, Night Wed. March 4, 2015 @6:30PM
…..
Attend OUS College Tour when they visit MHS on April 8th.
…..
Challenge yourself in selecting your Senior schedule and work hard.
…..
Participate in community service, leadership and school activities.
…..
Visit the Career Center to work on your post-high school planning.
…..
Register, prep, practice and take standardized tests (ACT+writing & SAT).
…..
Visit some local colleges – Visit a variety of colleges - Consider a summer tour of
college campuses.
…..
Log on to Naviance or CIS websites and start to exlore and compare careers and
colleges.
…..
Start talking with your parents about college costs and finances.
…..
Ask questions, peruse college websites, and keep asking questions!
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