Transcript College Planning for Seniors - State College Area School District

The
College Application Process
For
State College High School
Class of 2012
Mrs Devecka - Mrs Lyke – Mrs Wolanski
September 2011
 Have you taken the SAT or ACT?
 Do you have a list of schools?
 Have you visited some of the schools?
 Have you looked at the websites & researched
application procedures?
 Have you registered with NCAA Clearinghouse if
you plan to play sports?
 If you are completely overwhelmed by these
questions, then read your College Planning
Booklet and start with 1 application.
How to Apply to College
Three main types of applications
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Penn State/Schreyer Honors College
Common Application
Other applications
(on-line and paper)
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Complete on-line application
Bring in the School Report form---Mrs. Wolanski
Sign a Transcript Request form--- Mrs. Wolanski
Must choose a school and a major or DUS
Fall admission vs. summer admissions
Campus Choice
College Prep Math 1-3= (Alg. 1, Alg. 2, & Geometry)
Trig. / Business, Engineering, Science, IST
Foreign Language requirement
Complete application by Oct. 31st to be safe.
SAT & ACT scores: YOU NEED to have them sent directly
from College Board. It takes 2-3 weeks. PSU will not
process your application without SAT scores.
 Complete regular PSU application on-line
 Indicate that you want to complete the Schreyer
on-line application.
 Complete Transcript Request form w/ Mrs.
Dodson in the Counseling Office.
 Reminder: Have your counselor’s and teachers’
emails handy for requesting recommendations.
 Recommendations need to be requested 3 working
weeks before due date—Green Sheet must be
complete at that time for recommendation to be
written by counselor.
 Go to each College Website before applying and check for
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supplements. The info is on the Common Application
website as well.
Read all directions regarding Common Application.
Get teachers’ permission before submitting their names as
recommenders.
Waiving your right-to-privacy is strongly recommended.
Print out a hard copy for your records.
Complete a Transcript Request for each Common
Application School – See Mrs Wolanski.
Complete Green Sheet information for counselors—must
be into Counseling office 3 working weeks before due.
 Can be on-line or paper. If there is a choice we
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recommend the on-line version.
Make sure you print out all forms for teachers and
counselors and give them to the appropriate people.
Each application is a bit different, follow the directions
and take your time.
If you bring in your entire application to be mailed you
need to bring in a large envelope with 4 stamps and
addressed.
Sign a Transcript Request form for each college.
 Many colleges require an essay.
 Seek help from your English teacher.
 Read the College Planning Book about the essay on
pages 15-19 or go to educationplanner.org or
collegeboard.com or use resources in counseling office.
 Schreyer Honors College of PSU requires three essays begin them now!
 Have at least one person proof your essay. Make sure
that you are coming across the way you intended.
 PSU does not require recommendations, with the
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exception of Schreyer Honors College.
Teacher recommendation—any 9th through 12th grade
teacher may write a recommendation.
Some colleges will require specific subject teachers.
Counselor recommendation –Mrs Devecka/Mrs
Lyke/Mrs. Campbell/ Mrs. Donovan/Ms Herrmann, or
any counselor you have been working with.
If you need a letter of recommendation you will need to
fill out the Green Sheet packet and have 4 teachers fill
out white evaluation sheets.
 Some colleges want to receive all
recommendations and transcripts together. If
this is what the college requires, then all
documents must be sent from the counseling
office.
 Other colleges that require recommendations
state that teachers and counselors may mail
recommendations separately.
 Waive your right to read the recommendation.
College
Application
To-Do
List
Information
For
Letter
Of
Recommendation
In – House
Evaluation
Forms (4)
If you need a counselor recommendation for any
college you are applying to, make sure that you
have completed these forms at least 3 weeks
before the recommendation is due
 Apply online if possible.
 Apply to at least one “safety” school that is both
academically and financially safe.
 Try to limit your applications to 5 or 6 colleges.
The average application fee is $50 per application.
 Apply as early as possible to get maximum
consideration.
 Make a detailed checklist for each college
application.
Wonderful People
* Treat them well *
 You must complete a transcript request form for
each college with Mrs. Wolanski in the North
Counseling Office in order to have your transcript
submitted.
 Make sure your request is in at least 3 weeks
before it is due.
 Early Decision Agreement
 Mid Year Report
 College Specific Financial Aid Forms
 FAFSA—January 1st, 2012
 Athletic Supplement
 Arts Supplement
 Final Report/Transcript
 Paper Applications
9x12 envelope, addressed with 4 stamps
 Transcript only/Mid Year Report
Regular legal size envelope, addressed with 1 stamp
 Rolling admission
 Early decision
 Early action
 Regular decision
 Note: For both transcript and recommendations,
make sure that you give the counseling office and
your counselor at least 3 weeks notice. Example, if
the deadline is December 1st have all your requests in
by November 9th. Look at the bottom of your
purple sheet to see our deadlines.
 Complete the Free Application for Federal Student AID
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(FAFSA) soon after Jan 1st, 2012.
Fill Out CSS Financial Aid Profile if required by the
college.
Become familiar with the financial aid process.
Read the financial aid section in the College Planning
Book - pages 23-31.
Visit http://www.finaid.org/ for a preliminary financial
aid estimate.
Attend financial aid nights:
- PHEAA – December 7th, 2011
- Penn State Financial Aid – January 4th, 2012
 Comprehensive Scholarship Information 
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www.fastweb.com
Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency www.pheaa.org
State High Senior Scholarship Book – late Feb 2012
Resources in North Counseling Office
Employment/religious affiliations/military
Many colleges give out hefty merit financial aid
 www.collegeboard.com
 www.educationplanner.org
 High school counseling
office – Admissions Rep’s
visits to school.
 Individual college websites
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Grades in college prep courses
Standardized test scores
Grades in all courses
Essay
Counselor recommendation
Teacher recommendation
Special talents and abilities
Work/extracurricular activities
Interview
Alumni relations
Subject tests
Demonstrated interest
Ethnicity
Ability to pay
State of residence
 You apply to a college and never come to the
counseling office to request your transcript to be sent
from our HS to the college.
 You apply to a college and forget to send your SAT/ACT
scores to the college.
 You apply to college and forget to download all the
necessary forms.
 You miss a deadline.
 You forget to ask for teacher and counselor
recommendations.
 You forget to hit the submit button.