What Are the Resources Offered by the College Placement Office to Help Me with the College

Junior College Planning Assembly September 19, 2017

What are the resources offered by the College Placement Office to help me with the college planning process?

Individual College Counselor:You will continue to have a School Counselor for all four years at The Prep. However, as of late December you will have your own dedicated College Counselor. You will receive an invitation to have your introductory meeting with your College Counselor in late December. It is important to schedule this first meeting in the late winter/early spring months to allow for proper planning/advisement and follow up meetings in the spring and summer. The tasks of your College Counselor will be distinct from those handled by your School Counselor. In the junior and senior years, your College Counselor will work with you to tackle all portions of the college search, planning, and selection process. The mission of the College Placement program is to be intensive.
The College Placement Website: The “Forms and Documents” tab provides you with resources aimed towards college planning as well as published documentation to help you in your search. All presentations from events are posted here as well. The “Links” tab provides you with helpful links and search engines to find more information on colleges of interest. The “College & University Acceptances” tab will tell you the past acceptances of former students based on grade point average, and offers links to each individual schools homepage. The “College Sponsored Events” tab keeps you abreast of all events that have been sent to College Placement that are being hosted by colleges and universities in the future. The “College Visits” tab shows all colleges and universities that will hold in-school visits this academic year. You will be able to see/register with colleges that will be visiting inNaviance-Family Connection.
The College Planning Calendar: Listed in the “Forms and Documents” tab on the SHP College Placement Website, this contains all important college planning events, dates and deadlines for juniors and seniors. This was sent to you in Naviance.
Twitter: Become a College Placement Twitter follower! @PREP2COLLEGE. Important updates and college related developments will be sent through this social media platform.
Naviance-Family Connection:This system allows you to conduct detailed searches on colleges, majors, careers as well as view the success rates of students who applied to different colleges from the Prep. In your senior year, this system will be vital for applying to colleges as well as tracking your materials. In the junior year, it is mainly utilized for search purposes as you build your college list. This is the most robust platform that The Prep has to offer so you and your parent (s)/guardian should get active in this system. Start to fill out the “Colleges That I am Thinking About”section under the “Colleges”tab so you can receive important updates on those schools. If you need your login/password information for Naviance, please speak with your School Counselor or Mr. Laster.

What are the important events that I should attend during the fall?

College Visits:We will have 100+ colleges and universities visiting The Prep in the fall. The dates and times of these visits are listed in Naviance-Family Connection as well as in the “College Visits” tab. All juniors are encouraged to attend. If you are interested in attending a college visit you can sign up in Naviance-Family Connection. To attend, you must file the College Visit Permission form. This form is on the College Placement website in the “Forms and Documents” section and also in the College Placement office. It will be given to College Placement at the beginning of your college visit session and must be signed by your teacher for the period you will be missing at least 2 days prior to the visit.
The College Planning Kick-Off (September 21st):Your parent (s)/guardian as well as you are highly encouraged to attend this event which formally kicks off The Prep’s comprehensive two-yearcollege program. Parent (s)/guardian and students will gain an understanding of the college planning timeline, resources provided by our program, the college search process and will understand the capabilities of Naviance-Family Connection.
College Representatives Night (October 5th): Your parent (s)/guardian as well as you are highly encouraged to attend this event. College Representatives from 120+ schools will be present to distribute materials and present their colleges/universities. This is a great way to start to build your interest list of schools and see when they will be offering events for juniors. Most representatives attending the College Representatives Night will be making the decision on your application if you choose to apply during your senior year. This event provides a wonderful avenue to meet admissions professionals, gain information and move your search forward.
Financial Aid Night (October 24th):Your parent (s)/guardian as well as you are highly encouraged to attend this event. With recent changes to the financial aid process allowing students and families to file forms earlier in their senior year, this event has become even more pivotal for juniors. The event will serve to demystify the financial aid process. Families will gain an understanding of the financial aid landscape, requirements for schools, and how to maximize their opportunity for scholarships and need based-financial assistance.