Spring College To-Do List for Juniors

From College Data

The second half of junior year is when applying to college starts to get real. Here are some things you can do this semester to make sure you’re ready to apply this fall and minimize stress senior year.

1. Make a First Pass at a College List

Whether you’ve been researching colleges since you were a ninth-grader or you’re at the beginning of your college search, spring of junior year is a good time to research colleges for your college list. Most counselors recommend creating a “balanced list” that includes some schools that are “reaches”, some that are “maybes”, and a few that are “good bets.”

• Reaches are schools where your GPA, test scores and class rank fall at the lower end of, or below, the average range of the most recently admitted freshman class. You’ll find the average test scores and GPAs for more than 2,000 colleges in CollegeData’s college profiles, which you can access with College Search. A reach can also be a school that is highly selective, such as Ivy League and other highly competitive schools.

• Maybes are schools where your GPA, test scores, and class rank fall within the average range of the most recently admitted freshman class.

• Good Bets are schools where your GPA, test scores, and class rank are above the average range of the most recently admitted freshman class.

Regardless of whether the colleges you are considering are reaches, maybes or good bets — make sure they are schools you'd be happy to attend and are colleges you and your family can afford. Don't forget to take financial aid into account when looking for affordable — or financially friendly — colleges.  
CollegeData’s College Chances tool can help you identify reaches, maybes and good bets based on your current GPA, test scores, and other factors.

2. Get involved with an activity and consider a leadership role

Staying involved in your extracurriculars can be challenging junior year, especially if you are taking challenging courses. But, your activities and extracurriculars can demonstrate your interests outside of class and can provide an opportunity for you to show leadership. If you haven’t participated in any activities, now is the time to get involved — whether it’s with a club, a team, a community organization, or your church.

You don’t have to be the president of your club or team captain to demonstrate leadership, either. Organizing food drop-offs for people in your community, starting fundraisers, or planning events or strategies for the coming year to help keep your team or club going also show creativity and leadership.

3. Go on In-person or Virtual College Visits

If possible, go on a few college visits, even if it's only to some campuses in your local area. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many colleges cancelled in-person tours but expanded their online and virtual offerings to help students experience their campuses remotely. At most colleges, you’ll find virtual tours that take you around campus and into residential halls, classrooms, and more. 

You can also use social media to research colleges you are interested in or are considering or set up telephone or videoconference calls with admission officers from those schools. For more ways to learn about colleges without visiting, see Visit a College Without Stepping on Campus.

Most colleges are once again holding in-person tours, and your spring break can be a convenient time to attend these. Before you go, review these tips for making the most of a college visit and questions to ask. 

4. Attend a college fair

College fairs (virtual and in-person) can be a great way to learn about colleges and connect with admission reps. It’s important to plan ahead for a college fair so you can make the most of your time. Check out these do’s and don’ts for college fairs for some tips.

For more information on upcoming college fairs, visit the NACAC college fairs website, or consult the College Fair Guide for a list of fairs in your region. 

5. Choose Teachers to Write Your Recommendation Letters

Many college applications require one or more letters of recommendation from teachers and/or guidance counselors. Be sure you know which colleges on your list require recommendation letters and from whom they require them. Some colleges ask for letters from more than one teacher as well as a counselor. Many teachers prefer that you ask them for a recommendation before the end of your junior year so they have the summer to work on it. 

For tips on choosing whom to ask to write your recommendation letters, see How to Get the Best Letters of Recommendation.

6. Consider Signing Up for the SAT OR ACT

Although thousands of colleges have adopted test-optional admissions, counselors still advise students to take these tests, especially students who are applying to highly selective schools. “Test-optional” colleges will consider your test scores if you submit them, and if you score well on the SAT or ACT, submitting scores can work in your favor. If you are unable to take the SAT or ACT, or you don’t do as well on the test as you hoped, you can choose not to submit your scores and focus on other parts of your application. 

7. Learn About the Financial Aid Process

If you plan to apply for financial aid, it’s a good idea to learn about the types of aid available and how to apply for it. Start learning about how colleges figure cost of attendance, the concept of net price, and get familiar with the application forms students use to apply for financial aid: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the CSS Profile.

8. Discuss College Affordability with Your Family

It’s a good idea to start discussing college finances with your family — and even more important during uncertain economic times. It's important to consider how much you and your family are able and willing to spend for college, whether loans are an option, and ways you can make the cost manageable. For advice on how to start this conversation, see How to Talk with Your Parents About Paying for College.

9. Get Advice from High School Seniors

The seniors you know have just completed the long and sometimes grueling college application process. Ask them what advice they can share with you. What would they do differently if they could apply to college all over again? See CollegeData’s Road to College Student Stories for advice from real college students.

10. Line up support

It’s important to get support during the college application process — and the earlier the better. If you haven’t done so already, connect with your high school guidance counselor and let them know your interest in applying to college. You also might want to explore other resources, especially if your school’s counseling staff is limited. These resources may include a private college counselor, online advising services, or organizations such as QuestBridge and OneGoal that specialize in helping low-income and first-generation college students apply to college.

The college application process – from start to finish – is  a long one and it’s important to pace yourself. Tackling even a few of these tasks this spring will help pave the way for great applications come fall and a less stressful college application experience.

Freshman Year of High School: Our Best Survival Advice

 

Now that first semester is over, here is a great read for freshmen.

It's your first year of high school! To help you adjust to ninth grade, read our best advice on getting involved, improving your time management, and more.

by CollegeXpress/Aug 30, 2021

Surviving freshman year of high school

• College Prep in High School: What to Do All 4 Years: Freshmen, find out what you can and should be doing this year to make your future college search easier! 
• College Prep Steps Every High School Student Should Know About: The best way to maintain your course toward college and not end up freaking out right before applications are due is to create a schedule and break it down over your four high school years. Find out what to do during freshman year!
• Improving Your College Competitiveness: What Classes to Take Each Year of High School: It's no secret that honors and AP courses look great on college applications. Here are some other ways to maximize your class schedule each year of high school.
• Top 4 Tips for Freshmen Transitioning to High School: Going from middle school to high school is almost as big a change as going to college. Take these four tips to heart to help you as you start this next chapter.
• How to Build and Use a Support Network in High School: Having a support system of teachers, mentors, and like-minded students is important to your high school success. Learn how to create a strong network here! 
• Video: How to Survive High School and Find Scholarships: High school is stressful, and there's so much to get done. Here are a few tips to help you survive high school and some extra tips for finding scholarships.
• Great Mental Health Habits for Students to Establish: COVID-19 is still happening, and students should continue to find and employ long-lasting positive mental health habits. Here are some ideas for you!
• Dear High School Freshmen: Don’t Follow This Advice: Scared about starting high school? That's fair! Freshman year is a big change, but it's not nearly as scary as others say. Here's the advice not to listen to.

Getting involved in activities

• How to Get Involved in Extracurricular Activities in High School: Ah, extracurricular activities. If you're a high school student wondering where to get started, how to find the time, and what activities to pick, look no further.
• How to Navigate High School Clubs and Activities: Extracurricular activities are a great way to blow off steam after school, plus they look great on college applications. Here's your guide to extracurriculars!
• Top High School Activities to Boost College Applications: Being involved in high school activities will boost your future college applications, but where do you start? Here are some of the top activities colleges love to see!
• How to Craft the Perfect High School Résumé: A well-crafted résumé can help you stand out to prospective colleges. Read on to learn how to craft a stellar student résumé.
• How to Start Your Own Great Club in High School: Joining clubs and getting involved is a big part of high school. But what do you do if the club you want to join isn't offered? Start one yourself! Here's how.  

Developing great time management skills

• A Deep Dive Into Procrastination and How to Stop It: Procrastination is a fickle thing. Before learning how to stop once and for all, here's a look at why you procrastinate and how it affects your schoolwork.
• How to Get Organized and Manage Time in High School: These simple tips can help you get organized, get homework done quickly, and manage your time better in high school.
• Top 5 Time Management Tips for High School Students: High school is hectic with homework, college apps, and extracurricular activities. Keep on top of everything with these time management tips.
• Better Time Management in 3 Simple Steps: Putting off another assignment? These techniques can help students battle the bad habit of procrastination to make the most of your precious time.
• Balancing Classwork and Sports as a High School Student: Balancing school and sports takes a lot of time management and planning ahead. Check out these tips to help you get organized as a high school athlete. 

Taking your schoolwork seriously

• 4.0 GPA: The Ultimate Guide: Check out this complete overview of what a 4.0 GPA means for college-bound high schoolers and how you can get on the right track.
• 5 Secrets to Getting Good Grades: Here are some ways to step up your school game and start getting the good grades you want and deserve.
• Top Tips for Good Grades in High School and College: With a few smart strategies and the right supplies, you can maintain good grades throughout high school. Here's what you need to know!
• The Secret to Getting Straight A's While Maintaining (Most of) Your Sanity: How to get good grades without going totally insane, from a student who's never received a B.
• Video: Setting Goals for the School Year: It's always good to set goals! Student vlogger Gianna has a few suggestions to help you go about setting school goals any time of year.
• How to Work on Your Academic Weaknesses in High School: Everyone has that one subject in high school they just don't like very much. Here's how to deal with yours.

Learning about advanced courses

• Should I Take AP Courses?: Find out why our experts think students should stretch themselves academically by taking AP courses throughout high school. 
• Inside Info on AP Courses: Which Ones Should You Take?: Rebecca has taken 11 Advanced Placement courses and has a ton of inside information to share. Here's her guide on all your AP choices, from Math to English and everything in between.
• How to Put the "A" in AP Classes: Another student with 11 courses under her belt offers tips on how to ace advanced placement classes. 
• What You Need to Know About AP Tests, AP Scores, and Your Future College: You might be wondering how the number you receive on your AP Tests will impact your college future. Well, this is how!

Thinking about the future

• Should I Be Worried About College as a High School Freshman?: Should you be worried about college now, as an incoming high school freshman? No! But you should be thinking about college (at least a little bit).
• How to Think About College as a High School Freshman: It may seem far away, but it's a good idea to start thinking about college as early as freshman year of high school. Here's what you can do to prepare!
• How Should Freshmen Prepare for the College Search?: It's never too early to start thinking about college! Learn what you can do as early as your freshman year with this expert advice.
• 8 Advantages of Starting Your College Search Early: Senior year is a stressful time for most students. You can make it a little easier by starting your college search earlier in high school. Here are eight reasons why!
• 5 Ways to Get a Head Start on the Admission Process: It's always a good idea to be thinking about your college applications. Doing these five things now will help you stand in the admission process later!

Hopefully this collection of advice can help you in some way as you embark on your very first year of high school! It may seem like this journey will last forever, but it will fly by faster than you think. As your freshman year progresses, check back here to see if any of these articles can help you in a whole new way as you encounter new obstacles, and be sure to check out our College Search tool, Scholarship Search tool, and Lists & Rankings too. Good luck with freshman year—you've got this! 

Want a preview of what the rest of high school has in store? Download our College Prep Checklist for All 4 Years of High School and make a plan for a successful future!

Georgia Energy and Industrial Construction Consortium (GEICC) Scholarship

The Georgia Energy and Industrial Construction Consortium (GEICC) offers scholarships to students pursuing postsecondary education in science, technology, engineering, or math fields. The 2024 scholarship application is now open! In May of 2023, GEICC awarded 30 students across Georgia $2,000 scholarships. 

 

 Scholarship criteria:

• A minimum of five (5) - $1,000 scholarships are available.

• A GPA of 2.5 or better is required to apply.

• Scholarships will be awarded without regard to race, sex, creed, national origin, or disability.

• Students must submit a completed application by 5 p.m., Sunday, March 10, 2024.
  

• If selected, the recipient grants GEICC the right to use their name and photo(s) publicly for various publicity campaigns.

Please share this opportunity with your students and encourage them to consider a career in the stable, growing, and essential energy industry! To learn more and access the application, please click, getintoenergyga.com.

Robins Spouses' Club Scholarship

 

The 2023-24 Robins Spouses' Club (RSC) Scholarship applications are now open!

RSC will award academic scholarships of $250 (or more, depending on funds) to deserving high school seniors and continuing education students from eligible military families and eligible RAFB Department of Defense families. 

 

A Scholarship Selection Panel will determine the award winners based on (1) demonstrated scholastic achievement and (2) a personal essay. Eligible spouses and dependents are encouraged to apply, and the scholarship application categories are: 

·  High School Seniors 

 ·  High School Seniors with Learning Disabilities 

Electronic applications will be available starting December 1 and will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. ET on February 29, 2024 (no submissions will be accepted after this date and time). 

Visit https://www.robinsspousesclub.org/scholarships for more information. 

FERPA and Getting Access to Your Child’s College Records

From: Road to College

College students are legal adults, and as such, colleges will not discuss academic and medical issues with parents without a student's permission.

A PARENT'S STORY

When my son started college, I didn’t know that I wouldn’t automatically have the right to access his educational records. As a result of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), my son would have had to sign a form explicitly allowing his father and me to access certain information. (At 18, students are considered adults, and any school that receives federal funds falls under this law. 

You can read more about the law here.) 

My son “Tom” (not his real name) got into an academic bind in college, and I believe that if I’d been able to monitor his progress, we would have intervened, been able to help, and saved ourselves a lot of heartache. Tom had a 3.9 GPA at the end of his junior year.

The problems started toward the end of the first semester of his fourth year. His grades plummeted, partially because of extra-curricular activities such as an off-campus job, and partially because of his personality and unwillingness to communicate. Professors and advisors tried repeatedly to get him back on track, but to no avail. He became depressed and anxious and eventually stopped going to classes. He was put on academic probation and then expelled. 

There’s more to the story, but the crux of it is that his father and I knew nothing about this. Neither the dean, the professors, nor the administration could notify us of his situation because they were “bound by FERPA,” they said. We thought we had signed a waiver, but apparently his school has two–a financial one and an academic one. We weren’t aware of the academic one (which Tom probably would have had no problem signing).

Since this happened, all waivers have been signed. I don’t think Tom would have found himself in such a mess if we had access to his grades. Stupidly, we trusted him, and did not check up on him—we never needed to before. 

We were still charged tuition for his last semester, even though he was no longer enrolled in the school. Funny how that happened (we’ve been reimbursed). We were even solicited by the school fundraiser who tried to get us to donate money to the school while all this was happening–talk about the left hand not knowing what the right was doing!

When we couldn’t reach Tom (because he was AWOL) and called “public safety” to check up on him, he wound up showing up, so they were recalled. We were told that unless he was a danger to himself, the school could not notify us when he took off…and because he was not a danger to anyone, they didn’t.

The only real way we would have found out about his situation would have been if he wound up “dead” or in the hospital. Scary stuff! Ironically, the law is supposed to protect the student, but in many cases, it doesn’t. Thankfully my son’s situation ended okay–had he been really mentally ill, it could have been a disaster.

Thankfully, Tom is a senior now. He’s back on track, in summer school and aiming to graduate just one year later than previously scheduled. Parents have to be aware that both types of FERPA forms (academic and financial) need to be signed, and colleges should tell parents about them at orientation. That’s not always the case.  

This is a scary situation for any parent and I am glad that Tom seems to be back on track. Balancing the many demands of college while growing up away from home is difficult for many students and even the “best and brightest” can swerve off course. 

What can make this transition even more difficult for some is the fact that this is the age when many forms of mental illness show themselves for the first time. Bipolar Disorder, Major Depressive Disorders, and Psychosis have an age of onset that range from the late teens to the early twenties – just the time when they are trying to establish their independence away from home.

The question becomes, how do you manage the young adult’s developmentally appropriate need for independence with our need as parents to provide some level of safety and supervision? Requesting that your student sign an authorization to release academic information is certainly one way to keep an eye on how things are going.

However, it is not so much whether your student signs this form, but rather how you make the request and how you manage your access to this information that is more important. Just as you may have had access to their grades in high school or access to their cell phone or computer data, it is imperative that your student be aware that you have this access and that you negotiated with them when and how often you will be “checking up on them.”

Students need to know that your preference is for them to share information with you directly but if you have the sense that something is off and you want to get a sense of how things are going academically, you need to communicate to them that you will be checking their grades.

This gives them an opportunity to come forward on their own and to start a more meaningful conversation about how things are going and what may be interfering with their success as opposed to a difficult phone call where the parent then confronts the student with the information they have discovered. These conversations are rarely productive and can cause the student to be more defensive and shut down than to produce conversations that would lead to change.

Perhaps more important than academic access is authorization to a student’s medical records. These authorizations allow treating providers to contact parents should the student present in an emergency and to answer medical questions when a parent calls.

Campuses have different boxes that can be checked that allow the student to release certain kinds of information, but not others. For example, you may have permission to be notified in case the student is brought to the emergency room with a medical emergency, but not given permission to know whether they have sought treatment for pregnancy prevention.

If you had had access to your son’s medical records, the counseling center would have had permission to release to you that he had been seen and was under their care. This, in turn, helps you to facilitate conversations with your son about how he is doing, your academic expectations, and how to help him to get back on course.

 

 

 

What Bothers College Admissions Representatives - BE AWARE!!!

 A survey was sent out to college admissions representatives asking what bothered them most about students and parents applying for admissions. Sharing this information with you before you apply, can help you stay off the "naughty list".

The following are actual accounts of students and parents behaving badly. The responses fall into several areas:

Communication

• The E-mail address is silly, stupid, or offensive such as crazysexycheerleader@____.com.
• Sending e-mails that use Instant Messaging or texting shorthand “im w8ing 4 some1 2 call me.”
• Cell phone voice-mail messages with 30 seconds of a student’s favorite rap song.
• Answering a cell phone during an interview.
• Leaving a message with just a first name and no telephone number, “Hi, this is Suzie, please call me back.”
• Chewing gum during an interview.
• Misrepresenting the breadth and depth of activities. Not being able to respond to a follow-up question such as “What did you do as part of your involvement in _____?”
• Yawning or acting distracted during a one-on-one interview. Nervous habits like hair-twirling, foot-tapping or “ums,” “likes” and “you knows” make a bad situation worse.
• Not responding to e-mails from the admissions office.

Not doing your homework

• Declaring in an interview that you want to major in marine biology or some other major that the college doesn’t even offer.
• Not proofing the entire application — spell check will allow typos such as “Their is no substitute for human proofreading.”
• Worse yet is the very common case of sending the heartfelt essay of “Why I want to attend (small private college)” to (big state university).

Gimmick overkills

• Baking goodies: giant cakes of the campus mascot, cookies in the school colors, pizzas with mushroom messages of “please accept me.”
• Creating life-sized sculptures with the figure holding an acceptance letter.
• Delivering one sneaker — the old “one foot in the door” gimmick.

Overzealous parents

• The very common comment “WE are in the process of completing applications.”
• Parents attending interviews, and worse yet, speaking for their children.
• Thinking that because Granddad played golf with a member of the board of trustees, Junior should be accepted.

Campus visits

• Inappropriate clothing: Don’t wear high heels for a campus tour or expose too much skin.
• Wearing college paraphernalia from another college to an interview.
• Sitting in on a class and acting disrespectfully, i.e. texting, talking on a cell phone, falling asleep, not paying attention, or asking silly questions.

Essays

• Writing a “boilerplate essay” and multi-purposing it for many schools without regard to the specific prompt.
• Not fully answering the essay prompt. Especially the “why” part of the question.
• Not identifying which essay choice they are responding to.
• Writing about something they were great at in the seventh grade and haven’t pursued since then.
• Using overworn cliches and generic statements that anyone could have written.
• Responding to the “Why this college? essay without specific examples about why the college is a good fit.

I am sure there are others, but the college admissions folks have spoken...LISTEN CAREFULLY and avoid these behaviors!!

Legal Documents Needed for College

 by Helene Wingens | May 18, 2021

Before your 18-year-old heads out the door, ensure you have the legal documents to protect her. Accidents and illnesses happen to everyone, including young adults, and you want to be able to speak to healthcare providers, keep informed and help make decisions for your teen once they leave home. 

Here’s what you need to know when your teen turns 18. Three forms facilitate the involvement of a parent (or whoever is designated) in an emergency or other situation.

What You May Need In A Medical Emergency

1. Health Care Proxy (also referred to as a healthcare agent or medical power of attorney, a healthcare power of attorney, or durable power of attorney for health care)

This authorizes someone to make medical decisions on your teen’s behalf, giving you access to your medical records and the ability to converse with their medical healthcare providers. By signing a healthcare proxy, your teen is appointing you to act on your behalf in making medical decisions in case you cannot make those decisions for yourself.

Each state has different laws that govern the execution of a healthcare proxy (state laws differ on whether a medical proxy has to be notarized or merely witnessed). And, therefore the legal form you sign will be specific to the state where it will be used. In many states, HIPAA authorization is rolled into the standard medical proxy form. In addition, a healthcare proxy can include a Living Will, or you can execute a separate document stating your wishes for end-of-life medical treatment.

2. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) authorization (also called a HIPAA release)

This is a more narrow document in that it permits healthcare providers to disclose your teen’s healthcare information to you or anyone they specify.

This document alone will often suffice to get information from the healthcare institution treating your child. In a HIPAA authorization, young adults can stipulate that they don’t want to disclose information about sex, drugs, mental health, or other details that they prefer to keep private. As with the broader healthcare proxy, a HIPAA release can include a Living Will.

3. Durable Power of Attorney (Durable POA)

This enables a designated agent (in this case, a parent) to make financial decisions on the student’s behalf. The POA can provide that power vests in you immediately after signing the document or only if your child becomes incapacitated.

The POA enables the designated agent to, among other things, sign tax returns, access bank accounts, pay bills, make changes to your child’s financial aid package, or figure out tuition problems. Durable POA forms vary by state. In some states, the medical POA (or, as we called it, the healthcare proxy) can be included in the Durable POA.

Each state has variations on these forms and how they can be combined, so you MUST consult your state’s laws or speak to a local attorney who practices in this field.

As parents, we always hope that we won’t need these forms, but it’s always better to be prepared in case you do.

When Should You Get These Documents?

You should prepare these documents ahead of time because it may take time to get everything in order, including notarization (although not every state requires notarization.) Once kids take off for school, it may be hard to get their attention, so be mindful of that.

What Else Changes When Your Teen Turns 18?

When your teen reaches the age of 18, even though you may still think of them as children, under the law, they have now achieved adult status. That status allows them to vote, serve in the military, serve on a jury, sign a contract, and get married without their consent. Although they still can’t do certain things, like drink alcohol or rent cars, their legal status is decidedly different than it was at 17.

1. All males with US citizenship (with very few exceptions) must register for the selective service upon reaching 18.
2. Although not required, this is an excellent time for your kids to register to vote.
3. When your children turn 18, you no longer automatically have the authority to make healthcare decisions for them. And this is true even if they are still covered by your health insurance, and you are paying the bill. If your child has an accident or illness and is temporarily disabled, you may need court approval to act on their behalf or even inform them of their medical status.
4. Even though you are paying for their education, the FERPA law says you no longer have access to your child’s grades once they turn 18. That’s right, you can call the registrar and ask to see your 18-year-old’s transcript, and they will not share it with you even though you’re signing the tuition checks.
5.  You can no longer manage money for your children once they turn 18.