2013 college chronicle

8/3/2019 2013 College Chronicle

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THE COLLEGE CHRONICLE An Upperclassmen Update

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Welcome to the College Chronicle, a newsletter designed for Animas HighSchool’s Class of 2013. In this edition you’llfind a wealth of important information

designed to assist our 11th graders and theirfamilies as they plan and progress inSemester Two. Be sure to check out all thearticles and updates related to the collegeadmissions process, upcoming standardizedtesting and our inaugural LINK experiencein March. It’s an exciting time for ourJuniors and our faculty is excited to supportstudents in their post-secondary planning

efforts.It seems like only yesterday the Class

of 2013 assembled on a crisp fall morning for the first day of student orientation atEdgemont Ranch. Now, our first classsharpens their focus on the next leg of their

journey. It’s been an amazing experienceand we look forward to celebrating success

with our first graduating class!

A Junior’s Journey:

A Timeline forthe Class of 2013

Early What?Early Decision &Early Action Defined

What’s HappeningIn Animas High’s College

Counseling Department?

Standardized Testing forCollege Admissions

LINK Program Update

What’s Inside?

Animas High School Values:

• Rigorousacademics,whereallstudentsarepreparedforcollegesuccess

• Cultureofexcellence,wherestudentsareheldtohighexpectations

• Strongfaculty-studentrelationships,wherestudentsarewellknown

• Engaginglearning,wherestudentsseetherelevanceoftheireducation



A Junior’s Journey: A Timeline for the Class of 2013



Continue Researching and Exploring: Using your College Criteria List,research schools, search the web and work with AHS staff to identify schoolsthat are a good fit. Utilize online tools like college finders and top college lists,examine college websites, take virtual tours and speak with collegerepresentatives to learn as much as possible about the schools you have

interest in. Expect to add and delete schools to your list of colleges during thisexploratory phase.

Organize a testing plan: Find out if thecolleges you are interested in require the SAT,

ACT, or SAT Subject Tests. Figure out when you’ll be taking these important tests andmark the dates on your calendar. (See Testing Section of this Newsletter for more info)Register to take the tests you need as most

11th graders will begin taking these tests this winter or spring. You can test again in the fall

of your senior year if you’re unhappy with your scores. Consider participating in a test prep program here at AHS and get ready for the state sponsored ACTthis April.

Athletics Anyone? If you want to play sports in college, you must investigatea school’s athletic opportunities. Similar to making your College Criteria List,

brainstorm key factors and critical attributes you want to see as part of any

college athletic program. You should also familiarize yourself with NCAA rules and guidelines for student athletes. Search for schools that meet both your academic and athletic needs and reach out to coaches and team reps. You’ll need to demonstrate interest by letting coaches and athletic directorsknow you are interested in pursuing college athletics. Many programs willhave particular requirements like the submission of future season’s schedule,providing the program a preview tape, gathering recommendations fromcurrent coaches, creating a portfolio of press clippings, box scores, etc. Inaddition to the AHS College Counseling staff, potential college athletes shouldcheck in with the many AHS faculty members who pursued athletic

scholarships and participated in college sports.



Other Activities Anyone? Just likestudent athletes, those involved inspecific extracurricular activities liketheater, speech and debate, video arts,music etc., should also reflect upon

what role those activities will hold forthem in college. Identify directors andcoordinators of these programs atpotential schools and send them aninterest letter. Many extracurricularprograms will have additionaladmission criteria, (audition tapes,tryouts, portfolio submission, etc.) if

you plan on participating. Pursuing extracurricular activities in college may provide a student additional scholarship and financial aid opportunities.

Organize Your Efforts: Once you’ve done your research, met with the AHSCollege Counseling Dept. and solidified your College Criteria list, requestapplication materials from potential schools. At home, create a filing systemso you can organize the materials you will receive. With a file system in place,it will be much easier to locate specific information you are looking for when

you need it and keep track of important admissions related correspondence.

Keep Your Family in the Loop! Make sure you are communicating with your parentsand family about your ideas and intentions.Share with them your College Criteria list,potential schools list and any otherresources you are using to assist in yourdecision process. Remember, your parents,grandparents, siblings, etc., all haveperspectives about you as a student and a person. The more information your team

has, the better support they can give you. Sodiscuss with others what they think isimportant for you to consider.



Early What?Got Recommendations? AHS faculty and staff will be asked to write recommendations for mostof our students. Consider whom you want to asknow and let them know so they’ll have time toprepare before getting tons of requests in the fall.

Ask teachers who know you well and who willhave positive things to say. Students will learnmore about how to properly requestrecommendations from AHS teachers later thisspring through their work with the CollegeCounseling Dept. Letters of Recommendationfrom a coach, activity leader, or adult who knows

you well outside of school are also valuable. Approach those folks before the start of summer

and help them prepare to write you a greatrecommendation.

Consider a summer job or internship: Summeremployment and internships in fields you’reinterested in will look appealing on a collegeapplication or resume. The money you earn canalso be used to help pay application and testing fees in the fall.

If a student finds a collegethat seems a perfect fit,

applying early may be a goodidea. Early decision and earlyaction plans allow 12th graders to apply early(usually in November) andget an admission decisionfrom the college well beforethe usual spring notificationdate. You know byDecember or Januarywhether you have beenaccepted at the first-choicecollege.

Sometimes, students whoapply under these plans havea better chance of acceptance than they wouldthrough the regular

admission process. Theseplans are also good for colleges because they getstudents who really want togo to the college to commitearly in the process.

Early Decision

Early decision is a commonpolicy used in collegeadmissions for admittingfreshmen to undergraduateprograms.

THIS SUMMER …

Refine, Refine, Refine: Begin narrowing down your college choices. Make sure you have all the

information you need about the colleges you’reinterested in (entrance requirements, tuition,room and board costs, course offerings, studentactivities, financial aid, etc.). Continue filtering schools through your College Criteria List andrank your choices.



Consider Financial Needs: With your parents, review your family’s financialresources and gatherinformation about financial

aid from the schools you’reinterested in. Learn moreabout paying for college

from the AHS College Counseling Dept. and be sure toattend AHS’s College Planning evenings with yourparents next fall. Develop a funding plan that includesa list of the aid sources (loans, grants, scholarships,etc.), requirements for each application, and a timetable for meeting the filing deadlines. There are

lots of scholarships out there; you just need to spend a little bit of time and effort to find them. The sooner youstart looking for scholarships, the easier it will be toselect some to apply to during your senior year.

Visit colleges. You’ll oftenhave to plan ahead when

visiting colleges. Call theadmissions office to set up a personal interview, campus

tour, and a meeting with a professor or coach if you’reinterested. If possible, visitthe campuses of your top fivecollege choices. Take a tourand speak with the admissions and financial aid staff.

You may also be able to talk to students if some classesare in session. If you have an interview, be sure to senda thank-you letter to the interviewer once you return

home.

Early Decision is used toindicate to the University or College that the candidate

considers that institution tobe his or her top choice.Candidates applying earlydecision typically submit theiapplications by the end of October of their senior year of high school and receive adecision in mid-December. Incontrast, students applyingregular decision typicallymust submit their applications by January 1and receive their admissionsdecision by April 1.

Early Action

Early action is a type of early admission processfor admission to collegesand universities in theUnited States. Unlike theregular admissionsprocess, early actionusually requires studentsto submit an application by

November 1 of their senior year of high school insteadof January 1. Students arenotified of the school'sdecision by mid-December instead of April 1.



Get advice from other college students. If youhave friends or relatives in college, talk to themabout what college life is like, especially if they attend a school you’re interested in. Although it’s

important to hear what the admissions staff has tosay about a school, it’s also important to get thestudents’ perspective.

Start working on

your application

essays. Composerough drafts of theessays you’ll need for

your college

applications. Have a teacher read anddiscuss them with you

so you can see what to work on. Make any revisions to your application essays and preparefinal drafts. Don’t forget to proofread your finalessays a few times.

In this way, it is similar to manycolleges' early decisionprograms. Early decision,however, is a bindingcommitment to enroll; that is, if accepted under an earlydecision program, the applicantmust withdraw all other applications and enroll at thatinstitution. Thus, early decisiondoes not allow applicants toapply to more than one earlydecision school simultaneously.Early action, on the other hand,

allows candidates to decline theoffer if accepted, and dependingon the program, it may bepossible for a candidate to applyto more than one early actionschool and an early decisionschool.

There are two types of earlyaction programs: restrictive

early action and non-restrictiveearly action.[1] Restrictive EAallows candidates to apply toonly one early action institutionand to no institutions for earlydecision, while, as the nameimplies, there are no suchrestrictions on non-restrictiveearly action. Regardless, the

applicant is still permitted toreject any offer of admission inboth types of early action.

Make early decision preparations. If you plan toapply early decision to any school, take the time to

visit the school again and make sure you’re willing to commit. If you elect to apply early decision, youshould start working on your application as soon aspossible because its deadline will be earlier thanothers.

Time to be a Senior! The first semester of senior year is no time to relax. Prepare to start the school year strong and have a plan for balancing

academics, extra-curricular and the collegeadmissions process. The AHS College Counseling Dept. will be available to students in July and

August to assist students in their preparations for a strong and successful Senior year!



There continue to be great developments in the AHS College Counseling Department. This year, Animas High School was awarded a College Counseling

Grant from the Colorado Department of Education. Next, we moved to hire a Director of College Counseling to build our new program. AHS conducted a nationwide search for the most promising candidates and we welcomed thetop prospects to our campus this past fall. After meeting with faculty and theClass of 2013, we chose an applicant who was offered a contract and agreed tostart at AHS this April. However, due to unforeseen circumstances the chosencandidate will not be joining us here at AHS.

Independent of the hiring process, program development continues. Themost important objective for AHS is to provide superior college counseling

services to our students. To this end, Animas High School is committed toproviding college counseling services to our students while the schoolcontinues its search for a qualified, post-secondary counselor. The school hasefforts underway to profile Animas High to colleges and universities and thefaculty will hold their next professional development workshop on February 21st, 2012 spending the day practicing and strengthen StudentRecommendation writing skills.

This semester, Animas High will continue providing students on-campus,post-secondary planning services with locally contracted college counseling professionals. Since the school has contracted two professionals, students will

be able to choose the best match for them. Our counseling team will provideon-going support to the Class of 2013 and will start holding weekly officehours in February. We encourage students and their families to schedule time

with our college counseling team and capitalize on all the fantastic talent and wisdom AHS has assembled this spring. Additionally, AHS College Counseling services and support will be offered to students throughout the summer. Stay tuned for more!

What’s Happening inAnimas High’s

College Counseling

Department?



Only seven more weeks until AHS juniors leave ourcampus to explore their professional goals and extend their

learning beyond the classroom! LINK runs from March 12th-March 29th, culminating in a LINK Exhibition/Mentor

Appreciation event at the Durango Discovery Museum onMarch 30th from 9 a.m. until noon. In preparation for their

internships, students are hard at work refining resumes, creating projectproposals and designing a LINK page on their Digital Portfolios to showcasetheir internship experiences.

Through this internship, students will learn how to thrive in the workplace and will be able to connect their coursework to the professional

world. We have had overwhelming support from the Durango community andcreated some exciting collaborations and partnerships with a wide range of organizations, community leaders, and local businesses including: LPL

Financial, Spine Colorado, Durango Orthopedics, DSNG Railroad, Durango

Search and Rescue, Weaselskin Equestrian Center, Soundtraxx, Durango

Mountain Resort, Open Shutter Gallery, Durango Discovery Museum,

Turtle Lake Refuge, American General Media, The Durango Herald, San

Juan Hand Therapy, Arts Perspective, Durango Humane Society, The

Durango Telegraph, Fort Lewis College’s Athletic Training Department,

and with Travis Brown of TREK USA.

Additionally, five students will be leaving Durango to pursue medicalopportunities with the Children’s Hospital in Denver, engage in urban

poetry outreach with Street Poets Inc. in L.A., teaching at Life School in

Guatemala, assisting humanitarian work in Cambodia through Loop

Abroad, and exploring the latest

engineering technology with NASA

in Florida.

For more LINK info, the latest updates,or to become a mentor, please visit

http://www.wix.com/ahslink/ahsli

LINK Update



Animas High School is proud to offer students guidance and support as they evaluate the standardized tests they must complete as part of the collegeadmissions process. AHS’s College Testing Coordinator, Kristi Good, hasprovided students the following update. Please contact Kristi [email protected] with any and all questions you haveconcerning SATs, ACTs and Test Prep courses.

Spring 2012 Timeline: Standardized Tests for College Admission

Date ACT SAT

January 28, 2012 National test day at FLC

February 11, 2012 National test day at FLC

March 10, 2012 National test day at FLC

April 14, 2012 National test day at FLC

April 24, 2012* State test day at AHS(mandatory for 11th

graders)

May 5, 2012 National test day at AHS

May 8, 2012 Make-up state test at AHS

June 2, 2012 National test day at FLC

June 9, 2012 National test day at FLC

*This test will be administered during the school day and is mandatory (and there is no cost) for Juniors.

Looking Ahead to Fall of 2012

Date ACT SAT PSAT/NMSQTSeptember 8, 2012 FLCEarly Oct. (TBD) FLCOctober 17, 2012 AHSOctober 27, 2012 AHSEarly Nov. (TBD) FLCEarly Dec. (TBD) AHS

For more information about the ACT, go to: http://www.actstudent.org/

For more information about the SAT, go to: http://sat.collegeboard.org/home

Standardized Testing for

College Admissions



Standardized Tests: Registration Deadlines

*All tests held at Fort Lewis College unless otherwise noted

Standardized Test Prep Courses at AHS

In conjunction with our partners at Animas Academics, AHS is please to sponsor the following Test Prep Courses:

January ACT Prep Course Update:So far the students in the course have completed a full practice ACT to

serve as a diagnostic test that gives them a baseline score (assuming they have never taken the ACT before). Since the ACT prep course takes placeduring SIG time on Mondays and Thursdays, you can visit Power Schoolthrough AHS for attendance information and ACT practice test scores. This isa great way for you to track your student's progress in this course.

Spring 2012Test Dates

Location*Registration Deadlines

Regular Late

January 28, 2012 SAT &Subject Tests

December 30, 2011 January 13, 2012

February 11, 2012 ACT January 13, 2012 January 20, 2012

March 10, 2012 SAT only February 10, 2012 February 24, 2012

April 14, 2012 ACT March 9, 2012 March 23, 2012

April 24, 2012*State ACT

at AHS

n/a n/a

May 5, 2012SAT &Subject Testsat AHS

April 6, 2012 April 20, 2012

June 2, 2012SAT &Subject Tests

May 8, 2012 May 22, 2012

June 9, 2012 ACT May 4, 2012 May 18, 2012



Saturday morning ACT practice test on January 28th: Animas Academics will be administering a practice ACT at Animas High

School on Saturday, January 28th. The test will be held from 8am to12pm. The cost to students is $10. This is a great opportunity for students to

experience the test in a way that will be most similar to the actual ACT.To sign up: Pay $10 in cash or by check, payable to Animas Academics by Friday, January 27th. You can mail payment to Animas Academics, POBox 2191, Durango, CO 81302 or hand deliver to Kristi at school or via the

AHS Main Office.

Spring 2012 SAT prep course at AHS:

Dates: April 2, 2012 – May 3, 2012

•

Courses will take place during the SIG period-Mon/Thurs. (2:15-4:15p)• Priority is given to Juniors and the class size is limited to 15 students.

• For more information email [email protected]

Looking ahead at ACT/SAT test prep at AHS

• End of Summer ACT prep

o SOLICITING STUDENT INTEREST NOW!

o Contact [email protected] you’d like to see this scheduled

o Possible schedule

§ Early August, during Summer school session

§ Mon.-Thurs. 9a-12p for 2 weeks

• Fall SAT (PSAT) prep

Anticipated Dates:

§ Start on Tuesday, September 4th

§ End on Thursday, October 4th.

2013 college chronicle

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