Welcome!

College Readiness for the Class of 2014

March 20, 2013

Our ProgramFinding

the Right

College FitWhat’s

ahead for college-bound juniors

College applicatio

n at Northwes

t

AP, ACT and the SAT

Upcoming

events!

Who’s Who at Northwest…

Mrs. Lance Dempsey, PrincipalMr. Matt Niper, Assistant Principal & 9th Grade

AdministratorMr. Matt Paushter, Assistant Principal & 10th Grade

AdministratorMr. Tim Britton, Assistant Principal & 11th Grade

AdministratorMr. John Robertson, Assistant Principal & 12th

Grade Administrator

Our counselors…Ms. Theresa Dethlefsen, Resource Counselor (Gb to Gz)

Mr. Jeff Flach, Counselor (last name beginning with A to B)

Ms. Tamela McCarthy-Redd, Counselor (last name

beginning with C to D)

Ms. Chrissy Noonan, Counselor (last name beginning with E to Ga)

Ms. Athena Cois, Counselor (last name beginning with H to K)

Ms. Audrik Bonilla, Counselor (last name beginning with L to Mop)

Ms. Ellen O’Connell, Counselor (last name beginning with Moq to Ra)

Ms. Jodi Edmunds, Counselor (last name beginning with Rb to S)

Ms. Sue Bunting, Counselor (last name beginning with T to Z)

Counseling Support Staff

Counseling Office (301) 601-4642:Ms. Cathy Wittenberger , Counseling SecretaryMs. Laura Rawson, Counseling Secretary & Asst. Registrar

Registrar’s Office (301) 601-4623:Ms. Debbie Seamone, Registrar

College/Career Information Center (301) 601-4635:Ms. Rochelle Davis, College/Career Information Coordinator

Finding the Right College ‘Fit’Step 1: Think about why you want to go to college or pursue a particular career.

Step 2: Decide what is important to you in a school.

Step 3: Gather information about the schools you are considering.

Step 4: Research and compare schools.

Step 5: Make your decision.

Step 6: Meet your deadlines!

Tour the campus

Meet with counselors

Consider Cost

www.MDgo4it.org

Timeline for College-Bound juniors…Spring: Tour college campuses and/or vocational schools and talk with admissions representatives,

professors, and students Take and ACT and/or SAT Update your list of potential schools using Family Connection ‘colleges I’m thinking about’ Explore AP exam prep and register for the AP exam Explore summer jobs, internships and pre-college programs

Summer: Have your senior meeting with your counselor Register for College/Career Summer Workshops

Fall Senior Year: Narrow down college list and register for required college tests Secure letters of recommendation (Ask teachers before leaving in June) Use high school resources to research local and national scholarships and financial aid College essays! College applications!

How to Apply to College the Northwest High School Way

WHAT IS EDOCS THROUGH FAMILY CONNECTION?

eDocs is an online feature linked to a student’s Naviance Family Connection account. eDocs is designed to help streamline the college application process for Northwest staff and students. eDocs will be used for the following purposes: Application Tracking – the ability for students to keep

track of colleges where they have applied Transcript Tracking – the ability for students to view

the status of transcript requests for college applications and scholarships.

College Recommendations – the ability for students to request college recommendations and view the status of those requests

Electronic transmission – the ability for school staff to transmit transcripts, recommendations and supporting college application documents electronically to colleges and universities.

Connecting online usingFamily Connection andeDocs

Family Connection and Getting Connected

WELCOME to the college and career

FAMILY CONNECTION Program

MCPS provides this unique program free of charge to all MCPS high school students, parents and staff. Students are encouraged to explore both at home and school an array of college and career related resources available in Family Connection.

College Destinations for NW!Alabama State Allegany College of MD American U Amherst College Berklee College of Music Boston U Bowie State U Brown U Bucknell Carnegie Mellon U Clemson Columbia Cornell Dartmouth College Drexel U Duke East Carolina U Elon U Emory Fairleigh Dickinson U Fordham U Frostburg State George Mason U Georgetown U Gettysburg College Goucher College Hampton Haverford College Hofstra U Hood College Howard U Indiana U of PA Ithaca College ITT Technical Institute James Madison U Johns Hopkins Kent State Lincoln U of PA Marshall U Maryland College of Art Institute Marymount Manhattan College MIT McDaniel College Montgomery College Morehouse Morgan State U Mount Saint Mary’s U NYU Norfolk State North Carolina State Northeastern U Oberlin Old Dominion U Penn State Princeton U Purdue U Rensselaer Rice U Rose-Hulman Rutgers Salisbury U Savannah College of Art & Design Shenandoah Shepherd U Shippensburg U of PA Slippery Rock U of PA Spelman College St. John’s U St. Mary’s College of MD Stanford U Stevenson U Swarthmore College Syracuse Temple U Texas A & M The Catholic U of America The Citadel The George Washington U The Ohio State U Towson U Tuskegee U US Air Force Academy US Military Academy, West Point US Naval Academy UCLA U of Colorado Boulder U of Mary Washington U of Maryland, Baltimore County U of Maryland, College Park U of Maryland, Eastern Shore U of Massachusetts, Amherst U of Michigan U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill U of Oklahoma U Penn U of South Carolina U of Southern California UVA U of Wisconsin, Madison Vanderbilt U Villanova U Virginia Commonwealth U Virginia Military Institute Virginia Tech Virginia State U Wake Forest U Washington U in St. Louis West Virginia State U West Virginia U Xavier U of Louisiana Yale University

The college application, recommendations and transcripts…

COLLEGE APPLICATIONS: Available on the college web site Hard copies may be available in the College/Career

Information Center The Common App @ commonapp.org

COLLEGE RECOMMENDATIONS & THE SELF EVALUATION FORM: Available on the school web site “Counseling” page Hard copies available in the Counseling Office and

College/Career Information Center

TRANSCRIPT REQUESTS & THE ELECTRONIC COLLEGE PROCESSING FORM: Available on the Counseling web page Hard copies available in the Counseling Office and

College/Career Information Center Fees may be required to process

The college essay… WHAT ARE COLLEGES LOOKING FOR IN YOUR

ESSAY?• WRITING ABILITY• A WINDOW INTO WHO YOU ARE

MOST COMMON MISTAKES:• SPELLING & GRAMMAR• PARAGRAPH PROBLEMS• NOT DEVELOPED• WORDINESS• POOR SENTENCE STRUCTURE

THE MYTHS

I have nothing to write about

No one really reads my

essay

I should not ask for help

Remember if you take the SAT that colleges willhave a sample of your writing. Be your own author!

College Readiness! www.actstudent.org

www.collegeboard.org

Online test

registrationRequest

scores be sent

electronically to

colleges and career schools!

Include high school code:

210-589

Free Online Preparation for the ACT & SAT

Go to the Northwest High

School web site and click on the

“Free TCA online help” badge.

http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/northwesths/

Log onto Triumph with your 6-digit student ID. Your user name and password are BOTH the same (6-digit student ID).

To access practice tools, select “StudyGuide for ACT or SAT”

Free Online Preparation for the ACT & SAT

Check Your Scores from Practice Tests!

To check your scores of a previously taken practice ACT or SAT, click on “My status for ACT or SAT”

To get specific data, click on “Summary Report”

Focus on Areas Where You Have the Greatest Potential for Growth

At this level, you can see exactly where your strengths and weaknesses are. To access a review of strategies and practice problems, click on one of the links.

The College Fair

Montgomery County College Fair:Montgomery County Agricultural Center(Gaithersburg, MD)

Northwest High School College Fair Field Trip

Thursday, April 18Buses depart at 9:30 am

Cost: $4.00

Signed Permission forms should be returned to the College/Career

Information Center no later than Friday, April 12

MCPS prohibits students from driving to this event during the school day.

Looking ahead to Senior Year…

Individual student/parent meetings in the summer with counselors

Summer workshops and college planning in the College/Career Information Center

Meetings with each counselor (All Year)

Senior Packet (Fall- College Application Process Review)

Senior Parent Meeting (Fall)

National Hispanic College Fair (Fall)

Financial Aid Workshop (Fall)

Alumni Day (December)

Resources at your finger tips…

http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/northwesths/

Counseling Department

College & Career Info

College Readiness Resources & Materials

College Readiness Navigation Guide for Rising Seniors includes: Applying to College at Northwest Family Connection for Northwest

Parents College Test Prep Success at Northwest

Additional Materials: Are You Ready for College: A Guide to

College Planning for Maryland High School Students

College 411 A Quick Guide to Cash College Fair Field Trip Permission Form

Questions and Answers

College Readiness for the Class of 2014

Thank you for joining us.