College Counseling Workshop Overview

Program Descriptions | College Counseling |
To help you follow along with our presentation you can follow this program outline
Choosing a School Questions to Ask
  • What kinds of academic programs interest me?
  • How challenging do I want college to be?
  • Big School vs. Small School?
  • Will I fit in?
  • How safe will I be?
  • How much will it cost?
  • Where might I get the best deal?
  • What do I want to get out of college?
  • How do I learn?
  • How competitive am I?
  • What do I want to do with my time outside of class?
  • How important is diversity?
  • How independent am I?
Types of Schools
  • UCs 10 campuses
  • CSUs 23 campuses
  • Community colleges 109 campuses
  • Out of state public colleges and universities
  • Private liberal arts colleges and universities
  • Private research colleges and universities
  • Private technical colleges and universities
  • Private fine arts colleges
  • Private trade and technical colleges
High School Preparation
  • Challenging courses
  • ACT/SAT prep
  • Extracurricular activities both in and out of school
  • Community service
  • Internships
  • Work experience
  • Out of the ordinary experiences, challenges, hobbies, interests
Admissions Factors
  • High school grades and academic challenge
  • SAT/ACT scores
  • SAT Subject Exam scores
  • AP courses and scores
  • College essays
  • Extracurricular activities
  • Recommendations
  • Portfolio
  • Interviews
  • Answers to application questions
  • Personal factors such as race, gender, background
Reasons for Choosing a School
  • Size
  • Location
  • Major offerings
  • Graduation rate
  • Student retention
  • Diversity
  • Class size
  • Who teaches undergraduate classes?
How many schools should I choose?
  • Stretch
  • Pretty good
  • Really good
The College Essay
A good essay is:
  • Entertaining
  • Tells the reader something not found elsewhere in your application
  • Opportunity to share what you think, how you are unique
  • Don’t leave it until the last minute
  • Use the essay writing process, prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, checking, editing
Financial Aid
  • Merit-based aid
  • Need-based aid
What is the FAFSA?
Evaluates:
  • Estimated Family Contribution
  • Financial need
EFC based on:
  • Parent’s gross adjusted income and liquid assets
  • Student’s gross adjusted income and liquid assets
Liquid assets:
  • Bank accounts
  • Investments
  • Equity in secondary or income property,
  • Some businesses and farms
Not included:
  • Retirement accounts
  • Personal property
  • Primary residence,
  • Value of life insurance
Financial Aid terms
  • FAFSA
  • SAR
  • EFC
  • FN
  • Need-Based Aid
  • Merit-Based Aid
  • Grants
  • Work Study
  • Loans