Planning Your Next Move…

1. Planning Your Next Move… • Senior Family Meeting • (Please shut off or mute cell phones.) Counselors-Students-Parents Working Together Lincoln Southwest High School – Class of 2020

2. COUNSELING CENTER STAFF • Brooke Sharpe (A-C) • Greg Sederberg (D-He) • Eric Feeken (Hf-L) • Dr. Joyce Lehn,Team Leader (M-N) • Anders Peterson (O-Sl) • Tim Ernst (Sm-Z) ~September 5, 2007

3. Agenda: College Funding Breakout Sessions Choose One: Senior Year Overview - Auditorium – Mr. Ernst Scholarships - Commons – Mr. Peterson

4. EducationQuest • Please welcome R.J. Vega from EducationQuest for information on College Funding.

5. Moving forward… • LPS Graduation Requirement • Government & Politics • New-Community service (which include reflection writing.) – 20 hours, 5 hours must be completed in the term GOPO is TAKEN. • RJ Vega,  • EducationQuest representative will be at LSW on Wednesday’s to work with families on Financial Aid by appointment. To schedule go to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0a4fada82aa3f49-meet

6. The Counselor’s role… • Conducts individual meetings with seniors – starting this week and continuing through Term 1. • Checks seniors’ progress in completing graduation requirements • Assists seniors with completing the ScholarshipQuest scholarship search • Provides information about college and/or career planning process

7. Communication updates… • Counseling Center’s web site • Packets from senior meeting • Synergy ParentVUE • Bulletin boards • Daily bulletin & Silver Talon • School Messenger – phone calls & e-mails

8. Counseling Center Google Classroom • Seniors will have the opportunity with Class of 2020 in google classroom to get messages from the Counseling Center regarding college visits, and information pertaining to seniors.

9. Counseling Center Google Classroom Message We have the following college visit for the months of August/September: Savannah College of Art & Design     Wed., August 28th    9:00 a.m. Buena Vista University     Thur., Sept. 5th     9:00 a.m. University of Chicago       Wed., Sept. 18th   1:00 p.m.

10. Making Post Secondary Decisions is a Process • Every student and family will be at a different place at a different time in the process. • DO NOT get caught up in the frenzy of what others are saying and doing. • Trust that it will be fine in the end.

11. Preparing for options… • Employment • Military • Two-year college • Academic Transfer • Four-year college Tonight we will be focusing specifically on the college process.

12. The student’s role… • Use resources well • Bring questions to senior meeting • Counseling center resources • Computers • College guides • Appointments - 2:15pm on early release Tuesdays • Counselor web site • Check calendar regularly

13. Student responsibilities… • Register for admissions tests • Complete college applications • Request teacher & counselor recommendations • Provide registrar with transcript requests • Search & apply for scholarships • Work with parents to file financial aid applications by deadlines

14. Applying to College: Out of State Colleges • We encourage students to apply to their “dream school” and well as safety schools or schools that students can see themselves attending if they to not get accepted to the “dream school”. • Selective Schools reject 92-94% of their applicants. Do not take it personally. You may not fit the profile that school is looking for in their new freshmen class. • Have a back up plan • Pay attention to DEADLINES. Missing a scholarship deadline shows the college the student is not mature and does not handle responsibility.

15. Applying to College: Nebraska Colleges • Follow the 2-2-2 Rule • Apply at 2 NU Campuses • Apply at 2 Nebraska Private Colleges • Apply at 2 State Colleges • An ACT of 26 may not qualify you for any scholarships at UNL but could qualify for free tuition at Peru St., Wayne St. or Chadron St. • Nebraska private colleges could give you $5000 a year for a 22 ACT and every 3 ACT points could mean $1,500 in annual grants.

16. New UNL Scholarship Deadline • The new deadline for merit-based scholarships is February 1. • UNL will accept test scores from the February 2020 test date (some individual scholarship programs may have earlier deadlines).

17. Finish Strong • The letter from the college that says you have been accepted is based on past performance and the classes you have indicated you are taking the senior year. If academic performance or the senior year schedule changes, it can impact the admission decision.

18. Social Media • The impact of social media on the college admissions process has increasingly become a two-way street. While students are researching prospective schools on Facebook and Twitter, admissions departments are also checking up on prospective students’ social media profiles. • When applying to college, it is vital for you to present your best self not only on your application, but also online. Your application will tell the admissions officers about your interests, the type of student you are, and how well you performed in school. But your online presence will tell admissions officers, and future employers, how you present yourself in public, and how your projected image fits in with their particular institution.

19. Social Media • Your social media presence is playing a part in your consideration for admission, and admissions officers are paying attention to what they find. • 36% of admissions officers surveyed said they Google prospective students. • 68% said they look up applicants on Social Media. • 45% said that when checking up on a student’s online presence, they found something that negatively impacted an applicant’s chances of getting in, up 10% from last year. • In June, Harvard University had revoked the acceptances of 10 admitted applicants after they were found to have participated in a inappropriate social media posts.

20. Email Accounts • Email is outdated for teenagers however colleges and scholarship agencies still communicate by email. • Make sure your student has a professional email account and remind them to check it the account at least weekly. • We have had agencies contact the counseling center asking why a student has accepted a scholarship and after talking with the student we find that the student did not check the email account.

21. Resources for seniors… • Visit with college reps at LSW & College Fair @ SCC Sun., 9/16 1-3pm • Participate in college campus visits • Attend Open Houses on campuses • Conduct scholarship searches • Research financial aid opportunities • NCAA/NAIA student-athlete information Contact Mr. Ernst in the Counseling Center 402-436-1306 Ext 66303, ternst2@lps.org

22. Online assistance… • LSW Counseling Center http://wp.lps.org/jlehn2/ • National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) www.eligibilitycenter.org • FAFSA www.fafsa.ed.gov (submit after Oct. 1st) • EducationQuest www.educationquest.org • ACT -www.act.org • SAT -www.collegeboard.com • National Scholarship Searches linked from Counselor’s page on LSW web site • ScholarshipQuest NE, LSW & LPS Scholarships https://www.fes.org/scholarquest/s_login.asp Learn To Dream Scholarship

23. Upcoming events at LSW • LSW Apply2College Now on Thursday, September 25th from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. Students can sign up for a pass to leave class and apply to college with the help of counselors and College representatives. More information will be coming to seniors. • The Susan T. Buffett Foundation Scholarship Scholarshiphttp://buffettscholarships.org/college-scholarships will be in late October or early November. This is a chance for seniors to meet with Buffet representatives and find out about eligibly and the application process. More information will be coming to students as the date in confirmed.

24. COUNSELING CENTER STAFF • Brooke Sharpe (A-C) • Greg Sederberg (D-He) • Eric Feeken (Hf-L) • Dr. Joyce Lehn,Team Leader (M-N) • Anders Peterson (O-Sl) • Tim Ernst (Sm-Z) ~September 5, 2007

25. COUNSELING CENTER STAFF • Mr. Michael Barber – mbarber@lps.org  • School Social Worker – available Monday-Friday • Mrs. Miranda Blackwell – mblackw@lps.org • School-based therapist – available on Tuesdays and Fridays – referral and parent/guardian permission forms must be completed • Mr. John Hastings – jhasting@lps.org  • Counseling Center Administrator • Mr. Romulo Vega – romulo@educationquest.org • EducationQuest Foundation Representative – available at Southwest on Wednesdays by appointment