College Preparation Seminar

Shirdi Sai Center, MilpitasJune 8, 2013

PresentersDr. Madhu UppulaShirdi Sai Center VolunteerMVROP and Logan High School teacher, Medical Occupations

Adarsh UppulaFounder, Pivotle Software, www.pivotle.comEntrepreneur and Software Engineer, ex-Cisco SystemsUC Berkeley, BS Electrical Engg. & Computer Sciences (EECS), 2008

Dr. Anuhya UppulaEntering UCSF Resident, Dept. of Pediatric Dentistry, class of 2016UPenn, School of Dentistry, Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD), 2013UC Berkeley, BA Integrated Biology, 2009

• Help high school students and their parents understand the college admission process

• Bonus: how to get a head start in college!• We went to a similar seminar ourselves• Topics:

o High school preparationo Standardized testso Application processo Financial information

• Please hold any questions until the Q&A (60 min)

Agenda

High School Preparation

Freshman Year• Enroll in college prep and honors courses if possible• Honors and AP courses get extra point in weighted GPA

calculations• Do well in school from now on, colleges don't look at middle

school and prior• Start exploring interests, think about career paths• Build relationship with high school guidance counselor• Do internships or volunteer activities• Explore hobbies, sign up for clubs of interest, get involved• Start developing leadership positions• Download a sample college application, read through it and

know what colleges expect

Sophomore Year

• Start attending college fairs• Job shadow at local offices if appropriate• Get a summer job if appropriate• Prepare for and take sample ACT/SAT• Take Community College courses in the

summer (can be used to skip HS classes, get college credit)• Start taking SAT Subject tests right after you

take relevant class

Junior Year• PSAT in October - National Merit Scholarship• Take ACT/SAT prep courses if required• Take ACT/SAT• Research colleges of interest, contact them• Tour colleges (Spring break is ideal for this)• Take AP courses and any required elective courses• Make sure you meet the Admissions criteria (UCs

require certain amount of A-G unit credits)• Start figuring out which major you would apply for• Start attending college admission events at school

Senior Year• Early 1st semester is last chance to take ACT/SAT• Ask a friend in college whether you can shadow them to see if

you like the college you are interested in• Keep in touch with schools of interest, let them know how

strongly you are interested• Fill out college and financial aid applications (apply to many)• Apply for eligible scholarships (apply to many)• Ask for recommendations early! • Beware of senioritis - colleges can revoke your admission for

poor grades; a good HS GPA can be to your advantage• Decide on a major, some colleges will require it• Admission decisions received, revisit campus and decide

Extracurriculars• Sports, School teams• Musical Instruments• Hobbies• School Clubs• Volunteering• Community service• Jobs, job shadowing• Better to have a few deep ones - colleges want to sense your

passion in your interests, not just a long list• These will be helpful in your college essays• Will help shape your interests and decide on a major

Standardized Tests

SAT• STAR exams are HS requirement (colleges don't care)• PSAT - practice SAT, determines National Merit

Scholarship status (will look great on application)• SAT Reasoning test - standard test• ACT Plus Writing - alternative, different structure, try

this too• SAT Subject tests• Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)• Languages (Spanish, French, etc)• Math (Level 1 and 2)• etc

SAT Structure

SAT Writing• 25 minutes - Essay• 25 minutes - 35 questions

(improving sentences and paragraphs, identifying sentence errors)• 10 minutes - 14 questions

(improving sentences)

SAT Structure

SAT Critical Reading• 25 minutes - 24 questions

(sentence completion, short reading comprehension)• 25 minutes - 24 questions

(sentence completion, short reading comprehension)• 20 minutes - 19 questions

(sentence completion, long reading comprehension)

SAT Structure

SAT Math• 25 minutes - 20 questions

(multiple choice)• 25 minutes - 18 questions

(8 multiple choice, 10 grid-in)• 20 minutes - 16 questions

(multiple choice)

ACT StructureACT English• 45 minutes - 75 questions

(standard written English and rhetorical skills)

ACT Mathematics• 60 minutes - 60 questions

(mathematical skills acquired in courses taken up to the beginning of grade 12)

ACT Reading• 35 minutes - 40 questions

(reading comprehension)

ACT Structure

ACT Science• 35 minutes - 40 questions

(interpretation, analysis, reasoning, and problem-solving in natural sciences)

ACT Writing• 30 minutes - 1 prompt

(writing skills emphasized in high school English and entry-level college composition)

AP Exams

• AP exams - depending on school, 3 or above will get you college credit (save $$ and time)

• Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics B/C)• Languages (English, Spanish, French, etc)• Math (Calculus AB/BC, Statistics)• Take as many as you can without killing yourself• These are very much like first year breadth courses

at college• Can take exams for courses you didn't take

Application Process

Colleges and Degrees• Community college• Associate/Applied Sciences Degree AS, AA - 2yrs,

directly to work - 60 credits min• Transfer to state or UC system

• CSU/UC/Private colleges• Bachelors' degree - 4yrs 120 credits min• BA vs BS• Major - emphasis; premed; unique• Minor, Double major

• US News & World Report has rankings

Medical/Dental/Optometry• Medical• MCAT, 141 programs, some 6 yr and 7 yr programs• $200,000 - 280,000*

• Dental• DAT, 50+ schools in US, 5 year program (UOP)• $350,000 - 400,000*

• Optometry• OAT, 18 schools in US• $100,000 - 200,000*

*depends on many factors: in state vs out of state, public vs private, some states like Texas

Engineering• Many disciplines• Electrical Engg. vs Computer Science vs

Computer Engg. vs EECS• Undeclared vs Declared (e.g. Berkeley)• BA vs BS (e.g. Berkeley)• 5 Year BS/MS program• Hobby projects

Engineering Rankings (US News)#1 MIT#2 Stanford University#3 UC Berkeley#3 CalTech#5 UofI Urbana-Champaign#5 Georgia Institute of Technology#7 UMich Ann Arbor#8 Carnegie Mellon University#8 Cornell University

When people start talking about the future after graduation

How far can you go? Career Pathway

College Application• Early admission, 5 yr, 6 yr programs• Create calendar with deadlines• Excel sheet with programs, deadlines, $ fees,

requirements• Apply to many (solid, maybe, reach)• Deadlines:• Application opens: Oct for UC's• Application deadline: Dec - Feb (depends on

each school) Nov 30 for UC's• Results: varies by school, March 31 for UC's

Application• Fees - UC: $70• Citizen vs international student• Basic financial info, demographic info• Official test scores• Official transcripts• GPA: weighted vs unweighted• Letters of recommendations (private schools)• Statement of purpose/intent• Short answers: experience, volunteer, hobbies

Personal Statement (UC)Prompt #1Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

Prompt #2Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

1000 words total

Factors in admissions1. Grades in college prep courses2. Strength of curriculum3. Standardized test scores4. Overall high school GPA5. Essay6. Teacher & counselor recommendations7. Extracurricular activities8. Class rank9. Student's demonstrated interest

College Visits

• Spring break of junior year• Revisit after acceptance• Attend open house - stay with a senior on

campus• Look for campus housing• Off campus - sharing • Commute from home if close by

(advantages vs disadvantages)

Yay! You’re in!

In College• Curriculum- usually around 13 units minimum

required (around 3-4 courses) to be considered full time student

• Semester system or quarter system• Taking a semester off• College is different, you are on your own, little hand-

holding• Plan your own major• You can minor, double major• Housing (roommates)• Beware the ‘Freshman 15’

Studying for a final for a class you haven’t paid attention in

In College• Auditing classes• Webcasts• If undeclared, take variety of courses early on

so you can decide quickly, avoid graduating late• Buying books (half.com, on campus exchange

programs)• Selecting courses and professors• Ratemyprofessor.com

Trying to get into an over-enrolled course

Financial Aid

Financial Aid• Involve parents• Deadlines: Opens Jan1st• FAFSA – Early Feb 15th but ends June 30th

• Initial awards given March 2nd

• SAR – Report that you receive after 2 weeks• CSS profile (non federal financial aid)required

for private schools – application begin Oct 1st• Initial Application fee for one college, $25 later

each college $16• Parent tax forms required to fill the application

Financial Aid• Schools may have separate loan application

form that may need parents tax information• Grad plus loans are given to students from

banks at interest rate higher than parent plus loan as they are based on credit history

• Private bank loans are variable interest loans based on Libor

•Direct Federal Stafford loans - 6.8% fixed• subsidized - do not accrue interest until 6

months after graduation (only to undergrads)• unsubsidized - accrue interest right away when

they disburse the money•Perkins - 5% - do not accrue interest until 6 months after graduation •Health Professional loans - 5% - do not accrue interest until 6 months after graduation

Financial Aid

Scholarships and Awards

• Based on GPA• Writing essays• Being minority• Low annual family income • More children in college• Grants and scholarships are free money• Pell grant given to low income students (not for

Indians )• Scholarships based in ethnicity

For Parents• Do your taxes ASAP after Jan 1st so you can

finish financial aid application early• EFC - Expected Family Contribution is based on

your combined family Gross income and number of children in school

• Make use of educational IRA money to pay the school fee

• Tax Credits - Lifetime learning credit (max $2000) American opportunity tax credit - [Hope credit] (hopeless credit) ;-)

Useful Links• admission.universityofcalifornia.edu• /freshman/requirements/index.html• /counselors/exam-credit/ap-credits/index.html

• calstate.edu/admission• universityofcalifornia.edu/apply • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

College_admissions_in_the_United_States• collegeapps.about.com• collegeconfidential.com• fafsa.ed.gov• student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile• nslds.ed.gov• irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf

Good luck on your journey!

Link to this presentation:http://uppula.com/docs/college_prep.pptx

Thank you!

Q & A

Please use the mic