JUNIOR JUMPSTARTClass of 2017

Three Main Things Colleges Use in Determining Acceptance

GPA SAT/ACT Scores Application/extracurricular activities

GPA

GPA (Grade Point Average) is very important your junior year.

Usually students apply to college in September and October so colleges will not see your senior grades until the end of your senior year.

It is crucial that you take challenging classes as a junior and make good grades. Continue this next year too.

All colleges ask to see a copy of your final transcript. The UNC colleges require a Minimum GPA of 2.5. Even if you do not have the minimum GPA

requirement you can still go to a community college and transfer to a four year college.

GPA Reminders

Your GPA will be calculated at the end of each semester.

A=90-100 B=80-89 C=70-79 D=60-69 F=0-59

4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0

Ways to Improve my GPA

Make A’s in your classes!!! Remember that Honors classes have 1

quality point. So if you make a 95 in Honors English III that translates to a 5.0.

AP Classes have 2 quality points. So if you make a 95 in AP English Language that will be calculated as 6.0 in your GPA.

Remember that below 60 is still a 0 even if it is an honors or AP class.

A transcript is a four-year report card that includes EVERY final course grade for EVERY class you take in high school

It also contains…. transcript Student Information Credit History Grade History GPA (it is cumulative and is the average of quality points

earned)

Class Rank (a number that tells you where you stand in relation to your peers in your grade level)

EOC scores

Transcript….

Should I take the SAT or ACT?

You must register online to take either test.

Colleges in this area accept the SAT and the ACT.

SAT

Register online at www.collegeboard.org January of Junior year is a good time to take

your first SAT. Includes a verbal, math, and writing section Math section tests up to geometry and

algebra II Guess only when you can eliminate at least

one answer choice. Points are deducted for wrong answers.

Tests your reasoning ability 800 is the highest score on each section

ACT

All Juniors are going to take the ACT in March during school hours for free. You can use the score for college admissions.

You can take the test again if needed on a Saturday by registering online at www.actstudent.org

Includes a science, math, verbal, and an optional writing section.

Math section tests up to trigonometry Composite Score: 1-36 Points are not deducted for guessing Curriculum based

Extracurricular Activities and your college applications

Extracurricular activities set you aside from others so make sure you are involved. This is a section on most college applications.

You can use www.cfnc.org to help you organize your activities. Under your profile is a place to save all your activities, honors, sports etc. This will then transfer to your college applications if you use cfnc.org to apply to a North Carolina college.

Student Athletes

If you would like to play sports in college you must be considered “eligible” through NCAA.

All athletes need to register at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net by the end of junior year. This includes sending a transcript which you can get from Mrs. Ryan.

Be careful about flexing classes next year. Make sure you are taking at least three classes per semester and if you choose to flex a class you must pass all three classes that you are taking.

Also check out the HRHS student athlete webpage for more information.

What if I don’t know which college has my major?

cfnc.org is a great tool to help you research colleges

Planning for college

The college matching assistant can help you find colleges with the major that you would like to study. You can also look at school size and location.

College Matching Assistant

Other ways to get ready for College

County wide College Fair- you will be able to meet college representatives and learn more about a variety of different colleges. The College fair will be held at the Cabarrus Arena on September 30 from 6-8pm

Financial aid nights- we also have county wide financial aid nights to help you prepare for paying for college

A glimpse of some colleges

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 9 of our seniors went to Carolina last year

Student GPA Class Rank ACT Score

1 5.05 2nd out of 332 35

2 4.68 21st out of 332 24

Colleges (Continued)

University of North Carolina at Charlotte 62 of our seniors went to UNCC

Student GPA Class Rank ACT Score

1 4.27 66th out of 332 22

2 3.80 125th out of 332 20

3 3.43 175th out of 332 21

Colleges (Continued)

Western Carolina 15 of our seniors went to Western

Student

GPA Class Rank ACT Score

1 3.92 108 19

2 3.10 212 23

Get Ready for a Busy Summer

Find a summer job or participate in a summer program. This will help get you ready for college.

Visit potential colleges. This is the best way to see if they are a good fit for you. Visit the dorms, cafeteria, library and classrooms. See if you can sit in on a class.

Make a calendar of open houses. Get on colleges mailing lists. Some colleges

might email scholarship and other important information.

Joining the Military

This is a great option too. If you are thinking about this option start talking to a recruiter. A few recruiters visit during Bull Time. This is a great time to ask them questions and learn more about the process.

Questions

This is an exciting time for you… remember you can always ask your counselor for help.