What Every Senior Parent Should Know

The Road to Success is always under construction.

S.O.S.

TAKE A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT…..

One thought you have about your senior applying to college…..

One concern/comment you would voice about paying for college…..

One thing that you would say to your senior about senior year….

After tonight, you will know more about:

1. Graduation requirements & GPA/Rank

2. Testing Requirements

3. Transcripts

4. Naviance

5. NCAA

6. College 101

7. Important Dates to Remember

8. Ways to Stay In The Know

Senior Staff

Principal- Mrs. Julie Hinson

12th Grade Class Principal – Mr. Przespolewski

Class Secretary – Mrs. Moreno

Registrars- Mrs. Carol Sarubbi & Mrs. Rita Zuniga

Student Support Retention & Recov.- Mrs.Lindsay Cano

AdviseTX College Advisor- Ms. Keviontae Martin

Counselors

Mrs. Jennifer Marquez A-CARL

Mrs. Becky Hickman – CARM-FR

Mr. Greg Little– FS – I

Ms. Staci Mack– J-MEN

Mrs. Brenda Sanders– MEN-RAL

Ms. Jina Matthews- RAM-ST

Ms. Shaundra Davis- SU-Z

How many credits does my child currently have?

Classification of StudentsStudents are classified by the number of academic credits

they have earned at the beginning of the school year.

26 Credit Graduation Plan

Grade Credits Classification

9 0 - 5 Freshman

10 5 ½ - 11 ½ Sophomore

11 12 - 18 ½ Junior

12 19 + Senior

What Graduation Plan is your child currently on?

Graduation Requirements

Graduation Requirements

Graduation Requirements

It’s all Greek to me?

Class Rank is based on the cumulative grade point average for grades 9-12. A student’s grade point average is derived by dividing the total number of grade points by the number of semester courses attempted.

There will be two times this year that class rank will be calculated for seniors. The next official Class rank will be recalculated in October. The last official class rank update will be in May.

Class Rank

HS example–Quarter GPA Range

1 4.8237 – 4.0962

2 4.0926 – 3.6296

3 3.6275 – 3.0426

4 3.0717– 1.2969

Top ten percent is 4.8387 – 4.4490

Honor/High Honor and Top Ten Graduates Calculation for Graduation

High Honor Grads = GPA 4.0 and above

Honor Grads = GPA of 3.5 to 3.9

All points attempted and courses attempted for high school courses taken in grades 7-11 and the first five, six-weeksgrading periods of the senior year are calculated to obtain the GPA for Honor/High Honor and Top Ten graduates. For purposes of class rank, a tie will be broken in accordance with District policy.

Transcripts provide the following information:

All high school courses taken

Semester averages

Credit earned

Test scores, including EOC, SAT/ ACT

GPA and Class Rank

Remember it is the students responsibility to provide the correct address to the university/campus that the official transcript is to be sent to.

It is a minimum wait time of 48 hours for all transcript requests submitted.

Cost: $2.00

Parents and students may view the STAAR EOC test results using either the Home Access Center (HAC) or the online state Student Data Portal. The HAC contains STAAR test results and your child’s unique access code for the state student portal.

The new STAAR report card also known as a Confidential Student Report (CSR), is posted at TexasAssessment.com. The goal of this new design was to create a family-friendly report on student progress, specifically highlighting growth and improvement.

Receive MRHS Testing updates on Twitter @KyleKSanchez or visit the MRHS Testing Website at https://sites.google.com/katyisd.org/mrhstesting/home

Retaining the Individual Graduation Committee (IGC) option for graduation beyond expiration in September 2017 (TEC §28.0258; SB 149).

Senate Bill 149 (SB 149) was created and supported due to the changes in testing and graduation requirements. The bill allows for a process where a student who has not met the graduation requirement of passing all five End-of-Course (EOC) STAAR exams, the option to meet alternative requirements assigned by the IGC. SB 149 outlined an expiration date for this process of September 2017.

Further information will be available later this semester.

Naviance Overview

What is Family Connection?

What Can Students And Parents Do Using Family

Connection?

How do you access it?

How do you register?

How does it help with career and college planning?

23

24

View guidance news bulletins

Create a résumé

Complete a college search

Develop a prospective college list

Provide access to scholarship search engines; over a hundred national

scholarships are available

Maintain journal entries

Complete school developed surveys

Compare colleges

Links to selected third party resources

(i.e. College Board, Financial Aid, NCAA, Careers, College searches, etc.)

Track deadlines

WHAT CAN STUDENTS AND PARENTS DO USING

FAMILY CONNECTION?

After You Sign in

25

Important

MessagesUpdates from the

Guidance Office

Click on the Tabs

Colleges Page

Use these links to do

a college search

College Profile

27

Visit College Website

Colleges I’m Thinking About

Click Here to add colleges to

your prospective college list

Admissions Options

Early Decision

Early Action

Rolling/Regular Admission

Open Admission

Personal vs. Professional email

Capitalizing & Formal language

Using your full, legal name

Passwords – keep ‘em!

Biggest time waster known to mankind.

You can apply to only 1 ED college.

If the college accepts you and offers you a “suitable” financial aid package, you mustgo to that college.

Although you may apply to additional colleges through the regular admission process, you must withdraw all other applications if you’re accepted by this college.

You can apply to as many early action colleges as you’d like.

If you're accepted, you can say yes right away or wait until spring to decide.

You can also decline the offer.

Large window of time during which they can apply. Application opens in the early fall, and it may continue right through the summer.

Accepts applications for as long as spaces are available.

Applying early improves an applicant's chance of being accepted. Also, while there may be no application deadline, there typically are deadlines for scholarships, financial aid and housing. A late application may make it impossible to get any decent financial aid.

Accepts all applicants

GPA/and or test scores may direct class offerings.

Apply by January

Steps for Applying to Colleges

Complete Student Purple Packet

READ DIRECTIONS FOR EACH APPLICATION CAREFULLY!

Make a master calendar with all due dates and deadlines.

After completing application online, print out counselor page, secondary school report, IF college requires additional paper pages. In many cases you will provide the counselor email as part of the online application and paper copies are not needed.

Upon Completing their college application turn in lime green form to request transcript to be sent. $2.00 fee per transcript. Please indicate on form if only transcript needs to be sent or a letter of recommendation is warranted.

Counselor recommendations are based on:

- Submitted Student Purple Packet and transcript.

-Students will be contacted by their current counselor

if more information is needed for letters.

-Students/Parents can provide updated information to

current counselors via email.

Give counselors/teachers at least two weeks notification for recommendations.

College bound student-athletes first enrolling at an NCAA Division school on or after August 1, 2017 will need to be certain academic rules to practice, compete, and receive athletic scholarships. There are 3 categories:

Full Qualifier: May practice compete, and receive athletic scholarship during their 1st year of enrollment in an NCAA Division I school.

Academic Redshirt: may receive athletic scholarships during their first year of enrollment in an NCAA Division I school but may NOT compete during their first year.

Nonqualifier: Cannot practice, receive athletics scholarships or compete during their 1st year of enrollment at an NCAA Division I school.

*to see the full list for all Divisions and their requirements please visit www.eligibilitycenter.org

NCAA

seniors

How much can we afford?

I don’t know if I want to go to college. At least not right now.

Please don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.

I am nervous about the transition from high school to college.

What do YOU want me to do?

I want something close to home.

I want to be as far away as possible.

# of

Students

I have no idea how I am going to pay

for college.50

I have a pretty good understanding of

FAFSA and financial aid.25

My parents and I are ready to

complete the 2017 FAFSA.4

I have applied for at least one

scholarship. 2

I know where to find info about local

scholarships, applications, and

deadlines.

8

My parents and I have a plan for

paying for college. 23

95 Responders Percent

I don’t even know where to start. 14%

I am in the process of researching,

but I have not applied to a college

yet.

70%

I am in the process of researching,

have applied to at least one college,

but may apply to more.

13%

I have been accepted to at least one

college, but not sure where I will be

attending.

3%

I have researched, applied, and

selected which college I will be

attending.

0%

Ms. Martin

Advise TX College Adviser

• 4-Year Public University• (Texas A&M, UT, Sam Houston State, SFA, etc.)

• 4-Year Private University • (Baylor, HBU, Rice, etc.)

• 2-Year Community College/Junior College • (HCC, Lonestar, etc.)

• Technical/Vocational College • (Texas State Technical College)

• For Profit Colleges- (The Art Institutes, DeVry, Universal Technical Institute, Tulsa Welding School, etc.)

• Be careful- some for-profit colleges do not offer financial aid to students, credits may be non- transferrable to other colleges, and tuition rates can be much greater than public colleges

•Do your research! Find the “best fit” college based on…• your high school GPA and ranking

• the type of college

• cost of attendance

• location and size

• majors offered

• demographics

• extracurricular

•Narrow the list of colleges to between 5 and 10- and know their admission AND scholarship deadline

•Bigfuture.collegeboard.org, myfuturetx.com

Aim to complete at least ONE University application by October 31st!1. Applytexas.org OR commonapp.org2. Complete required essays3. Submit SAT/ACT scores (collegeboard.org,

actstudent.org)4. Send Official Transcript from MRHS Registrar’s

Office5. Letters of Recommendation (2-3)6. Optional: resumes, application fee waivers7. Financial Aid & Scholarships

The University must receive ALL of the above required items (except financial aid) before the application deadline to consider you for admission

• FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)- begin October 1st, 2017• www.fafsa.ed.gov• What can I qualify for?

• Federal & State Grants• Scholarships• Federal Student Loans• Work study

• TASFA (Texas Application for State Financial Aid)- begin after October 1st, 2017

• www.Collegeforalltexans.com or www.aie.org• Undocumented students who have been classified as Texas

residents (have lived in Texas for at least 36 months)• Please meet with your college adviser ASAP to receive more

information• What can I qualify for?

• State grants, scholarship, and student loans

• Never too early to begin applying for outside scholarships• Monthly bulletin

• College Webpage

• Search sites:

• www.collegegreenlight.com

• www.Scholarships.com

• www.Scholarships4students.com

• University specific scholarships on Apply Texas or through college website.

• Colleges must receive ALL required materials before the deadline to make a decision

• Universities have deadlines, community colleges have rolling admissions.

• Begin financial aid applications after October 1, 2017.

• Students who will be submitting the TASFA, please meet with your college adviser ASAP to receive more information.

Ms. MartinAdvise TX College AdviserMain Counselor Officekeviontaejmartin@katyisd.orgkjmartin@tamu.edu

Important datesfor

Fall Semester

Sept. 20th - S.O.S. #1

Sept. 27th - S.O.S. #2

Oct. 1st Begin filling out FAFSA for federal student aid.

Oct. 11th - Panoramic Photo

Oct. 11th - Last Day to submit applications to schools with earlynotification deadlines of November 1, 2017.

Dec. 1st- Last day to turn in college applications to have them submitted before winter break.

Important dates for Spring Semester

Request mid-year report beginning after February 5th . (some colleges require)

March 1st - Priority deadline for submitting FAFSA.

May 1st - Deadline to accept offer of admission to most colleges.

May 7th -18th -AP Testing Window

May 27th - Graduation

Remind class for College Adviser text: 81010 message: @mavs101

Check us out online at: http://staff.katyisd.org/sites/MRHScounselors/Pages/default.aspx

Follow us on twitter: @counselorsMRHS

Follow the Senior Office Information: @Mavs_2018

Follow MRHS Testing UPDATES on TWITTER: @KyleKSanchez

You now have access to the latest and greatest information we have coming from the counseling , testing and senior office departments.

May 27, 20187:00 PM

We want your student to be a participant and not an observer.

MRHS