College Admissions Guide

157 Pages·2016·5.81 MB·English

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS
GUIDE
2015/2016
CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC
HIGH SCHOOL
ACT/SAT HIGH SCHOOL CODE: 052896
C HAPTER 1
Selection of a College
Picking a college may be one of the most important decisions you will make dur-
ing high school. With more than 4,000 institutions of higher learning in the
United States alone, it can seem overwhelming. But the good news is that by fol-
lowing a simple strategy and choosing wisely, you will end up at a college you will
truly benefit from and enjoy.
To get started, you will want to select an initial pool of colleges for consideration
from which you will ultimately narrow down to six to eight that you will make ap-
plication to in the fall of your senior year. A recommended guideline to follow is
that you will want to end up with two to three reach schools that you have a 10-
20% chance of acceptance; three to four target schools that you have a 70-80%
chance of acceptance; and one to two safety schools that you have a 100% chance
of acceptance. Thus, once you have selected a pool of colleges based on your pref-
erences, you will then need to calculate your percentage chances of admission for
each, so that you can determine whether you have chosen a sufficient number of
reach, likely, and safety schools, making changes if you have a disproportionate
number in any one area. If you have an appropriate number of schools in each
of the three categories, you will eliminate much of the anxiety students can experi-
ence in the college application and admission process.
To create your list of potential schools, you will need to decide what aspects of a
college are important to you. Determining application to the right schools varies
according to the individual; consequently, the more carefully you research your
choices, the happier you are likely to be with your ultimate choice.
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Some questions you should consider asking yourself are:
What are my values, interests, and abilities?
What size school would I like to be a part of?
What would I like to major in and what schools are strong in my desired
major?
Would I prefer a private school or a public school?
What geographical setting is preferable to me and what type of campus
setting would I like?
Would I like a school with a religious affiliation or a school that is non-
denominational?
Would I like a single-sex school or a co-ed school?
Would I prefer a structured or a “free” environment?
Am I looking for a school with sports, and if so, do I want Division I, II,
or III?
What financial assistance can I expect from my parents?
If I need financial aid, what is available to me?
Competition-wise, is the school suited to me?
As mentioned before, there are thousands of colleges and universities in the
United States, so it is not feasible to research each one. Rather, after asking the
previously suggested questions and others, you can eliminate many schools and
concentrate on learning more about certain ones.
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SECTION 1
Naviance
A great resource for exploring colleges is Naviance, an easy-to-use, online, person-
alized college and career planning and college application tool available to CCHS
students. Not only are CCHS students able to do college and career searches on
Naviance, but when students become seniors, they will be using Naviance to organ-
ize and carry out steps to complete their college applications.
In the early spring of their junior year, students are given thorough instructions on
using Naviance for intensive college planning and application processes, as well as
reminders about signing up for college visits and searching for scholarships. Stu-
dents are encouraged to visit Naviance often and take advantage of the resources
it provides for each step of the college planning and application process.
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SECTION 2
Other Research Options
Students are also encouraged to consult reference books, such as Barron’s Profiles
of American Colleges, Fiske Guide to Colleges, and Peterson’s Guide to Four-Year
Colleges, which are all available in the CCHS Counseling Office. In addition, we
suggest you use the Internet to research schools. A listing of helpful college web-
sites is available both in the Counseling Office and in Naviance. Also, go directly
to schools’ websites, as schools offer their catalogs and course offerings, as well as
all sorts of additional information, online. Students are also encouraged to attend
local college fairs, particularly the CCHS fair in the fall and the National Associa-
tion for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) College Fair held yearly in
April, and attend college visits held on our campus. Also, while doing your re-
search, make sure to learn each school’s retention rate, the percentage of students
who live on campus, and extra-curricula available. Also check the student profile,
as this will show the average GPA, ACT/SAT score, and geographic/ethnic back-
ground of admitted students.
Throughout this process, keep in contact with your counselor and don’t hesitate to
ask for help. Remember that your counselor can’t choose the school for you. It is
up to you to do some careful research and make some personal choices. Finally,
when your list is down to your final choices, make every attempt to visit the
schools.
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SECTION 3
Selection Summary
In summary, the suggested procedure for selection of a college is:
Talk to your CCHS counselor during the second half of your junior year and at the
beginning of your senior year.
Do online searches using Naviance and check other references to generate a list of
schools that meet your criteria.
Check online for school catalogs.
Check the Internet and the Counseling Office for more information, and re-
view each school’s profile.
Attend the CCHS College Fair held yearly in October and the National Association
for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) College Fair held yearly in April.
Attend college visits on our campus. Approximately 175 schools send representa-
tives to our campus each year to speak about their schools. These visitations are an-
nounced in Naviance and the “CCHS Daily Bulletin” in advance of the visit. You
may wish to attend these sessions to learn more about college life on that campus.
You will be limited to five of these sessions for your junior year and five for your
senior year, and this rule is strictly enforced. Once you sign up to attend a college
visit on Naviance, it counts whether or not you attend the visit. The only exception
is an absence due to illness.
If possible, visit your top choices. No matter how well you think you know a college
or university, you can learn a lot (good or bad) by spending a few hours on campus,
including whether or not the college feels like a good “fit” for you.
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A few other tips to consider:
A college is not necessarily right for you because its name is familiar. Don’t equate
educational quality with name recognition.
Don’t choose a college because your friends are going there. Choosing a college be-
cause your girlfriend or boyfriend is headed there is one of the worst reasons to se-
lect a school.
Separate reality from opinions. Many people refer to a college as “good,” “hard to
get into,” “a party school,” “too expensive,” etc., without really knowing the facts.
Don’t accept these kinds of generalizations without evidence.
Do not rule out colleges early because of cost. Many colleges offer scholar-
ships, financial aid, and tuition installment plans that make them far more afford-
able than they may first appear. You won’t know how much it will cost to attend a
college until the very end of the process.
Finally, if you have a tough time choosing among two or more colleges or universi-
ties, it is probably because you have done a good job putting together your list, and
you will be happy at whichever institution you choose. Once you make your choice,
don’t agonize over it. If you have done thorough research, there is an excellent
chance your final college choice will be a good one.
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C HAPTER 2
College Entrance Tests
There are three college entrance tests that you need to be aware of:
ACT
SAT Reasoning Test
SAT Subject Tests
Of these three tests, the ACT and the SAT Reasoning Test are comparable and
most four-year colleges require applicants to submit scores from one or the other
for admission. The SAT Subject Tests are only required by certain schools, and
this requirement will be indicated in each school's admission criteria. Information
on Subject Tests follows in its own section below.
Both the ACT and the SAT exams are intended to provide measures of a student’s
“college readiness,” and virtually all schools accept either test. While the newly re-
designed SAT exam is much more similar to the ACT than it used to be, the two
tests still differ in many ways and measure different skills, so it is important to learn
about these differences, as students may do better on one test format over the
other. Following is a Comparative Features chart (from Summit Educational
Group), which has a side-by-side comparison of the current SAT (2015), the
newly designed SAT (Spring 2016) and the ACT, to get an initial idea of the differ-
ences between the ACT and the SAT.
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Comparing the SAT (Current and Redesigned) to the ACT
A guide from Summit Educational Group

When it is released in 2016, the new SAT will be a significant cha nge from the current test. Also, the redesign will
affect how we determine whether a student is better-suited for the SAT or ACT. Below is a broad comparison of the
new SAT to the current SAT and the ACT.
Current SAT New SAT (Spring 2016) ACT
Description The new SAT will require similar skills and test similar content to that of the ACT and current SAT. Many of the changes to the new SAT’s
format will make it look a lot like the ACT, but the SAT will retain its focus as an aptitude test. Among the biggest changes to the SAT
are a sharper focus on critical-thinking, an emphasis on real-world problems, a new scoring system, and an overhaul of the essay section.
Overall, the redesigned SAT will place a bigger emphasis on problem-solving and understanding context. Comparatively, the ACT will
remain more of an achievement test, requiring a broad knowledge of many concepts, as well as considerable speed and endurance.
10 short sections: 5 long sections (comprising 3 “tests” and 5 long sections (comprising 4 “tests” and
Format &
(cid:120) 3 Critical Reading; 3 Mathematics; an optional essay): an optional essay):
Length
3 Writing (including Essay); (cid:120) Writing & Language; Reading; (cid:120) English; Mathematics; Reading;
1 experimental (not scored) 2 Math; Essay Science; Writing (optional essay)
(cid:120) Questions have 5 answer choices (cid:120) Questions have 4 answer choices (cid:120) Most questions have 4 answer
(cid:120) Total testing time: 3 hours, 45 minutes (cid:120) Total testing time: 3 hours, 50 minutes choices (Math has 5)
(with essay) (cid:120) Total testing time: 3 hours, 25 minutes
(with essay)
Combined score: 600-2400 Combined score: 400-1600 Composite score: 1-36 (average of 4 tests)
Scoring
(cid:120) Critical Reading: 200-800; (cid:120) Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: (cid:120) English: 1-36; Math: 1-36; Reading: 1-
Math: 200-800; 200-800; Math: 200-800 36; Science: 1-36
Writing: 200-800 (cid:120) Essay score reported separately (cid:120) Writing score not factored into
(cid:120) Writing score comprised of Multiple (cid:120) “Cross-Test Scores” report Composite score
Choice and Essay subscores. performance on Science and History/ (cid:120) Combined English/Writing score
(cid:120) ¼-point deduction for incorrect Social Studies across entire test provided separately: 1-36
answers (cid:120) No deduction for incorrect answers (cid:120) No deduction for incorrect answers
Identify and correct errors in single Revise and edit a piece of writing for, Revise and edit a piece of writing for,
Writing/
sentences logical structure, and effective rhetoric logical structure, and effective rhetoric
English
(cid:120) standard English grammar and usage (cid:120) standard English grammar and usage (cid:120) standard English grammar and usage
(cid:120) punctuation not tested (cid:120) punctuation (cid:120) punctuation
(cid:120) logical structure (cid:120) logical structure
Limited and predictable set of errors
(cid:120) effective rhetoric (cid:120) effective rhetoric
(cid:120) includes informational graphics (cid:120) commonly confused words
Arithmetic, Algebra I and II, Geometry Pre-Algebra through basic Trigonometry Pre-Algebra through basic Trigonometry
Math
(cid:120) apply core math skills to solve mostly (cid:120) strong emphasis on Algebra (cid:120) math tested in straightforward manner
non-standard, “tricky” problems (cid:120) extensive range of concepts tested
Calculator prohibited on one section
(cid:120) formulas provided (cid:120) emphasis on word problems
12 Grid-In questions (no answer choices) (cid:120) formulas not provided
10 Grid-In questions (no answer choices)
1 Extended Thinking question (4 points)
Vocabulary-based sentence completions Vocabulary de-emphasized 4 long passages
Reading
(cid:120) very little emphasis on vocabulary
Total of 7 short and long reading passages 4 long passages and 1 paired passage (cid:120) straightforward questions that require
(cid:120) many inference, tone, purpose (cid:120) 2 passages include diagrams/charts close reading of passage
questions (cid:120) 1 passage from U.S. “founding (cid:120) order of questions is random
(cid:120) questions follow order of passage document” (cid:120) less time per question
The current SAT does not have a Science The new SAT does not have stand-alone 40 questions distributed over 7 passages
Science
section. Science section, but Science questions will (cid:120) emphasis on charts, diagrams, etc.
be included throughout the Math, Reading, (cid:120) Science is a reasoning test—rarely
and Writing & Language tests. requires prior science knowledge
25 minutes, always the first section 50 minutes, always the last section 30 minutes, always the last test
Essay
(cid:120) broad theme (cid:120) analyze a passage and evaluate (cid:120) narrow topic “relevant” to high school

(cid:120) can be approached formulaically or author’s reasoning and rhetoric students
creatively (cid:120) students’ opinions discouraged (cid:120) demands a more structured response
(cid:120) Essay is scored on 2-8 scale on three (cid:120) optional, but required by most schools
traits (Reading, Analysis, and Writing)

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Though both the ACT and SAT tests are offered in all 50 states, it is interesting to
note that each test's popularity is often based simply on which state students reside
and not by college admissions requirements as sometimes believed. Please review
the ACT-SAT preference map (from StudyPoint) below, which shows each state's
testing preference. Blue states have more ACT takers, and orange states have
more SAT takers.
The following sections will provide more details of each exam (all information has
been garnered from their respective websites), but to access all the resources avail-
able in relation to these tests, please visit www.actstudent.org for the ACT and
sat.collegeboard.org/home for the SAT.
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