College & School Counseling

Freshman Year - College Planning Timeline 

• Develop good study habits.
• Participate in sports and activities.
• Participate in community service work.
• Always look to improve your writing skills.
• Take the PSAT.
• Think about courses to take to best prepare you for college.
• International students should practice their English at every opportunity.
• Learn about the Naviance College software.

Sophomore Year - College Planning Timeline

• Explore careers and college majors through Naviance.
• Set some goals you want to accomplish by graduation.
• Continue to develop good study habits.
• Continue to participate in sports and activities.
• Think about courses to take that will best prepare you for college.
• Take the PSAT.

Junior Year - College Planning Timeline:

September

• Attend College Fairs in your area to pick up materials on potential colleges. Please make sure to sign up for their mailing lists.
• Attend College presentations at SJHS during the school day.
• Prepare to take the PSAT.
• Identify which SAT and ACT tests you will take this year.

October-November

• Meet with your school counselor to start College Planning process.
• Take the PSAT (October) - please remember the scores are not sent to colleges but count for National Merit Scholarship eligibility.
• Plan your Senior Year courses with your school counselor - specific college majors require specific high school courses taken.
• Identify your top Colleges and schedule appointments to visit in Spring.
• Attend Jesuit College Fair here at SJHS (November)
• Begin Test Prep for Spring Testing (SAT-ACT)

December-January

• Register to take the SAT and ACT test at least one month prior to exam date.
• Continue to research and develop your college list.
• Review your PSAT scores with your school counselor. Certain scores may make you eligible for merit scholarships.
• Continue with Test Prep.

February-May

• Visit your top colleges (February vacation or weekends). Colleges spend thousands on marketing to you through the website and brochures. The campus visit is very important to get a “feel” for the college.
• SAT and ACT exams offered. Please make sure you are registered and you know where the exam is being held. Make sure you know which colleges will receive your scores.
• Start to think about two teachers you will ask to write your letter of recommendations.
• Start to consider topics for your College Essay. This will be an assignment in your current English Class.

June-August

• Make sure you have a Common Application account and begin to fill out as of August 1.
• Through Naviance, invite two teachers to write you a letter of recommendation.
• Finalize College List.
• Complete your Essay.
• Continue to Visit Colleges of interest.
• Begin searching for outside scholarship opportunities. 

Senior Year - College Planning Timeline:

September-December

• Meet with your counselor about your list and create the list in Naviance.
• Discuss with your counselor the type of application you will use for each college you are applying to.
• Take the SAT or ACT again if you are not satisfied with your scores.
• Finalize your college essay and resume.
• Request your recommendation letters through Naviance ( if you haven’t already).
• Complete the Ferpa Agreement on the Common App website.
• Match your Naviance account with Common App account.
• Sign up to meet with College Admission representatives when they visit SJHS.
• Complete all your applications and be aware of deadlines for each college. Deadlines normally range from October 15 (Early Action and Early Decision) to January 15. Some colleges also have rolling admission policies.
• Send your SAT or ACT scores directly to the colleges on your list. Colleges want this directly sent from the test company.
• Follow your emails closely from the colleges. Please alert your counselor at SJHS if you received any messages about missing documents.
• Attend Open House Programs at interested colleges.
• Continue to do well in school. Most colleges will want to evaluate your first quarter or semester senior grades. You do not want an admission acceptance to be revoked due to a poor performance in the classroom.
• Remain active in the community - keep attending activities and volunteer opportunities.
• Consider applying for Financial Aid after October 1.
• Check your colleges of interest to see if they require you to file the CSS profile (in addition to the FAFSA) for financial aid.
• Check your email or mailbox for Early Action or Early Decision notifications.

January-March

• Analyze financial aid packages from colleges.
• Attend Accepted Students Day at colleges of interest.
• Meet with you school counselor about your college decision.

April-June

• Make your final college decision by May 1.
• Finish strong with all your classes and exams.
• Graduate from St. Joseph High School.

The Common Application is a universal application accepted by over 480 colleges and universities.

Commonapp.org

It is more important than ever for students to make sound decisions about financing their college education. All colleges require you to file the FAFSA (see website below) and some require both the FAFSA and CSS Profile.  Below you will find a few links that will serve as a starting point for this journey.

• Federal Student Aid, an Office of the U.S. Department of Education provides information about financial aid provided by the federal government, along with other resources.
   
• Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a required financial aid form for any college in the United States.
   
• Fastweb is a free scholarship search tool.
   
• Bigfuture, by the College Board, includes college and scholarship search tools useful information and tutorials about the financial aid process.
   

CSS Profile - required by some selective colleges

• 2019-20 Participating Institutions and Programs
• Getting Started With Your CSS Profile Application

Below are two videos that will help you fill out the FAFSA and CSS profile line by line.

• How to File the FAFSA
• How to File the CSS Profile

Naviance is a comprehensive college and career readiness program that helps our students align their strengths and interests to postsecondary goals, improving student outcomes and connecting learning to life. https://id.naviance.com
 

INTRODUCING NAVIANCE STUDENT!

Naviance Student, just like Family Connection, is accessible to both students and parents.

If you already have a username and password for Family Connection, you can use it to log in to Naviance Student at: 
student.naviance.com/sjhs

Otherwise, expect to receive a username/password prior to the start of the academic year.

If you are interested in competing in athletics in college, please read the information from the links below.

Registering for an NCAA Certification Account

A Guide for Prospective College Athletes  

SAT Registration Dates 2019-2020

ACT Registration Dates 2019-2020

Important Information to bring into ACT and SAT Testing Days:

• Bring a copy of your printed ticket with you on the day of the test and a photo ID
• Bring two No.2 pencils the day of the exam
• Bring a calculator to use on the designated math sections of either exams
• You are allowed a bottle of water and snack-this can be eaten outside of the testing room

Things are you are not allowed to bring into the exams:

• Books, dictionaries, scratch paper or notes
• Highlight pens, colored pens or correction fluid
• NO electronic devices other than a permitted calculator

• Transcript Request Process
• College Process Checklist

• Essay Tips: Essays that Worked at Connecticut College

• Summer College Enrichment Programs

• Pre-College Programs for High School Students

Transcript Releases for Seniors:

• Early Decision Transcript Release
• Early Action Transcript Release
• Regular Decision Transcript Release

• September 2020

• October 2020

• October 2020

• October 2020

• November 2020

• January 2021

• January 2021

• February 2021

• March 9, 2021

The College and School Counseling Office aims to meet the unique needs of each and every student through our comprehensive school counseling curriculum.  Our multifaceted curriculum, comprised of individual counseling, group counseling and developmental school counseling lessons, is designed to develop students into well adjusted, empathetic and emotionally intelligent young adults.  Our office recognizes social emotional wellness as an influential factor in academic achievement and collaborates with parents, faculty and administrators to promote student success.  Though our proactive and holistic approach, we assist students in reaching their goals by focusing on the following areas:

Grade 9:

• Transition to high school and new academic expectations
• Awareness of personal learning styles and identification of effective study skills
• Conflict resolution and problem solving skills
• Self advocacy skills
• Communication skills
• Community engagement aligned with personal interests

Grade 10:

• Identifying personal strengths and interests
• Discovering careers clusters to compliment skills and interests
• Self-monitoring academic performance
• Drug and alcohol prevention
• Community engagement through leadership

Grade 11:

• Drug and alcohol prevention and awareness
• Interpersonal relationship skills
• Individualized short and long-term goal setting
• Post-secondary planning (see the College Counseling page LINK)

Grade 12:

• Decision-making: creating the best fit post-secondary plan
• Transition to college
• Professionalism skills
• Combating peer pressure: drug & alcohol prevention

St Joseph High School - Freshmen Guide ('19-'20)

View our Junior College Planning Handbook (updated 3-26-20)