St. Edward High School College Counseling: October 2008

ACT's News You Can Use
Issue 56, October 2008
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In this issue:
1. Key dates
2. College planning terms
3. Making the most of college visits
4. Inexpensive test prep tools
5. Narrowing down college options
6. Test date reminder

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KEY DATES

November
• The deadline to register for the December ACT® test date is
November 7.
• If any schools on your target list offer Early Action/Early
Decision, consider the option and complete any paperwork.

December
• Some early admission decisions are available, so check with any
schools to which you submitted an application.
• The ACT is administered on December 13.
• Complete and mail college applications with January 1 deadlines.
• Prepare for the FAFSA, because it will be available January 1.

January 2009
• File the FAFSA as soon after January 2 as possible.
• Registration deadline for the February ACT test date is
January 6.

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COLLEGE PLANNING TERMS

Common/universal application.
Form that allows a student to submit one application to many
different schools. Both are available online:
http://www.commonapp.com and http://www.universalcollegeapp.com.
Some schools also require supplemental forms.

Early decision.
A binding agreement between you and the school. You apply early,
and if admitted, are bound to attend the school. The application
deadline occurs early and the admission decision is
delivered early.

Rolling admissions.
A process in which a school reviews applications and makes
decisions on them throughout the year.

Early action.
You can apply to an early action school and receive your
admission response early. The decision is usually non-binding,
but you may agree to forgo applying to other early action/early
decision institutions. When conditions apply it is sometimes
called Restrictive Early Action.

Open admissions.
An admission decision, usually made by public junior and
community colleges, without regard to your academic performance.

Transcript.
The official record of your educational achievements, provided by
your high school.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
The key to unlocking student financial aid, it should be completed
and submitted as soon after January 2 as possible. The form and
supporting information can be found at http://www.fafsa.gov.

You can find glossaries of college and financial aid terms on
several websites, including:

Finaid.org: http://www.finaid.org/questions/glossary.phtml
College Confidential: http://tinyurl.com/4vfskn
FastWeb: http://tinyurl.com/545n5f

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MAKING THE MOST OF COLLEGE VISITS

College visits allow you to "try on" potential colleges. For
juniors, early visits can be the starting point for a list of
potential schools. Seniors can use visits to pare their list down.
Wherever you are in the process, ask lots of questions. Here are
a few suggestions:

• What activities and services are available to help first-year
students adjust academically and socially?

• What are the total costs of attending this school? Be sure the
response includes additional fees, books, room and board, etc.
And be sure to factor in any travel costs.

• What types of financial aid does this school offer and how do I
apply for it?

• Who does the majority of the teaching—graduate assistants or
professors?

You can find a list of other questions at
http://www.actstudent.org/college/visit.html. Also, the National
Survey on Student Engagement offers a college visit pocket guide
at http://www.nsse.iub.edu/html/pocket_guide_intro.cfm, which you
can download and print. It's available in English and Spanish.

And don't forget to take good notes. You can easily become
confused if visiting several colleges. It might be helpful to
take along a camera or camcorder to help capture the feel of
each campus.

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INEXPENSIVE TEST PREP TOOLS

The ACT is a curriculum-based test, so it covers what you learn in
school. To take full advantage of your education, ACT recommends
that you take the test in the spring of your junior year.
This way, you'll have time to re-take the test, if you choose,
before college application deadlines.

Free test prep aids are available at http://www.actstudent.org.
Sample questions are on the site along with Preparing for the
ACT, a free booklet with a complete practice test, scoring key,
writing prompt and sample essays. The ACT registration packet,
available from the counseling office, also contains the booklet.

ACT Online Prep, the only test prep program developed exclusively
by ACT test development professionals, is only $19.95 for a
one-year subscription. The Real ACT Prep Guide, a book featuring
retired test questions, test-taking strategies, and optional
writing test overview, is just $25. Both Online Prep and the Guide
are available at http://www.actstudent.org.

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NARROWING DOWN COLLEGE OPTIONS

Finding a college that "fits" means taking into account majors,
study abroad programs, internship opportunities, career placement
success rates, and much more. Compiling data from many different
schools can be challenging if you're relying on marketing
materials or information received during a campus visit.

One easy way to get a snapshot of a potential school is to review
its Common Data Set. These uniform reporting documents, which are
provided by many four-year colleges and universities, contain a
wealth of information, including admission rates, financial aid
sources, high school course requirements and recommendations,
and more.

Here's a sampling of the information you'll find on a Common Data
Set form:

• The relative importance placed on various factors in an
application review.

• Freshman class profiles showing average GPA, ACT scores and
class rank, allowing you to see your relative chances of
being admitted.

• Tuition, room and board costs, as well as estimated expenses
(books, transportation and others).

• How financial aid is determined (using federal methodology, an
institutional methodology or both), and how much and what kinds
of financial aid (loans, scholarships, need-based, merit-based)
are awarded.

These forms quickly tell students whether or not the school fits
with their graduation goals, skills and ability to afford a
school. To locate, type "Common Data Set" into the search function
on each school's website.

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TEST DATE REMINDER

The next national ACT test date is December 13, 2008.
The registration deadline is November 7. Late registration, with
an additional fee of $20, is available through November 20.
Register online today at http://www.actstudent.org.

Other test dates during the 2008-09 school year are:
February 7, 2009; April 4, 2009; and June 13, 2009.
Registration deadlines for these dates are normally about five
weeks before the test date.

An optional Writing Test is available in addition to the multiple-
choice achievement test. Go to http://www.actstudent.org/writing
to learn more about the Writing Test, including the colleges that
require it.

Test-day tips, a list of what to bring and approved calculators
for use on the Math Test are listed on the site, too. For all
your questions about the ACT test, visit
http://www.actstudent.org.

St. Edward High School College Counseling

October 2, 2008

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