College Counseling News
Class of 2020
It’s time to gather your North Phoenix Prep pictures for your Senior Dinner slide show! Miss Alana Curtis has graciously offered to assemble and edit this priceless video. Yet in order to do so, every family will need to submit pictures of their student’s NPX experience to Alana on or before Friday, March 6, 2020. That gives you two weeks from today to email these memories to Alana at
Jackiealana@hotmail.com
We currently have five seniors that have provided their pictures. Unless everyone participates, we will not be able to carry on this NPX Senior Dinner legacy. So please make this a priority for your senior!
Dealing with Admission Decisions
Regardless of the decision you receive from a college, opening the envelope or text can be an emotional rollercoaster. Make sure you follow up with each decision you receive!
Denied
Remember that this is not a measure of who you are or what you can achieve! Some denials are made in the best interest of the student because a college senses a lack of fit academically, socially, or culturally. While that can sting, it’s better than getting there only to discover that you are miserable!
Many denials, however, come down to factors outside of your control. Each college is attempting to build a class and must consider a variety of factors beyond just the fit of each student; this is positively correlated with the selectivity of the school. The lower the admission rate, the higher the probability that qualified applicants will be denied. It’s okay to be disappointed and frustrated, and you are welcome to come and talk about it. College Counseling can give you space to vent, answer questions you might have, and even help you brainstorm about alternatives. I am here to support you so don’t hesitate to stop in.
Deferred/Waitlisted
Depending on your interest in the school, a deferral can be a call to action! If you are no longer considering that school or are more interested in other schools on your list, follow the directions for declining below!
If the school is still among your top choices, College Counseling encourages you to discuss potential next steps based upon your specific situation. These might include communicating directly with the school, soliciting an additional letter of recommendation, completing supplementary essays, or submitting other new information.
Admitted
Declining
Notify the admissions office of your decision so that they can offer the spot to someone on their deferred or waitlist.
Enrolling
Accept the offer of admission and complete next steps for enrollment
Set it as “College I’m Attending” in Naviance.
Decline offers from all other colleges that you applied at (see above)
Considering
Make sure that you fully consider the financial investment associated with each college.
Your net cost.
Big financial aid offers can be appealing but may not actually outweigh the savings of a lower initial cost of attendance. Also pay attention to the type of aid you are being offered. Some offers include loans or work study, which should be considered separately from grants and scholarships.
Additional costs/savings.
Consider expenses not covered by tuition including transportation to & from school as well as earning potential if you are considering working while in school.
Potential Return on Investment.
Research potential earnings for the careers associated with your intended majors at each of the colleges. Consider opportunities for networking, experiential learning, or career services related to your field(s) of interest at each school.
Create a personal method to compare your offers of admission.
Here are a few suggestions from other students. Let us know what works for you!
Calculate: Devise a simple ranking system and evaluate each of your colleges on the specific factors most significant to you. (You can even weight the factors and give them multipliers!)
Create a Pro/Con lists for each college, discuss the findings and seek the wisdom of your parents.
Class of 2021,
Juniors and their parents are invited to a Rising Senior Night on
Thursday, February 27, 2020
from 6:00 – 7:00 pm at North Phoenix Preparatory. College Counseling will be equipping you with valuable information while giving your student another opportunity to utilize Naviance as one of their primary college tools. Your attendance is just one of the many ways that your family can partner with College Counseling in this exciting college journey!
The evening agenda will include:
- Generating a List of Colleges that your student is interested in
- Resume building instruction on their Naviance Student account
- A Getting to Know You Student survey
- Letter of Recommendation procedures
- SAT School Day Reminder - March 25th
- Sharing FREE SAT test prep resources
- Navigating to FREE Scholarship resource tools
Kathleen M. Miller | College Counselor
