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COLLEGE GUIDANCE NEWSLETTER
April 1, 2019
This issue of the Newsletter is another extensive one.
When you get to what may appear to be the end, you may see a small
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please be sure to click on “view the entire message” and keep reading!
FOR ALL UPPER SCHOOL STUDENTS AND PARENTS:
Recent National News Surrounding College Admissions
As with most people who have a career in any aspect of the College Admission process, conversations in the past few weeks have centered around the recent National news about the layers of impropriety that have, to a shocking extent, gone on behind the scenes, seemingly aligned with a cultural shift toward what has become the “business” of college admissions.

For those of us who are passionate about working with students to assist them in discovering who they are and helping them to find a college that will best allow them to achieve their individual goals, this shift has been especially disturbing as it is driven by motivations that are in direct opposition to what the college admission process should be about. 

The College Guidance program at Sacred Heart is one that centers around self-discovery and helping each student find the college that is the best fit for her as a unique individual; one that will allow her to continue to thrive in every regard and which will, thus, position her to move forward in life with a solid foundation for success. We work hard to show students that there are innumerable colleges out there that will support them in their achieving their goals. 

The article in the link below is an incredibly valuable one; it espouses a purposeful and meaningful approach to the college journey.  Part of the article refers to an educational system in America that does “a poor job of preparing young people to make decisions. There is no place in the curriculum where students learn how to articulate their values, weigh options and evaluate evidence.” 

Our students are incredibly blessed to be in an educational environment at Sacred Heart that belies this statement. They spend their time here being afforded a support system and a platform to explore, refine, and showcase their gifts, academic skills, and personal values. The College Guidance program approaches the college admission experience with an eye to upholding this valuable mission. This is an important time for all of us to take pause, and to gauge our approach to college admissions in light of the message that approach sends to the young women embarking on the journey. 
COLLEGE FAIRS/INFORMATION SESSIONS
Students can learn more about our university by attending a  Hopkins presentation  in their area. Sessions provide an overview of academic and student life opportunities at Hopkins, as well as our financial aid and application processes. Upcoming events are listed below; each link leads to the related registration form.
Boston University will be hosting a reception for high school sophomores and juniors and their families. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about BU and what makes an application strong.
All students who plan to attend should RSVP on our  website .
Tuesday, April 30, 2019                                  Registration: 6:30 p.m Presentation: 7:00p.m.
Rye Country Day School , Dunn Performing Arts Center 3 Grandview Avenue       
SENIORS:
Class of 2019

We congratulate and celebrate the Class of 2019 on their many college acceptances so far. We know that decisions have been received over the spring break and we are anxious to hear the news.
Please remember to share all your updates with Mrs. Gerrity and Mrs. Crane .

Now that we are at the end of the regular decision process, seniors may be presented with a variety of admissions decisions. An acceptance is, of course, the most favored news. For those students who receive a denial, a conditional acceptance or a waitlist offer, please be sure to meet with Mrs. Gerrity or Mrs. Crane to discuss the process. Brief descriptions of the different decision categories can be found in the College Guidance Handbook:

If you receive a Waitlist notification, you will be given the option to either remain on the waitlist, or decline and remove your application. If you wish to remain on the waitlist, respond immediately and meet with your counselor about how to proceed. Typically, after National Decision Day on May 1, when colleges know how many accepted applicants have chosen to attend their college, admissions offices will begin to complete their incoming class with waitlisted students who have expressed continued interest in enrolling. In general, the possibility of receiving an acceptance after being on a waitlist is slim. While counselors will certainly advocate for any student on the waitlist, there is typically limited movement on waitlists and we encourage students to explore other acceptances.
  
A Conditional Acceptance typically asks for additional requirements or conditions tied to the acceptance that must be met before the student would be offered full acceptance. For example, the student may need to provide final senior year grades or take a summer course in a specific subject area and achieve a certain required grade. Or, the student may be limited to enrolling full or part-time and passing the first semester with a required GPA.

During late March and April, colleges will host Accepted Student events on their campuses that are designed to give seniors and families the opportunity to visit the campus, meet fellow accepted students, talk with professors, academic advisors, and financial aid officers. For students and families discerning a final decision, these events are valuable and informative.
WAITLISTED.....?
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW FOR SOME SOUND ADVICE FROM COLLEGE ADMISSION REPRESENTATIVES:
SACRED HEART GREENWICH BEST-PRACTICE WAITLIST RECOMMENDATIONS :

  • Advise your College Counselor that you have been waitlisted.
  • Follow and EXECUTE the waitlist protocols ONLY for those colleges in which you still have interest/to which you would be committed.
  • Express your “continued interest” to your admissions rep.
  • Prepare to emotionally and financially attach yourself to the college to which you have been officially accepted and that you will most likely attend.
  • Attend an Accepted Students Event.
  • Place a deposit at a college to which you have been accepted on or before May 1, 2019.
  • DO NOT go hunting for new letters of recommendation!
  • DO NOT badger the admissions personnel!
JUNIORS:
Updates from Junior College Guidance
The College Guidance Department congratulates and thanks the parents and students of the class of 2020 for their timely and thorough completion of their College Guidance Questionnaires. If parents and guardians have not already done so, the Parent Questionnaire is still accessible online through the College Guidance portal on the Sacred Heart website.

Mrs. Crane and Mrs. Gerrity have begun very informative and productive meetings with parents of our juniors as they move into the early phases of the college process. Both Mrs. Crane and Mrs. Gerrity have published appointment calendars via SignUp Genius to facilitate meeting with your daughter’s respective college counselor. Invitations to make an appointment were delivered via parent email addresses on file on or about February 24th. If you have not received such an email, please contact either Mrs. Crane or Mrs. Gerrity for resolution.

The juniors have received instruction and have begun working on drafting Academic/Activity Resumes in college guidance classes. The juniors also received support and guidance with regards to the thoughtful selection of their course curriculums for senior year. Our class discussions also included the various aspects of the college interview process and how to make the most of a college campus visit. Students and parents are reminded that there is a wealth of supporting information in the College Guidance Handbook .

College Guidance will now focus attention on the Common Application Essay component of the process. The juniors attended a grade-level essay presentation in collaboration with the English Department faculty after their Ring Day festivities on Thursday, March 28 th .   Following this, three cycles of College Guidance classes will be targeting the drafting, editing and writing of the Common Application Essay. Additionally, the class of 2020 is encouraged to enroll in one of the three FREE , week-long essay writing workshops being hosted by the English Department faculty this summer to further support this aspect of the process. Details regarding the workshops are included in the flyer below. Our department is grateful for this very proactive effort and important support for the juniors. Taking advantage of this time and these resources now can greatly diffuse stress levels in the fall.

Also on the horizon, juniors will be creating Common Application accounts and beginning to complete the application while familiarizing themselves with the application for final completion in the fall. The juniors will also be tasked with engaging the letters of recommendation request process at Sacred Heart. Juniors will be receiving complete instruction regarding our internal protocols in the coming weeks. We respectively ask that juniors not begin asking for letters of recommendation until further notice .
ESSAY WRITING TIPS:
COLLEGE ADMISSION OFFICERS SHARE ESSAY-WRITING TIPS:
SOPHOMORE GUIDANCE PREVIEWS
ANOTHER REMINDER: Some students may want to consider taking a subject test in May or June, depending on their level of study. Possible tests to consider:
CHEMISTRY, WORLD HISTORY, MATH 2.
As indicated in the "SUBJECT TEST INFORMATION" link in the "STANDARDIZED TEST" section below, please see your specific course teacher for guidance.
AP EXAM AND REVIEW INFORMATION
There are many ways to prepare for AP exams outside of the preparation you do within the classroom at Sacred Heart.
  • You can choose to review from a book created for that purpose, such as: Princeton Review or Barron's
  • Or, the prep material found of the College Board website:Preparing for AP Exams
  • Or you could opt to take a review course offered in the area in which you live. There are many, such as this one:
"These new intensive six-hour courses will review curriculum and teach topic-by-topic simplified techniques for successfully answering exam type questions.  Our group tutoring courses are taught in classroom settings by New York State licensed teachers." 
All students enrolled in an AP course this year will take the College Board AP Exams in May. The link to the official AP Exam schedule appears below with valuable links to important information about the exams and free online test prep from the College Board. Spring sports, college visits, service work, vacations and the general rigors of a Sacred Heart student can all encroach on the valuable study hours warranted to prepare for these exams. It’s  never to early  to begin to prepare, get things organized or map out a study plan, as these exams will quickly be approaching. 
STANDARDIZED TESTING INFORMATION

******* College Guidance FAQs: *******

Remember to consult the College Guidance Handbook for in-depth details regarding the college admissions process. The handbook is accessible through the SHG website parent portal.