To get some firsthand ideas about colleges, you may want to attend the upcoming National College Fair in Miami:

Fair Hours:

Sunday, February 19, 2012

12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Location:

Miami Airport Convention Center at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel

711 NW 72nd Avenue

Miami, FL 33126

305/261-3800

At the bottom of my email is a list of colleges that will be there.

This is also a great time to start planning some college visits for Spring Break. Many colleges are open during your vacation, which will give you an opportunity to see a college in action without missing any school. If you would like to learn how to use your college visits to fine-tune your college list and also help you stand out later on in the application process, then please call for an appointment with Judi Robinovitz, Certified Educational Planner: 561-241-1610.

Colleges in Attendance at the Miami College Fair:

Need More General Information about the College Fair?

E-mail collegefairs@nacacnet.org or infor@nacacnet.org call: (703) 836-2222 ext 125.

We just received this update from The Florida DOE about Florida Bright Futures, which was announced earlier in the year, but just reiterated:

2011-12 Awardees

Students are now required to submit a complete, error-free FAFSA for Bright Futures, Florida

Resident Access Grant, and Access to Better Learning and Education Grant initial and renewal

eligibility any time prior to disbursement. No FAFSA = No $

2011-12 High School Graduates

Increase in community service requirement (and hours increase for Florida Academic

Scholars) for all three Bright Futures award levels. Bright Futures Florida Academic Scholars

(FAS), Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS), and Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars (GSV)

during the 2011-12 academic year, and thereafter, must complete:

· FAS – 100 hours

· FMS – 75 hours

· GSV – 30 hours

A pilot program was created at the University of Florida to provide for a Bright Futures cohort of

initial students whose program funding will be limited to spring and summer on-campus classes

beginning with the 2012-13 academic year.

Well, first of all, that does not mean you’ve been summarily rejected. For students who apply Early Decision or Early Action, deferral is a distinct possibility. What deferral means is that the school you’ve applied to wants to wait to compare you to the rest of the applicants. Your initial application didn’t quite meet the admission standard for positive consideration in the first round.

There’s still a chance, though! And you may get thrown into a period of anxiety as your fate hangs in the balance over the course of weeks or months.

To improve you state of mind and your chances, consider these steps:

1. Don’t push the panic button. If you weren’t rejected out of hand, then there was something about your application that made a positive impression.
2. Follow up: Call the admissions office, ask for the counselor who signed your deferral letter, and ask why you were deferred. Does the counselor have suggestions about how to turn your deferral into an acceptance? Making such a call lets the admission counselor know just how serious you are. But if your letter instructs you not to call, then don’t.
3. Got better test scores to provide to the school? Send them!
4. Forward your midyear grades as soon as possible. (If you have let your grades slip, don’t bother….)
5. Write a letter to the admission counselor who signed your deferral letter. Express your unflagging desire to attend, and why you believe the school would be a great match. No negatives, no whining. Let the counselor know about any new accomplishments not mentioned in your original application, such as activities, awards, and leadership positions.
6. Send another strong, relevant, recommendation from a senior-year teacher that anecdotally proclaims your qualities that make you an ideal match. Be sure the school will accept such an additional piece of information. And be certain that this letter will be outstanding.
7. Take a breath and relax. This may be an opportunity to re-think your choices; what you thought was going to be the perfect school may not be. Always think positively, which means this: be prepared to choose one of the other great colleges to which you have also applied and to which you will be accepted!

Your student with learning challenges should go about selecting and applying to colleges in the same way as any student would. What’s most important though, is your research into how well the school can accommodate your student’s particular learning needs and learning style.

Every year, an increasing number of new freshmen arrive on campus requiring support services for their learning disabilities. Colleges have matched the demand by creating tutoring centers, learning labs, academic support services, etc., of varying sizes and quality. So it’s important to match your student’s learning needs to a particular college’s services.

First things first: What are those specific needs?

You probably have experience with individualized education plans. You may have a psycho-educational evaluation. These documents often qualify the learning issues in a reasonably concrete fashion. They should prompt you to ask the right questions of admissions personnel and LD/ADHD staff whom you contact before applying.

Sort out these important data before you call a college:

• How does my student’s disability affect how he or she learns?
• What are my student’s academic strengths?
• Which particular learning strategies work best for my student?
• What accommodations and services does my student need (e.g., extended time, distraction-free testing, books on tape, note-taker, time off between classes, tutoring, study & organization skills, etc.)
• Is my student assertive enough to seek out these services, or would my student be better served by a more comprehensive and pro-active support program?

With answers to these questions in hand, you’re off to the races: it’s time to develop your “long list” of potential schools that you’d like to consider. Over time, as you contact individual school admissions offices and learning centers, you’ll be able to narrow down the choices to your “short list.” Ultimately, your selection of schools to which your student will apply will depend on the mix of programs, procedures, and facilities that you’re specifically looking for.

As much as possible, you should visit campuses on your short list, and speak to a professional as well as to students in the learning-support area. Students’ relatively unfiltered opinions can be just as helpful as a presentation made by a professional. Be sure to ask the students for at least one example each of a strength and a weakness in the school’s current programs for learning-challenged students.

A History of Success

Impress upon your student that there are wonderful programs run by caring individuals across many college campuses. Provide encouragement and support to your student. Schools cannot deny admission to a learning-disabled student if he or she fits the admission profile, including grade point average, extracurricular activities, and test scores. In some cases –especially at those schools with well-developed, comprehensive programs designed to accommodate large numbers of students with challenges – schools will always consider students who need accommodations. While no student is required on his or her application to tell a school about a disability, most applications do provide an opportunity for the student to explain how he or she has dealt with and overcome challenges.

Do your research, and know that at many schools there are extensive services available that will assist a student in fulfilling dreams of a productive, satisfying future.

Consider scheduling a consultation with our founder, Judi Robinovitz, a Certified Educational Planner with 30+ years of experience in college planning. Some of you may know that her insights into learning disabilities and ADHD are a result of the guidance that she provided to her son, Jason, through his elementary, middle, and high school years, and, ultimately, his college and law-school planning. Jason, who was diagnosed at a young age with dyslexia and ADHD, has successfully graduated from college as well as a top-tier law school – and passed the Florida Bar on his first attempt. After five years of practicing law, Jason joined in the family business as director of our learning centers and schools in Broward County and as company CEO.

Now’s the Time, Juniors! TPS Time (test prep steps)!

Hear that clock ticking? That’s the sound of the college admissions timepiece. You’re now just ten months away from wrapping up your applications and submitting your best test score(s).

With your PSAT results in hand, it’s time for you to begin serious test prep.

For the remainder of this academic year, there are FOUR more SAT test dates and THREE more ACT test dates. At Score At The Top we’ve got the test strategies that you need to use on your next SAT and/or ACT. Call the Director of the Score At The Top Learning Center nearest you to plan your next TPS.

We’re ready to help!

The 2012-13 Initial Student Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) is now available online. The Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) provides the FFAA to students seeking state scholarship and grant awards for the 2012-13 academic year. More information is available on OSFA’s website: www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org.

All students graduating high school in 2012 should apply for state-funded programs using the 2012-13 application. This single application is utilized to evaluate the student for all of the programs listed below:

· Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program (Deadline: by high school graduation date)

· José Martí Scholarship Challenge Grant (Deadline: April 1)

· Rosewood Family Scholarship Program (Deadline: April 1)

· Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans and Service members (Deadline: April 1)

A very significant number of students at all academic levels suffer from debilitating test anxiety before an exam. Such test takers perform more poorly than their knowledge would suggest. One study proposes that well over a third of students who take important tests suffer consequence from pre-test stress.

What experts recommend—and what we’ve been telling test prep students to do before their SAT and ACT tests—is to spend five to ten minutes writing down their thoughts about anxiety-filled test images and expectations. Analysis of student test-taking groups containing both students who write about their concerns and worries, and students who do not write anything before the test, demonstrate that the anxious writers perform better than the non-writers. Go figure. Then go write. Go right!

In 1963, I carefully loaded a printed application from Oberlin College into my pale blue-green Olivetti portable typewriter, and ever so began to fill in each “field” with my slow hunt-and-peck fingers. Bottles of smelly correction fluid later, I slipped the fateful envelope into the corner mailbox and hoped for the best. It was my school headmaster who kept track of letters of recommendations, transcripts, the mysterious SAT scores, etc., and transmitted them to Ohio—and to the several other schools I applied to scattered across the landscape. Nothing kept the postmen from their appointed rounds, so everything arrived as required. What a difference today, huh?

Electrons for everything! Seniors applying to college have to send all the same stuff, but most of it electronically: applications, official transcripts, official score reports (how many scores? – depends on the college), resume, recommendations, even YouTube links and eDocs. Is it easier, or is it more confusing?

There are resources to ease the process today. Here are some:

College applications submission

• Common Application: With 456 members, the Common Application is the dominant electronic site for submitting college applications. You fill out one application and submit it to any of the participating schools. Several state schools also participate (most state university systems have their own “common” application—see below), including University of Connecticut, University of Delaware, U Mass Amherst, University of Michigan, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Rhode Island, and University of Virginia.
• Universal College Application: The Universal College Application serves 59 schools. The one application serves all the listed schools.
• State and school-specific electronic applications: Many large state schools along with Georgetown and MIT have their own applications on their websites. Universities like Rutgers and University of Wisconsin also allow students to upload a transcript, saving the high school postage and time. Be sure to track the fact that it has been sent! No application is considered without it! On the Rutgers site it is called SRAR or Self Reported Academic Record, separate from the application form.
• Submitting your transcripts: Changes are coming for this item! More high schools are using eDocs through Naviance to send the transcripts electronically. However, the majority of schools still make a student fill out a paper form to request that transcripts be sent to such-and-such a college via traditional mail. Find out from your guidance department. Don’t assume anything.

Official Test Scores:

Request that these test scores be sent to the schools you apply to—before the application deadline. Without these scores, schools that require scores will not consider your application, Use www.collegeboard.com and/or to www.Act.org to complete this task. Note that some colleges, like Columbia University, request BOTH SAT AND ACT scores (Yikes!).

What to Watch Out for:

Don’t change the way you sign your name. When you register for the ACT or SAT, use the same name and e-mail for all related application materials. And make sure the name you use matches the name on your high school transcript.

“The biggest problem is that various pieces can get lost and the easiest way to avoid mistakes is to use the same name and e-mail on everything. So if your legal name is Jonathan Brett Silver, but your nickname is JB, make sure to use Jonathan Brett on anything related to college.” Said J. Scott Myers from Susquehanna University.

Key pieces of identity are

1. Legal name (does not include nicknames)
2. Email

When the Speed of Light is Slow

Electrons may move quickly, but it takes a human being to receive, sort and read. Applications are processed and from then “input” into the college’s proprietary system.

1. Every school uses a different system.
2. “Some colleges receive testing information by mail and then enter scores into the student’s file. Others receive test scores electronically and automatically integrate them into their system,” according to Nancy Rehling, a Director from ACT.

Don’t Assume! Follow up!
Once you submit your application, most schools will send you a unique school ID and login information to check your application status through an online admissions portal. “Do this immediately and keep track of what pieces are missing,” advises Deryn Pomeroy from Syracuse University.

1. Assume 2-4 weeks for application processing – so you’ll need patiently await a college matching up the various pieces of your application. The closer to the deadline that you actually submit your application, the longer this will take. The floodgates will be wide open to thousands of students applying to beat the clock.
2. If you do not get the green light within two weeks of submission, follow up by making a phone call to the admissions office (you, not your parents) to be sure all the pieces are in place.

We’ve come a long way since the Ice age and my application to Oberlin College. We shouldn’t run out of electricity any time soon, so get used to the in’s and out’s of the electronic application world.

Don’t blow off the PSAT because the scores are not reported to college. Rather, the scores will serve as the foundation for much of what you’ll do to get ready for college admissions!

Here’s what’s important:

As a prelim to the SAT, a test created by the same testing service, the PSAT provides terrific practice for the serious college entrance test, the SAT.  It contains the same three subjects as the SAT: critical reading, math, and writing – although there’s no written essay on this shorter test.  Question formats are the same as a student will encounter on the SAT, and although the test is shorter in duration than the SAT, the PSAT still provides a student with a thrilling dose of multi-hour testing! Get ready with the PSAT, because the SAT is 90 (ninety) minutes longer!

PSAT results are a reasonable indicator of how a student may perform on the SAT.

Results in hand, a student can review those areas of demonstrated weakness in an effort to improve the score. The results, available through school guidance counselors in early December, provide priceless help for tutors who can provide focused assistance in preparing for the SAT. The three scores – one each for Reading, Math and Writing – represent telling markers, signs and signals about how a student will perform on the SAT. Equally important, the PSAT score will help with college planning, since the SAT (or ACT) is the second most important factor of college admissions.

The PSAT is also the junior-year qualifying exam for the highly prestigious recognition National Merit Scholarship Program. Each state has a cutoff score above which a student becomes a semi-finalist, added to the pool for next round consideration. In Florida, the cutoff score was about 213 (out of 240) in recent years.

Through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), various sponsor organizations provide scholarship monies to high-scoring students, even if a student doesn’t achieve the top title of National Merit Scholar.  Approximately 440 independent sponsors, like corporations and businesses, company foundations, professional associations, and colleges and universities, add to NMSC’s own funds in providing scholarship to high-scoring students.

High scoring African American high school students become eligible to participate in the National Achievement Scholarship Program as well as in the National Merit Scholarship Program.

The test results delivered in December will provide statistics about how the test-taker compares with students nationally—that could provide a boost of self-confidence, a a serious reality check.

Best of luck on the PSAT this month!

Let’s suppose that you were selling your car or your home, and were looking for sincere buyers. You don’t want the tire kicker, do you? Someone serious about a purchase is the very person you’d like to see come down the path to your door. Colleges are similar when it comes to the students who apply.

By visiting schools, or attending regional information sessions, or participating in college nights at school when college representatives come to meet and greet potential applicants, a student may literally leave a calling card, or at least a name on a list that makes its way to the admissions office. Details accumulate in the application dossier. Did Sally or Sam go that extra step to make their choice of school known to admissions?

Colleges refer to this realm of the admissions process as “demonstrated interest” on the part of students, the initiative students demonstrate. Along with visiting the campus for an information session and campus tour, try to observe a class, participate in an interview if offered, send a thank-you note, e-mail or call your regional admissions representative to ask questions, and mail an update of your grades and achievements before the end of first semester senior year.

Among more selective private schools, demonstrated interest has become a subtle but important factor that allows admissions departments to more accurately work with all the thousands of applications they receive. Interest has become an enrollment predictor: students who demonstrate their interest in a college are more likely to be admitted.

Universities also report a high correlation between demonstrated interest and students who do well in their educational communities and keep campus morale high. So, the colleges are singing this song: if we’re your choice, show us in as many ways as you can.

Have you visited college websites recently? They grow more informative by the month. You can even converse with admissions personnel! You’ll also learn where regional information sessions are being held (if you live in a metro area), and whether alumni/alumnae interviews are available.

Everything you do to get in to a school makes its way to that dossier, the admissions file containing your high school life and times. Yes, your transcript and test scores are still highest on the list – with your extracurricular commitments and essays following closely behind. But with increased population – and, thus, increased competition – you need every edge you can get. Put on your angel wings– fly high to demonstrate your interest. Because the devil is often in the details.