COLLEGE SEARCH CHECKLIST -- Student Name: ___________________________________
What Help Do You Need? Student Name_______________________________
My objective in college advising is to provide you and your parents with the necessary level of support and consultation so that you can:
What that necessary level of support is will vary from student to student and family to family. The accompanying sheets and checklists have been structured to allow (and force) students to develop a general plan and research options. But, of course, navigating one’s way through the process can sometimes require more direct consultation and assistance from someone who has helped many other students through the process. Below are options for spring semester. They do not represent the only support available (I’ll field questions any time), but they are how I am organizing my support for you at this stage.
Please help me tailor my support to your needs by selecting from the following “menu” of services. Consult with your parents before making your selection—it’s a joint request—and then sign below. I will create and distribute appointment schedules based on requests submitted by March 4th.
tentative senior year course selections; the application filing process including Common App, letters of reference, essays; whether to file early action or early decision applications; general scholarship strategies or specific scholarships you may be targeting (Flinn, Dorrance, Baird, ASU/UA/NAU merit scholarships, tribal scholarships); financial aid questions; advice regarding college visits; specific needs or questions about entrance exams; or any other questions or items of concern to your situation.
This option is probably most appropriate for students and parents who have a moderately complicated application process ahead of them, expect to be applying to a number of selective or out of state schools, have many questions to clear up, or simply just wish to be thorough and have more guidance through the process. Don’t feel like you need to be shy about choosing this option—if every junior picks the Full Chat, it’s fine with me.
Student Signature__________________________ Parent Signature_____________________________
Student Name______________________________________ COLLEGE SEARCH SUMMARY
Due March – Attach additional sheets as necessary
Estimated time to complete this questionnaire: 30 minutes – not counting time spent on searching
Check any and all answers that reflect your current thinking for each item below.
1. I could see myself…(check all that apply)
__ waiting to start college until after I’ve
worked or done other things for a while
__ going to a two-year/community college and
then working
__ going to a two-year/community college and
then transferring to a four-year college
__ going to a four-year college
__ going to graduate school after earning an undergraduate degree
__ joining some branch of the military service
2. The following members of my family went to college:
__ one parent
__ more than one parent
__ older sibling(s) (how many and where did they go to college? ________________)
3. I could see myself…(check all that apply)
__ staying in Flagstaff for college
__ going in-state
__ going out-of state
__ going out-of-state, but only if it’s just about as affordable as in-state
4. I have…
__ some idea of what my career choices might be
__ a pretty good idea of what my career choices might be
__ already narrowed my choice of careers down to one or two
__ done some researching online or elsewhere about careers
4a. List your top THREE most likely career choices, in order.
1.
2.
3.
5. Summarize and/or attach the results you got from MyRoad and/or AZCIS about possible career choice(s) below:
6. I have…
__ some idea of what my major will be in college
__ a pretty good idea of what my major will be in college
__ already narrowed my choice of majors down to one or two
__ done some researching online or elsewhere about majors
6a. List your top THREE likely college majors, in order.
1.
2.
3.
7. Summarize and/or attach the results you got from MyRoad and/or AZCIS about possible college majors below:
OVER à
8. I have…
__ no idea what colleges I will apply to
__ some idea of what colleges I will apply to
__ a pretty good idea of what colleges I will apply to
__ already made my list of colleges I will apply to
__ done some researching online or elsewhere about colleges
9. Summarize and/or attach the results from your College Board college search(es):
10. List any colleges you already think you will apply to. Circle any that you have visited.
11. Are there any schools (outside of AZ) on your target list which participate in the Western Undergraduate Exchange? If so, what did you find out upon contacting them about how to apply as a WUE student?
12. Regarding college costs, I feel…
__ I am going to be paying for college myself, without help from my family
__ like college will be too expensive for me/my family
__ confident I/my family will be able to pay for community college as a start
__ confident I/my family will be able to pay for a public college in Arizona
__ confident I/my family will be able to pay for a public college, including out of-state
__ confident I/my family will be able to pay for even a high-priced private college
13. What did you find from doing cost calculators/net price calculators for your target schools?
14. List any questions you have about any part of the whole college thing: (Remember that no question is too silly, too early, or too late to ask.)
- Please return this to Ms. Wilkinson by Friday, March 4th.
- If you and your parents determine that some of these items will truly not apply to you, you may skip them (except the first item requiring you to complete work on your Arizona ECAP on the AZCIS website).
- Get up-to-date through and including all of the items on the 9th-11th Grade Checklists within your AZCIS account at www.azcis.intocareers.com. Many items on the 11th grade list are just updates to items you’ve already set up. Email me if you need a refresher on your account username or need your password reset. Remember that the ECAP process is a State of Arizona requirement, so all of your green dots need to be solid.
- Set up a free collegeboard.com My Organizer account if you have never yet done so.
- Set up a My Road account with College Board if you have never yet done so. Use the passcode from your PSAT score report to create this account. Use this MyRoad account to:
- Complete a personality profile
- Explore possible careers
- Explore possible college majors
- Search for potential colleges using the search engine at College Board’s BigFuture site: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/csearch/
- If you are considering any state universities in the western US, investigate the Western Undergraduate Exchange program at http://wiche.edu/wue and see if your target schools participate in this tuition-reducing program.
- Look at https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search to think ahead and be aware of this resource for seeking out possible scholarships. Although a good idea, it’s not required that you complete a profile and run a search at this time. You should at least be aware of this tool.
- Work in conjunction with your parents to use the FAFSA4Caster at https://fafsa.ed.gov/ to determine if you may be eligible for federal student financial aid.
- Work in conjunction with your parents to use the net price calculators for your target schools to determine best estimate of actual costs, not just sticker prices. Many of the net price calculators include analysis of your potential eligibility for merit-based aid aside from strictly need-based aid, so do this even if you know you won’t qualify for need-based aid.
- Use all of this info to complete the College Search Summary sheet.
- Complete the reverse side of this sheet – the “What Help Do You Need?” part – in conjunction with your parents.
What Help Do You Need? Student Name_______________________________
My objective in college advising is to provide you and your parents with the necessary level of support and consultation so that you can:
- find the information you need in the time frame you need it
- be aware of all your options and make good comparisons and decisions between them
- ask the questions you need to ask to reduce confusion and be clear about all aspects of your post-high school plans
- feel comfortable that you are “on track” and won’t later feel like you missed out on options
What that necessary level of support is will vary from student to student and family to family. The accompanying sheets and checklists have been structured to allow (and force) students to develop a general plan and research options. But, of course, navigating one’s way through the process can sometimes require more direct consultation and assistance from someone who has helped many other students through the process. Below are options for spring semester. They do not represent the only support available (I’ll field questions any time), but they are how I am organizing my support for you at this stage.
Please help me tailor my support to your needs by selecting from the following “menu” of services. Consult with your parents before making your selection—it’s a joint request—and then sign below. I will create and distribute appointment schedules based on requests submitted by March 4th.
- Option 1 – An On-Track Review, which includes:
- A review of the student’s findings and responses to the accompanying sheets
- Responses to any questions student may submit with the sheets
- A credit check to monitor progress toward the NPA diploma and review remaining requirements
- Option 2 – A Sit-Down Check-Up, which includes:
- The items listed in the General Review above
- A brief appointment in late March, probably lasting up to 20 minutes, scheduled during the student’s study hall slot, to go over the items above in person to make sure any questions you have are answered, with more chance for follow-up questions and clear understanding. This appointment may be with or without the parent(s) in attendance, based on family preference, and can touch on any topic the student or parents wish to bring up.
- Option 3 – A Full Chat, which includes:
- The items listed in the General Review above
- A full period length appointment in March or April, scheduled during the student’s study hall slot, to go over the student’s progress in the process and any items on the various checklists
- Greater time to allow you opportunity to discuss additional topics including but not limited to:
tentative senior year course selections; the application filing process including Common App, letters of reference, essays; whether to file early action or early decision applications; general scholarship strategies or specific scholarships you may be targeting (Flinn, Dorrance, Baird, ASU/UA/NAU merit scholarships, tribal scholarships); financial aid questions; advice regarding college visits; specific needs or questions about entrance exams; or any other questions or items of concern to your situation.
This option is probably most appropriate for students and parents who have a moderately complicated application process ahead of them, expect to be applying to a number of selective or out of state schools, have many questions to clear up, or simply just wish to be thorough and have more guidance through the process. Don’t feel like you need to be shy about choosing this option—if every junior picks the Full Chat, it’s fine with me.
Student Signature__________________________ Parent Signature_____________________________
Student Name______________________________________ COLLEGE SEARCH SUMMARY
Due March – Attach additional sheets as necessary
Estimated time to complete this questionnaire: 30 minutes – not counting time spent on searching
Check any and all answers that reflect your current thinking for each item below.
1. I could see myself…(check all that apply)
__ waiting to start college until after I’ve
worked or done other things for a while
__ going to a two-year/community college and
then working
__ going to a two-year/community college and
then transferring to a four-year college
__ going to a four-year college
__ going to graduate school after earning an undergraduate degree
__ joining some branch of the military service
2. The following members of my family went to college:
__ one parent
__ more than one parent
__ older sibling(s) (how many and where did they go to college? ________________)
3. I could see myself…(check all that apply)
__ staying in Flagstaff for college
__ going in-state
__ going out-of state
__ going out-of-state, but only if it’s just about as affordable as in-state
4. I have…
__ some idea of what my career choices might be
__ a pretty good idea of what my career choices might be
__ already narrowed my choice of careers down to one or two
__ done some researching online or elsewhere about careers
4a. List your top THREE most likely career choices, in order.
1.
2.
3.
5. Summarize and/or attach the results you got from MyRoad and/or AZCIS about possible career choice(s) below:
6. I have…
__ some idea of what my major will be in college
__ a pretty good idea of what my major will be in college
__ already narrowed my choice of majors down to one or two
__ done some researching online or elsewhere about majors
6a. List your top THREE likely college majors, in order.
1.
2.
3.
7. Summarize and/or attach the results you got from MyRoad and/or AZCIS about possible college majors below:
OVER à
8. I have…
__ no idea what colleges I will apply to
__ some idea of what colleges I will apply to
__ a pretty good idea of what colleges I will apply to
__ already made my list of colleges I will apply to
__ done some researching online or elsewhere about colleges
9. Summarize and/or attach the results from your College Board college search(es):
10. List any colleges you already think you will apply to. Circle any that you have visited.
11. Are there any schools (outside of AZ) on your target list which participate in the Western Undergraduate Exchange? If so, what did you find out upon contacting them about how to apply as a WUE student?
12. Regarding college costs, I feel…
__ I am going to be paying for college myself, without help from my family
__ like college will be too expensive for me/my family
__ confident I/my family will be able to pay for community college as a start
__ confident I/my family will be able to pay for a public college in Arizona
__ confident I/my family will be able to pay for a public college, including out of-state
__ confident I/my family will be able to pay for even a high-priced private college
13. What did you find from doing cost calculators/net price calculators for your target schools?
14. List any questions you have about any part of the whole college thing: (Remember that no question is too silly, too early, or too late to ask.)