Important College Application Reminders
- Visit Naviance (https://student.naviance.com/kennetths) to view upcoming college visits to the KHS Counseling Office. Update your “Colleges I’m Thinking About” list on Naviance to receive email notifications of college visits!
- Instructions for college applications can be found on the admissions page of the college’s website.
- Transcript release forms can be found in the KHS Counseling Office or on the KHS Counseling Schoology course. You only need to fill out ONE release form per year, but you MUST do so in order to have records sent. Send the completed form to Ms. Danska (adanska@kcsd.org).
- After you complete/submit the transcript release form, fill out a college application submission form for EACH college that you apply to. Filling out this form triggers the preparation and sending of KHS documents. Please allow at least 15 days for processing. The link for this electronic form can be found on the Counseling Schoology course.
- If a counselor letter of recommendation is required, you must indicate so on the college application submission form and turn in a STUDENT BRAG SHEET (can be found in the KHS Counseling Office) at the same time you submit your submission form.
- If teacher letters of recommendation are required, you must speak directly to your teacher to ask them to write a letter. Next, you must submit the college application submission form for the colleges that require teacher letters. After submission, you will be able to request teacher letters electronically through Naviance.
- You must send your SAT/ACT scores directly from the College Board or ACT website. You will log in with your College Board or ACT account.
- KHS College Application Tips
- Includes helpful directions for submitting college application materials to the KHS Counseling Office, including directions for requesting teacher letters of recommendation in Naviance.
COLLEGE SEARCH & PLANNING RESOURCES
Naviance is a comprehensive web-based guidance suite used by the Kennett High School counseling department. It is accessible free of charge to Kennett High School students and their parents. Features of this program include personality and career inventories, college exploration and planning tools, a database or local scholarships, and space to record and store one’s accomplishments and activities. Students and parents can log on to Naviance at https://student.naviance.com/kennetths. Any student or parent who does not know their user name and/or password should contact the counseling office.
Big Future by College Board provides a comprehensive college search engine by the folks who bring you the SAT. You can use this tool to search for colleges based on location, major, size, cost, diversity, activites, academic credit and other criteria. Check it out at https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search .
Kiplinger Magazine’s Best College Values ranks colleges on the basis of affordability and academic excellence. Rankings are broken down by public, private, and liberal arts colleges and universities. http://www.kiplinger.com/reports/best-college-values/
Cappex provides resources to find colleges and evaluate a student’s chances of being accepted at particulars schools. You can also search and apply for scholarships using this site. http://www.cappex.com/index.j
Quest Bridge. This site helps outstanding low-income high school seniors gain admission to and win scholarships at some of the most select colleges and universities in the country. http://www.questbridge.org .
College Board Online– This site provides information about the SAT tests and allows you to register for the test online with a credit card. The site also serves as the portal to a wealth of other useful tools, including an excellent college search engine and information about financial aid. Students need to establish an account with a username and password to access all available services at http://www.collegeboard.com.
MyRoad is a personalized exploration tool for exploring colleges, majors and careers. Students can utilize the MyPlan program to record, track, and manage personal information such as courses taken, jobs held, and activities participated in. Students can also take a personality assessment and track their interests and goals. Students who took the PSAT can use this program free of charge. To set up personal accounts students should go to http://www.myroad.com, and use the personal code provided to them on their PSAT score reports.
U.S. News Online– This site has an excellent college search engine but there is a fee for the premium level service. It provides a ranking of colleges and programs. It helps you to compare colleges and apply online. It also provides a forum in which you can correspond with admissions experts. http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com
CollegeNET– This site provides a search engine to help students to find the ideal college. There is also a feature to help find scholarships and other sources of financial aid. http://www.collegenet.com
College View– This site has profiles of over 3,500 colleges and universities with virtual tours of over 200 schools. It also offers career-planning tool. http://www.collegeview.com
Kaplan Online– This site provides information on standardized test preparation courses with links to over 300 colleges and universities and related services. http://www.kaplan.com
Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education– Links to the websites for the state owned universities in Pennsylvania. This site allows students to apply online to multiple universities in the state system at one time. http://www.passhe.edu/Pages/map.aspx
Peterson’s Education Center– Valuable resources on schools K-12 through graduate study. Includes a good college search engine. http://www.petersons.com
Princeton Review Online– Provides advice about applying for college and jobs, visiting a college, and surviving once you get there. There is also a career page with tips on interviewing, developing a resume, and searching for a job. http://www.princetonreview.com
Online COMMON APPLICATION– Online application form for all colleges and universities that accept the COMMON APPLICATION. http://www.commonapp.org
Kiplinger’s Best Values in Colleges & Universities- Provides rankings of public and private universities based on factors such as cost, selectivity, financial aid, retention rates, faculty/student ratios, & admissions rates. http://www.kiplinger.com/money/collegevalues /
eduPass- The Smart Student’s Guide to Studying in the USA- Provides excellent resources for helping students who are not US citizens that want to attend college here. The all important topic of funding an American education for non-citizens is given special attention. http://www.edupass.org/
Dome SAT Review– Provides free SAT preparation, including study guides, practice quizzes, and practice tests http://www.domesatreview.com/ .
FINANCIAL AID RESOURCES
Free Application for Federal Student Aid- Online version of the FAFSA form. Online submission of the FAFSA guarantees quicker processing. After completing the form online you can get a preliminary estimate of your family’s contribution to college expenses. Student and parent must establish a PIN prior to submitting the form. PINs can be established prior to completing the form. http://www.fafsa.ed.go
FAFSA4Caster provides tools to help families get an early estimate of their eligibility for federal student aid. Families can then transfer information that they enter directley to the FAFSA once they are ready to apply for aid. http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/F4CApp/index/index.jsf
Paying for College– New in 2012, this interactive tool, provided by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, helps students and parents compare the expenses and possible future debt burdens of up to three colleges at a time. This tool, as of the Spring of 2012, was still in Beta form. http://www.consumerfinance.gov/payingforcollege/costcomparison/ .
Latino College Dollars is a search engine designed to help Latino students search for scholarship opportunities. http://www.latinocollegedollars.org/directory.htm
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA)- Provides basic and in-depth financial aid advice for parents and students from the leading association of college financial aid officers. http://www.nasfaa.org/
Financial Aid Information– A comprehensive and independent guide to student financial aid sources and services. Of particular interest are the calculator functions that can help you to estimate your expected family contributions to education costs. http://www.finaid.org
U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education– A guide to federal grants, loans, and work-study programs.
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/index.jsp
Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEA)- Provides tools for planning for college as well as information about PA state grants, special programs, loan forgiveness, work-study programs, and educational loans. http://www.pheaa.org
FastWeb.COM– This site provides an excellent search engine that enables students to search a massive database for scholarships that match their criteria. http://www.fastweb.com
Scholarships.com- Excellent source to search for scholarships. http://www.scholarship.com
Scholarship Junkies is a great website for tips on how to search for, apply to, and win scholarships. Tips on how to maximize your scholarship essays are especially good. http://scholarshipjunkies.com/
NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association– Provides information about student responsibilities for registering with the NCAA clearinghouse. Registration is required to be eligible to obtain eligibility for division I, division IAA, or division II college athletics. There is a link to the Domestic Student Release form that must be completed for registration. http://www.ncaaclearinghouse.net/ncaa/NCAA/student/index_student.html