Class of 2019 College Counseling Newsletter: October

Class of 2019 Newsletter
October 2018

October will be a busy, fun-filled month. Fall sports teams will be making their push for the playoffs, the first academic quarter will come to a close, and who could forget Halloween. At the end of all of the festivity and fun is that looming deadline: November 1st. By the end of this month, most seniors will have submitted at least one college application. Between then and now there will be a lot of work to do, but trust that the college counseling office is here to support, advise, encourage, and cheer you on along the way.

October Checklist

Before the end of the month, please attend to the following:

Confirm the accuracy of your "Colleges I'm Applying To" list in Naviance; be sure to correctly indicate your "Application Type" for each school (i.e. ED, EA, Priority, Regular)
Request transcripts in Naviance at least one month in advance of application deadlines; instructions are provided here
Share drafts and revisions of your Common App, Coalition, and supplemental essays with your counselor
Complete your applications (our helpful Common App User Guide will answer many of your questions), and remember that your counselor is happy to proof your applications before you submit them
Send your official SAT and/or ACT scores directly to colleges from the College Board and/or ACT website at least two weeks in advance of application deadlines

Monthly Focus

Senior Parent Coffee

Parents of the Class of 2019 are warmly invited to a parent coffee on October 26 from 7:30-9:30 a.m. The coffee will take place in the Gilman Room and will be an great opportunity to come together for fellowship, ask questions about the college process, and hear from Dr. John Mojzisek about parenting through the senior year.

HBCU Panel

On Monday, November 5, from 7:00-8:30 p.m., Garrison Forest School is hosting a panel on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This event is open to all AIMS Upper School parents and students and will feature alums, students, and admission representatives from various HBCU. To register, please email Ms. Vivian Sawyer (please also let her know if you will need transportation between Gilman and Garrison Forest).

Essays

By now you should have begun sharing essay drafts with your college counselor. We want to see every piece of writing before it goes out to colleges - both your main essay and any supplemental essays. The earlier you get these to us, the more time we have to give you feedback and work through subsequent drafts. For help writing and drafting your essays, please see Gilman's College Essay Guidebook.

Visiting Admission Representatives and College Fairs

In addition to the nearly 200 colleges that will visit Gilman at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. daily, the CCO is hosting three college fairs that will welcome larger groups of college admission representatives. These fairs will be held in the Lumen Center dining hall on October 3 (2:45-3:30 p.m.), October 11 (2:30-3:30 p.m.) and October 16 (2:30-3:30 p.m.). A full schedule of college visits is on the CCO website.

Standardized Test Score Reports

Please be aware that most colleges will expect an official score report from the College Board and/or ACT. An Important Note: Gilman does not and cannot send official standardized test scores. You will need to login to these sites to request that your scores be sent to the colleges you are applying to. Instructions for sending SAT scores to colleges and instructions for sending ACT scores to colleges can be found at the links provided. Plan to send scores in early October, at least two weeks prior to application deadlines. We will likewise review this procedure during fall Form Meetings.

Wednesday 10/10

October 10 is PSAT day for sophomores and juniors. Seniors have the option of visiting a college that day or coming into school to work on their essays and filling out the Common App. Please take advantage of this day to attend to pressing college admission priorities.

A Note on Application Materials

Please log into Naviance and make sure your list of "Colleges I'm Applying To" is accurate, both for the correct application type (EA, ED, etc.) and the actual list of schools. Likewise, in Naviance please be sure to request a transcript for each to school to which plan to apply; instructions for requesting a transcript are provided here. If you have any questions about these important steps, please see your college counselor.

The CCO is responsible for sending your transcript, college counselor recommendation, teacher recommendations, secondary school report, and the Gilman School profile. Once you submit your application(s), you will probably receive information to log in to an online portal to track your status. Please remember that it takes colleges some time -- sometimes weeks -- to process materials. We double and triple check that all materials are sent by the deadline, so please be patient if something is not shown as "received" right on or near the deadline; it almost certainly means the college is still processing documents. If you receive notification that something is missing and are concerned, feel free to reach out to Ms. Sawyer or your college counselor.

On that note, colleges will communicate with you via the email address you listed on your application. Please make sure to check that email account regularly so that you don't miss important notifications.

Counselor Spotlight

Ms. Follensbee recently returned from the 74th National Association for College Admission Counseling conference in Salt Lake City. At the conference, Ms. Follensbee attended sessions pertaining to trends in college admission and connected with college admission officers from a wide range of colleges and universities. Ms. Follensbee also had the opportunity to visit the University of Utah. Ms. Follensbee also had the chance to attended a reception in the Inner Harbor with staff, students, and alums from Washington College where she learned more about their outstanding Center for Environment and Society. The following week, she attended a breakfast hosted by Dickinson College and heard about new initiatives on campus.