Career Fair for Students with Learning Disabilities

Finding the ideal college fit is difficult for all students, but for students with learning disabilities there are additional factors that should be taken into consideration when evaluating colleges. This Wednesday, October 2nd, is the College Fair for Students with Learning Disabilities. This event is free and open to the public.  It will allow students and parents to meet with representatives from colleges in Ohio and around the country to compare the wide range of accommodations available at the different schools. The event will be held at Gahanna Lincoln High School in the cafeteria from 6:30 - 8:00pm. (Address is 140 South Hamilton Rd., Gahanna).

PSAT and PLAN Tests

Registration for the PSAT and PLAN tests begins this week.  Here is more information about these two important, upcoming tests.

PSAT Test Date: Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Location: WKHS Gym
Time: 7:00 (check-in) beginning promptly at 7:30am – 10:45am
Cost: $15 (checks payable to WKHS)

The PSAT is the practice test for the SAT. Juniors and interested underclassmen can register in the Counseling and Career Center by bringing in cash or a check made out to WKHS. This is an important practice test for the SAT and it is also the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship competition. Even if you took the test as a sophomore you should re-take the test as a Junior!

PLAN Test Date: Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Location: WKHS Gym
Time: 10:50am (check-in) beginning promptly at 11:15am – 3:00pm
Cost: $12.00 (cash or checks payable to WKHS)

The PLAN Test is the practice test for the ACT. This test intended for sophomores. (Freshman students can elect to take this test, but it is not an option for juniors!) The content of the PLAN test is closely tied to that of the ACT achievement test, which is used for college entrance and placement decisions. It covers the same subjects and gives you estimated ACT scores.

The PLAN test has many benefits. It can help you get started in thinking about and planning for life after high school. It will show you areas where you may want to seek extra help. The results can also be used to help focus your test preparation to improve your ACT scores. Additionally, one of the other valuable aspects is that the PLAN test includes a career component that helps identify career interests and possible career fields. For all of the students who have no idea what they might want to do some day this is one way to help come up with some ideas.

Both of these tests are only practice tests; therefore, scores will not appear on your transcript.  If you are planning to take both tests, please bring in two separate checks because they must go in different accounts.

Students can register for these tests in the WKHS Counseling and Career Center beginning on Thursday (October 3rd) through Friday, October 11th.

Wendy's High School Heisman

Seniors that are High School Student Athletes can apply for the Wendy's High School Heisman award. 

All applications received will be judged based upon academic achievements, athletic accomplishments, community-leadership and involvement in various extracurricular activities. Applications are available at http://www.wendysheisman.com/ and must be completed by October 2nd. 

I realize that a lot of you are still trying to get your head wrapped around starting your college applications, but remember, deadlines are real and some scholarships or awards (such as this one) have deadlines that will come before your college application deadlines. Manage your time effectively and watch all of your deadlines carefully if you want to make the most of all of the opportunities available. 

Pass/ Fail and Drop Deadline

Just a few reminders related to your classes...

- Next Monday (September 30th) is the last day for students to drop a class without having it appear on your transcript. Remember, for those of you who are athletes or compete in any co-curricular activities, this is only an option if you have more than the minimum number of courses required to remain eligible. (After dropping classes, students must still have at least 5 classes that are worth at least 1/2 a credit.)

- Monday is also the last day to be able to change a class from conventional grading to pass/ fail grading. If you are interested in this option, please start by making sure that pass/fail grading is a choice for the class and then stop by the counseling center to pick up a pass/ fail slip. (They are located on the shelves in the counseling center.)  After you have it signed by your parent return it to me for my signature.

These forms MUST be returned to the Counseling Center by the end of the day on Monday!

Concordance Tables

As a school counselor I receive questions about the ACT and SAT tests all the time - which test should I take, do I *have* to take a test, how many times should I take a test, what does my score mean, what if I didn't score as high as I think I should have and how do you figure out how the scores compare to one another... and quite honestly the list goes on and on.

Today, let's talk for a second about the score comparisons. A lot of seniors took both the ACT and SAT last spring and have received their scores and are now considering which test (if any) to take again. It's important to review the requirements for the schools you are considering and see what they are looking for and where you fall compared to their averages. Some students will want to repeat both tests, but most will elect to focus on the test they did "better" on the first time through and try to improve that score.

But how do you know which test you did "better" on? Well, the ACT and SAT actually test different information, but you can see what scores would be most comparable by using the concordance tables. These tables can help students (and colleges) compare scores for students across the different tests. I'll be honest - these tables can seem a little confusing at first, but if you read the information on the pages prior to the tables then you will understand them. Table 1 will let you compare your SAT score based on a 1600 scale with the ACT without writing. Most of you will have taken the ACT with writing (and if you didn't, you NEED to take it with writing in the future as many colleges are using the writing test) so you will use the data on Table 2 to get the writing score and then you will add that to the results from Table 1 to get an accurate overall score based upon the 2400 scale.

As I mentioned yesterday, try not to get stressed out about the college admissions tests... I know it can be frustrating, but remember it is only one piece to the puzzle that the colleges will be considering when evaluating students!

College Admissions Tests & Fair Test

I know that the college admissions tests can be stressful to students (and parents), but I hope you're not worried - you will do great.  

The next ACT test date is October 26^th.  If you plan on taking this test, the registration deadline is this Friday, September 27^th.

The next SAT date is October 5^th.  Unfortunately the deadline has already passed, but there is also an SAT test date on November 2^nd.  The registration deadline for the November test date is next Thursday, October 3^rd.

It is important to know that not every college requires strong test scores... in fact, there are many colleges that do not require test scores at all when evaluating applicants for admission.

The website Fair Test is the National Center for Fair and Open Testing. Their site features a list of colleges that are test score optional schools. This hopefully reminds you that any one aspect of your college application does not make or break you - there are always more options to explore until you find the college that is the best fit for you. So please, don't allow the college admissions tests give you nightmares!

Get Organized

The time to get organized is NOW! Yes, I realize that we are still at the beginning of the year, but trust me, it is better to start off organized and just maintain it rather than to let things get completely out of control and then work on cleaning everything up in order to find that *one* item that you need.

For some students, being organized comes easier than it does to others and the reality is that one system of staying organized doesn't always work for everyone else so you really need to think about what does or does not work for you. Sometimes the best way to figure out an organization strategy that will work for you is to stop and reflect back on what has NOT worked for you in the past. For example, if you are a person who always tries to keep things in binders, but then ends up with the little pocket areas in the front and the back of the binder stuffed to the breaking point then this system of organization really isn't working very well for you so it is probably time to try something different.

Stress is usually the outcome of not being organized. You forgot a homework assignment, can't find a paper that you need, or didn't realize that you were supposed to study for a test. By being organized you can help eliminate (or at least cut back a great deal on) stress. Let's be honest... you don't always like writing down all of your assignments in your planner, but there are so many other things going on in your day and such a wide variety of activities and events competing for your attention that it is hard to remember exactly which questions you were supposed to answer for homework for a particular class. Having one place where you write down the information that you are going to need to know and the deadlines are essential for good organization skills.

And, staying organized isn't just an important task when you are doing school work - this is also vital for your entire college application process and it will be important to you for the rest of your life.

As far as the college application process is concerned - most of you should be moving through the "getting organized" phase. Figure out and write down in one place all of the schools where you plan on applying. List out the other key pieces of information that you need to keep track of for that school - deadlines, recommendation letter needs, essays required, etc. Having one page with all of this information is not meant to stress you out - it is meant to be a way to help you look easily at all of the things you need to do and by when and then you will be able to break it down into more manageable pieces in order to meet your goals/ deadlines.

As always, feel free to come by and talk if you need some help with organization strategies.