Seniors. College acceptance letters are still arriving. Most will arrive by the end of March or beginning of April. Read the instructions that come with these e-mails/letters carefully and keep a file and calendar of deadlines. As you review your acceptances, consider the Financial Aid Award Package, which will be sent in April. Consult the financial aid officer at the college of choice if you have questions or special circumstances regarding your ability to pay. These officials are in a position to consider, verify, and help you with special needs.
College Acceptance Notifications: Be sure to e-mail or bring in a copy of your college acceptance notifications to Mrs. Green when they arrive. You will be acknowledged at the monthly All School Assembly and the information will be posted on the graduation program. College acceptance cannot be officially acknowledged by St. Francis, however, unless it is verified by a document issued by the college. A forwarded copy of the acceptance notice to the student is acceptable, so let Mrs. Green know!
Cabrillo Bound Students: The group appointment for the Cabrillo placement exam is March 9, 2015 at 9 a.m. on the Watsonville campus. Other arrangements can be made by appointment with Cabrillo assessment (number on website). Be sure to take a copy of your completed online Orientation Certificate with you. Parking is often difficult in the area, so carpooling is advised. Exam results will be given after the test has been completed. Students should make an appointment after the exam with Mrs. Green to begin creating your schedule of classes and mandatory four-year plan.
College Placement Tests: The CSUs are sending information to CSU students about their English and Math placement tests (ELM/EPT). They will be given on a Saturday in March, April, or May. Students must register, as instructed, for any CSU that offers the exam--scores will be forwarded where they are needed. Our closest CSU is CSU Monterey Bay. You may be exempt:
If you scored 550 or above on the mathematics portion of the SAT Reasoning Test, 550 or above on a College Board SAT Subject Test in Mathematics (Level 1 or Level 2), 23 or above on the ACT math test, or 3 or above on an AP mathematics test (Calculus AB, Calculus BC, or Statistics), you are exempt from the ELM examination.
A score of 500 or above on the critical reading section of the College Board SAT® Reasoning Test or A score of 22 or above on the ACT® English Test, or A score of 3 or above on either the Language and Composition or Composition and Literature
examination of the College Board Advanced Placement (AP®) Program
To register for a required test go to https://ept-elm.ets.org/CSU/
Scholarship information and deadlines are posted on the Counseling portion of the St. Francis website and announced as they come in during morning announcements. Scholarship information is also being sent via “Sharks” e-mail weekly, so check school e-mail often. Seniors should be checking-in with Mrs. Green regularly to obtain new scholarship information.
Advanced Placements Examinations in May, 2015: AP exam money is due by Friday, March 13th. Checks should be payable to St. Francis and the name of the exam(s) placed on the bottom of the check. College Board has set the price at $91.00 per/exam this year.
Juniors (and their parents) are strongly encouraged to make an individual appointment with Mrs. Green, if you haven’t already done so, to discuss college admissions process, summer school considerations, and other pre-college admission needs. If you haven’t begun the college search process, NOW is the time to begin in earnest. There are many great search engines which offer a variety of ways to begin and pursue your college search, including a personality inventory, career inventory, and a “Major” finder program that will help match colleges to your personalized profile. Use your “Naviance” account to begin. If you are planning a vacation this summer, be sure to check out the colleges in that area and keep a file on your impressions, the college admissions policies, and other pertinent factors.
Juniors also need to remember that standardized test deadlines are approaching.
Go to www.collegeboard.org or www.actstudent.org to register.
Test date Test Reg. Deadline Late Fee Deadline
April 18, 2015 ACT March 13, 2015 March 14-27, 2015
June 13, 2015 ACT May 8, 2015 May 9-22, 2015
*May 2, 2015 SAT April 6, 2015 (offered on St Francis campus)
June 5, 2015 SAT May 8, 2015
NOTE: Juniors who took a PSAT exam in October have created their username and password for the Collegeboard SAT registration. Do not create a new account or there will be difficulty in retrieving and send scores. Use the password/user name “hints” to retrieve forgotten data.