Junior Parent Night

Class of 2025

March 25, 2024

Finish Strong, Start Strong!

1. Do your best academically.
2. Check your webadvisor academic evaluation to know where you stand for your degree, Mr. Pait can help you with this.
3. Build your resume with meaningful activities this summer.
4. Plan for Senior year and beyond.

Do Your Best Academically

• 28 credits are needed to graduate high school. Most seniors will still need English 4 (or college equivalent), High School American History and EPF to complete required classes, and Engineers will also need Physics.
• College courses will count as electives toward those 28 credits
• Junior year grades are the last grades you will submit for college admission scholarships, etc. Finish strong!

What you need for a High School Diploma

Checklist for Rising Seniors

• College essays
• Test prep
• Build your student resume
• Letters of recommendation decisions
• Build your experiences
• Job shadowing
• Work on your college search
• Show interest
• Social media
• Apply for scholarships

Military Bound Students

• Begin talking to our Military Recruiters
• Prepare and take the ASVAB
• Contact: Laura Parnell (SCHS)
• lparnell@caldwellschools.com

Career Bound Students

• Begin exploring careers
• Learn about requirements for that job (Does it require on the job training, a certificate, etc?)
• Job shadow
• Build your resume so you stand out on job applications
• Seek help when it’s time to look for a job
• Career Connections at CCC&TI is open to the public for job placement help. Located in F building room 106.

College Bound Students

• Take the SAT & ACT (CCC&TI not required)
• ACT.ORG
• Collegeboard.org
• Free practice online Khanacademy.com
• Explore colleges
• Look at college requirements online, does college have your major….make a visit, verify application deadlines.
• Work on Academic Resume & Essays
• List activities, GPA, other important information
• Recommendations
• Who knows you best? Ask in advance and provide specific information.

How do you choose a college?

1. College Major/Career Goal
2. Location and Size: Do you want to be close to home? City? Mountains? Beach?
3. Cost: NC public colleges and universities are your best bargain.
4. Realistic admission chances: Check out average GPA and Test Scores for admitted freshman.
1. https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search
2. https://www1.cfnc.org/Plan/For_College/_default.aspx

Exploring Colleges…Visit!

• Visit campus in person: go to website to sign up for a group tour
• Virtual visits: many college websites have a virtual tour online

Test Prep

• If you want to catch the earliest test dates for the ACT and SAT, it is time to start studying.
• Before you start your test prep, make sure the colleges you are interested in are requiring SAT and ACT test scores.
• ACT
• Test Date: June 8, 2024
• Register by May 3, 2024
• Test Date: July 13, 2024
• Register by June 7, 2024
• SAT
• Test Date: May 4, 2024
• Register by April 19, 2024
• Test Date: June 1, 2024
• Register by May 17, 2024

How do I sign up for the SAT/ACT?

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• ACT: sign up at act.org
• SAT: sign up on collegeboard.org
• You will need to create an account on both websites
• They will ask you a series of questions about your demographics, academic history, personal interests, and college/career goals.
• ACT: $66.00-$91.00 with writing
• SAT: $60.00
• If you qualify for free/reduced lunch, receive food stamps, live in foster care, etc. you could receive a fee waiver and can take the SAT/ACT for free! See Ms. Carpenter.

All College Bound Students

• Complete Residency Determination (RDS)
• CFNC.org (make sure student has account) RDS requires Parent information such as SS#, tax information, and drivers license number.
• Apply to college by the early deadline (Nov 1 for most schools)
• Early deadlines make you eligible for institutional scholarships. RDS must be completed first. Apply on website, Common App, or CFNC.org
• Apply for Financial Aid (FASFA) in October 2024
• 2 step process: 1. Establish a FASID 2. Fill out FASFA. Must have parent financial information as well as student information. Links are on CASA website.
• Apply for local scholarships
• These become available spring semester. Follow CASA’s Scholarship page for deadlines. Check parent workplace for scholarships for employee children.

College Essays

• Begin working on your college essays now so that once senior year rolls around, it will no longer be on your to-do list.
• Get an idea of what you’ll be asked on college applications by checking out the Common App or admissions requirements for schools that you are interested in.

Build your Student Resume

• Whether you plan on getting a job or going to college, now is the time to build your resume. These activities listed below are some of the many ways you can build your resume for both jobs and colleges.
• Get a job and keep a job
• Earn credentials in your CTE classes
• Join a team, club, extracurricular activity, etc.
• Take on leadership roles in school, team, job, church, or other activity
• Volunteer
• Put it all on paper/digital file

Show Interest

• Join mailing lists of your target colleges: it shows you are interested in the school, which looks great for potential admissions.
• Sign up for college admissions information from each school and create a folder with sections you can dedicate to your college prospects.
• Get an idea of what the universities require for test scores, types of extracurricular activities they offer, and how their admissions process works.

Social Media

• Plans to attend the university of your choice could come to a halt if you are not reflecting your best self on your social media accounts. Clean up your accounts and profiles…you never know when college admissions officers may look at them!
• You are not only representing yourself, but also your family, and CASA.

Apply for Scholarships

• It is important to remain diligent in your scholarship search. Continue the practice of applying for as many scholarships as you qualify for.
• Start by applying for one scholarship a week next year!
• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y8ta7Dkqc0f_ozdjK0yl7REaBnr8kXxn5HqjyrVwiUs/edit?usp=sharing
• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JUU-m-n9KTCU4wTONVfVt_DfLtBEq0BUCpdvXZ2k-Lg/edit?usp=sharing

Senior Year

• FAQ
• How do I request a transcript? On CASA’s Webpage, click the graduation hat!
• Do I have to request a Caldwell Community College transcript separately? Yes, on the College webpage. Do this well in advance of when you need it. Cost is $5.
• When do I order cap and gown? Usually February, we will let you know dates to order those online. Senior portraits will be in the summer before your senior year (this summer). Cap and Gown photos are in March.

Where to go to for help!

Questions?