Class of 2027

Senior Night Presentati0n

Download Tonight’s Senior

Presentation

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Who is My Counselor?

Jill Mancino A-B mancinoj@ltisdschools.org

Velma Gonzalez C-Er gonzalezv@ltisdschools.org

Brenda Gremminger Es-Guj gremmingerb@ltisdschools.org

Rob Alexis Gul-Kh alexisr@ltisdschools.org

Erin Tristan Ke-Me tristane@ltisdschools.org

Katy Staggs Mi-Ral staggsk@ltisdschools.org

Mindy Smith Ram-Sur smithmi@ltisdschools.org

Melody Vest Sus-Z vestm@ltisdschools.org

Bel Portillo College & Career Counselor portillob@ltisdschools.org

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Tonight’s Agenda

01

The College Application Process

02

Naviance

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The cost of college

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Graduation Plan

Foundation High School Plan with Distinguished Level of Achievement

Endorsements

All students must have at least one endorsement:

• Multidisciplinary (4x4)
• Arts and Humanities
• Business and Industry
• Public Service
• STEM

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State Assessments - STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness): Students must pass all five: English I, English II, Algebra I, Biology, U.S. History to qualify for graduation

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Graduation Plan

GPA: Weighted and Unweighted

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Two GPA’s are listed on your transcript:

• 100 point GPA- an average of your weighted grades (100)

This average WILL include 1.1 and 1.2 multiplied grades for Honors/PAP or AP coursework

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• 4 point GPA- unweighted GPA (4.0)

This average WILL NOT include any multiplied grades for Honors/PAP or AP coursework

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Each course students have taken are listed on their transcript with their fall and spring semester grades plus an average for the year.

*GPA is based off of semester grades not final averages

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Honors points or bump points from the multiplier for Honors/PAP or AP coursework are not visible on the transcript.

Codes indicate the weight of the course such as

Q- PAP or Honors =1.1

P-AP Coursework =1.2

O-On Ramps =1.2

D-ACC *Not included in GPA

**Link to GPA information in Course Catalog**

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Grades and Ranking

• LTHS is a non-ranking school, except for Top 10%. Students must email their counselor to find out their rank.

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• DO NOT RELEASE RANK--There is no advantage

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• Schools with deadlines between October 15th - December 1st will likely not see your senior grades for admission, but they will see the courses you are enrolled in.

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Lake Travis Scholar

To receive recognition on your final transcript as a Lake Travis Scholar, a graduating senior must:

1. Complete 100 service hours through CAVS In Service. Please see Ms. Stearns in the library for more information.

2. Earn at least three advanced measures through one of the following means:

• Scoring a 3 or higher on at least three Advanced Placement (AP) examinations
• Completing 3 University of Texas OnRamps courses with a university letter grade of C or higher
• Completing any combination of qualifying AP test scores and OnRamps university grades to meet the three advanced measures requirements.

3. Earn a fourth advanced measure through one of the following means:

• Completing one or more dual-credit college academic course(s) with a college letter grade of B or higher
• Completing a fourth UT OnRamps course with a university letter grade of C or higher
• Scoring 3 or higher on a fourth AP examination
• Earning a score on the PSAT that qualifies the student for National Merit Scholar, finalist, semifinalist, commended, higher recognition, or National Hispanic Scholar recognition.

4. Maintain an overall weighted numerical grade average of 90.00 or higher.

5.

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Link to Lake Travis Scholar in Course Catalog-Click Here

College Application Process

Application

Transcripts

Test Scores

How to link Common App & Naviance

How to order official transcripts from LT

SAT vs ACT vs TSI

WHERE DO YOU START?

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• Common App, Apply Texas, or University application
• Gather all materials before beginning
• Transcript can be found on Skyward under Portfolio tab
• Create Resume
• Assemble Extracurricular activity information
• Essays and supplemental questions
• Main personal statement (Common App)
• Additional supplemental/short answers for each college
• Scholarship essays per college

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College Application Platforms

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Common Application

https://www.commonapp.org/

Private In-State and Private or Public Out-of-State Universities

Convenient way to request and upload recommendation letters from teachers/counselors

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Go Apply Texas

https://goapplytexas.org/

Public In-State Universities

**Free College Application Week is October 12-18, 2026**

Recommendation letters cannot be requested or uploaded by teacher/counselor. Students must request letters via email and be mailed US Postal Service.

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Common App Essentials

• Class Size- 823
• Class Rank Reporting- NONE
• GPA scale reporting- 100 point weighted
• GPA based on semester averages
• Diploma Type- Foundation High School Program with Distinguished Level of Achievement
• Report most important Activities and Honors from your resume.

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CHOOSING the APPLICATION DEADLINE

• Early Action: Varies by college
• UT Austin & TAMU - October 15th
• TCU, SMU, & Baylor - November 1st
• Typically receive admission decision by mid-December/January
• Early Decision: Binding and Restricting
• Regular Decision: Generally January 1st-15th
• Will not know decision until March or April
• Delays financial aid package
• Rolling Admission: Flexible, but could limit availability in courses, housing, and financial aid

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My Common Application

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My Colleges Section

• Remember under each college there will be sections that must be filled out

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• You should have a first choice major and second choice major

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• If there IS NOT a red asterisk next to the question, you do not need to answer.

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• I will graduate under/My graduation plan: Foundation High School Program with Distinguished Level of Achievement

SELF REPORTING

• Online tool connected to your college application. Most common:

STARS- Self-Reported Transcript and Academic Record System

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• This will be a separate website the student will need to go to. The link will be provided in the Common App for the particular college.

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• After the student has completed the reporting, an email will come to the student giving instructions on how to connect your STARS account to your college application.

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• Students will need to report from their transcript, which can be found in Skyward under the Portfolio tab.

NAVIANCE

• Student must log in to their Naviance account for LTISD.
• At the top of the home page, click on the “Colleges” tab, and it will expand to give you a variety of options.
• Under the “Apply to College” section, select “Colleges I’m Applying to”
• Once you get to the “Colleges I’m Applying to” there will be a button that says “Match Accounts”, click the button, and it will automatically take you to the Common Application
• Student must enter their email address and password used to create their Common Application Account
• Once entered, and if matched successfully, you will see another pop-up screen

saying the match was successful.

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

• Not all universities want a recommendation letter.
• Under the Colleges menu item - “Apply to College - Letter of Recommendation.”
• All teachers are listed there and Naviance will let you know how many letters are needed for each college
• Once you add your counselor in Naviance, your counselor will be notified.
• Counselors are responsible for filling out the school report, uploading the unofficial transcript, and uploading a counselor recommendation letter if it is required by the college.
• Please give teachers at least 2 weeks from the time of request to upload deadline.

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• KEEP IN MIND- YOU CAN SUBMIT ON COMMON APP ONCE YOU HAVE COMPLETED EVERYTHING YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR.

**YOU DO NOT NEED TO WAIT FOR YOUR RECOMMENDATION LETTERS.**

Ordering Official Transcripts

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• Go to the LTHS Counseling Office webpage
• Click on the button that says “Transcripts”
• The website LT uses for sending official transcripts is called Parchment.
• You must make an account on Parchment with your personal email, add all of your colleges, and send an official transcript to all colleges.
• Remember if you are in the Top 10% you must follow the instructions on the webpage regarding filling out your name on the Google Sheet.
• THAT IS THE ONLY WAY TO INCLUDE YOUR RANK ON A TRANSCRIPT.
• You are responsible for sending official transcripts from ACC and/or OnRamps. You must go into your portal and follow the instructions.

SENDING TEST SCORES

• Let’s clarify what Test Optional means…
• Students are responsible for sending their SAT scores through College Board or ACT scores from the ACT website to each college.
• This is most commonly done after you have hit Submit on your college applications in Common App.

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SAT vs ACT in a nutshell….

SAT: More time per questions; more complexity to each question.

ACT: Less time per question; more straight forward questions

Reading- Literary Analysis; English- Grammar; Math- Algebra 1 thru Pre Calculus

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• Sending TSI scores to college: Go to the ACCUPLACER Student Portal, enter your personal info and student ID, then submit the form to have a secure link sent to your email address.

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TEST PREP MEETING

FOR ALL GRADE LEVELS

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• SAT vs. ACT

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• Importance of PSAT

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• What is the TSI2?
• Seniors can sign up to take the TSI on October 21st!!

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WEDNESDAY, September 30th @ 6pm

in the Main Cafeteria

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COLLEGE BOARD

DO YOU NEED MORE ONE ON ONE HELP?

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• Counselors will be meeting one on one with all of their seniors in September & October.
• VISIT THE NEW COLLEGE & CAREER CENTER IN E203
• Dates for College Application Workshops during all lunches: 9/10, 9/15, 9/17, 9/29

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THE COST OF COLLEGE

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Applying for

Financial Aid:

FAFSA/TAFSA

Scholarships

FAFSA- Free Application for Federal Student Aid

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School Finance Bill HB3 passed in 2021 which made it a requirement for all high school students to complete the FAFSA or TAFSA prior to graduation.

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FAFSA

For the 2027-28 school year, you will need to complete the 2027-28 FAFSA form. The FAFSA form for that year is currently in beta testing, with a full rollout expected by October 1, 2026.

Create a FSA ID

• Both Parent(s) and Student complete an application
• Prior/Prior year Federal Tax Return
• Complete a new application each year
• Foundational for all University Scholarships

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Why FAFSA? Universities want to use Federal money first, then endowment monies. Also, FAFSA must be complete for student to qualify for university merit scholarships.

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*****If you choose to Opt Out of filling out the FAFSA here is the form that needs to be filled out and turned in to our counseling office.

Link to Waive FAFSA Application (Opt Out Form - English)

Link to Waive FAFSA Application (Opt Out Form - Spanish)

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

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Tuesday, October 6, 2026

LTHS Cafeteria

6:00-8:00 pm

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FAFSA Meeting at LT

Scholarships

(Local, State and Federal)

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Lake Travis Local Scholarships will all be listed on Naviance

(Beginning in January)

Examples of Local Scholarships:

• Lake Travis Education Foundation
• The Rotary Club of Lakeway
• Friends of the Lakeway Community Library

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Current Scholarship searches available in Naviance

GO TO: Colleges-National Scholarship Search

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*Colleges will also offer scholarships based on merit and need.

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Senior Year

✔ College Visits (2 per year)

✔ Meet with College Reps on our campus- Students can sign up through

Naviance

✔ Transcript Request through Parchment

✔ If needed, ask teacher/counselor for rec. letters

(provide 2-weeks notice)

✔ Review essay(s) and supplementals

✔ Self Reporting grades/courses- ex. STARS

✔ Submit college applications before or by 12/1,

to meet early deadlines

Honor College Deadlines may be earlier

✔ FAFSA–Set up Student ID- can be done now

Application will open OCTOBER 1, 2025

✔ Scholarship Bulletin

✔ Complete and submit scholarship applications

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Review of Application Process

Thank you!