Staff: Diane Ahlberg and Jody Hansen September 12th, 2017

(763) 569-7665 or (763) 569-7627

The CCRC newsletter is provided on a monthly or semi-monthly basis to provide information on activities and events that are helpful to Park Center students and their parents. This publication is also on Park Center’s website http://schools.district279.org/pcsh/ (under Academics or under Quick Links at right of home page).

IMPORTANT!!! Attention seniors: When you are asked to indicate your school counselor on college applications note Diane Ahlberg, , as your counselor. She is the counselor for senior students who need a recommendation letter, Secondary School Report or any other college reference.

Students who qualify for free or reduced lunch are also entitled to other free things, such as participating in activities and sports or taking the ACT for free twice. Free & Reduced Lunch Applications are available in the Student Support Office, Attendance Office, Counseling Office, and in the Kitchen. Families may apply online as well at:https://fma.district279.org/fma/

Juniors: the PSAT will be administered this fall on October 11th. Students taking this test will be automatically screened for the National Merit Scholarship Program, an academic competition for recognition and scholarships. The PSAT/NMSQT is a 2 hour 45 minute test that measures skills in evidence-based reading, writing and mathematics that are important for success in college. For additional information regarding the test visit: www.collegeboard.org/psat. The cost will be $16.00 per test. A limited number of fee waivers are available. A registration link has been sent to you through Schoology. Use the Schoology link or the link on the Park Center home page to register by September 15th.

JUNIORS, if you choose to take the ACT again you will need to know what your ACT ID number is...this information can be found on the top center of your April score report.

Test Date: Registration Deadline: (Late Fee Required):

September 9, 2017 August 4, 2017 August 5-18, 2017

October 28, 2017 September 22, 2017 September 23-October 6, 2017

December 9, 2017 November 3, 2017 November 4-17, 2017

February 10, 2018 January 12, 2018 January 13-19, 2018

April 14, 2018 March 9, 2018 March 10-23, 2018

June 9, 2018 May 4, 2018 May 5-18, 2018

July 14, 2018 June 15, 2018 June 16-22, 2018

TEST FEE PER TEST OPTION:

·  ACT (No Writing) $46.00

·  Includes reports for you, your high school, and up to four college choices (if valid codes are provided when you register).

·  ACT Plus Writing $62.50

·  Includes reports for you, your high school, and up to four college choices (if valid codes are provided when you register). The Writing Test fee is refundable, on written request.

·  5th & 6th college choice fee is $12 for each school.

·  Late registration fee is $27.50.

·  Standby testing is $51 in addition to the basic fee, if you missed registration.

·  Test date change fee is $25 in addition to the basic fee.

·  Test center change fee is $25 in addition to the basic fee.

·  Test information release service is $20.

·  International testing is $33.

Students need to register on-line at www.actstudent.org

Students receiving free/reduced lunch can have their test fees waived TWICE by bringing a copy of the letter they received from Food Service to the CCRC to receive a waiver. Fee waivers do not include late fees.

Students can register for the SAT and SAT Subject Tests at www.collegeboard.org. Preparing for the SAT Test booklets that include a full length practice test, including the writing test, strategies to prepare for the test and what to expect on test day are available in the CCRC.

ACT PrepStar Blast Class: The ACT test is more important than ever before for college admissions and scholarship offers. This prep class is taught by Academic All Star Tutoring's ACT experts. You will be introduced to the test format and review essential strategies for all five sections, then you will apply these useful tools by practicing on a retired ACT test. You will also have the option to take another full practice test at home and have it scored with an online scoring system for immediate results. This class is an ACT cram session! Call 763-682-1281for more information.

You can take free ACT or SAT practice tests online at: www.princetonreview.com/practicetest and at www.mncis.intocareers.org.

Check out theLearning Express Library.There is atest prep resourcethat is a free resource for Park Center students available through ELM (Electronic Libraries for Minnesota). Here, you can access practice ACT, SAT, AP, TOEFLtests, as well as others.

http://www.learningexpresshub.com/productengine/LELIndex.html#/learningexpresslibrary/libraryhome

Chegg offers ACT lessons, quizzes and practice tests. https://test-prep.chegg.com/#/dashboard.

Union Test Prep Free Practice Tests for the ACT: If passing the ACT is standing in the way of getting into the college of your dreams, there is help! Afree ACT practice testto help you identify in which areas you are strong and which areas could use a little more work is available at https://uniontestprep.com/act/practice-test.

St. Cloud State University Monday, September 18th 10:00AM

University of Minnesota – Twin Cities Tuesday, September 19th 9:00AM

Rainy River Community College Tuesday, September 26th 8:00AM

St. Mary’s University Monday, October 2nd 8:15AM

North Hennepin Community College Monday, October 2nd 10:00AM

University of Minnesota - Duluth Monday, October 2nd 11:00AM

St. Olaf College Tuesday, October 3rd 8:30AM

University of Wisconsin – Superior Tuesday, October 3rd 1:00PM

North Dakota State College of Science Wednesday, October 4th 10:00AM

University of Minnesota – Rochester Tuesday, October 10th 10:00AM

Northern Michigan University Tuesday, October 17th 8:30AM

·  The College and Career Resource Center will be hosting informational meetings about “How to choose a college, applying to college and how to send your transcript” on Wednesday, September 20th at 9:30AM and Thursday, September 27th at 1:00PM. Sign up in the CCRC to attend.

·  October 1st is the opening date for FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aide) submission. Completing your FAFSA early may provide you with additional scholarship opportunities. Join us in the CCRC on Thursday, October 5th at 10:00AM or Monday October 9th at 1:00PM for a presentation on how to complete your FAFSA. Sign up in the CCRC to attend.

Scholarship Program is an initiative of Urban Ventures and is Minneapolis-St. Paul’s only full tuition, full-need urban leadership award. 30-40 of the Twin Cities’ most promising urban leaders will be selected for scholarships for one of their four partner colleges: Augsburg College, Bethel University, North Central University, and University of Northwestern-St. Paul. An informational meeting for ActSix will be held on Tuesday, October 3rd at 10:00AM in the CCRC.

Applicants must be able to answer “yes” to the following questions:

·  Will you graduate from high school in 2018, or did you graduate previously in2017 or 2016?

·  Do you live in the Twin Citiesarea and, if selected, could you arrange your own transportation to weekly evening trainings at Urban Ventures?

·  Do you want toattend Augsburg, Bethel, North Central or Northwestern-St Paul?

·  Are you not currently enrolledat a four-year college? (Students at two-year colleges may apply.)

2018 University of Minnesota Application Deadlines: Fall 2018 applicants can apply to the University of Minnesota using the U of M application, the Common Application, or the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success. Equal consideration is given to applicants across all three application types (students should only submit one application).Fall 2018 will be the first cycle with the Coalition application. They are proud to be a Coalition member school, given their long history of a strong commitment to student access and success.
Deadlines: The priority deadline for freshman applicants will remain November 1st.Around the time of their deadlines, they often experience a high volume of inquiries from students regarding the receipt of their supporting application materials. Based on feedback from the High School Advisory Committee, they are formalizing their practice of implementing a grace period for the receipt of supporting application materials of November 15th – accepting October ACT scores sent directly from ACT.
Second deadline: January 1st, with a supporting material deadline of January 16th. December ACT scores will be accepted from ACT.
NEW - Direct College Admission and Determining Fit
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities admits applicants directly to the seven freshman-admitted colleges based on an individualized, holistic review of their application materials. When they make an admission decision, they first consider the applicant’s first-choice college and major. If they are not able to admit the applicant to their first-choice, they consider other U of M colleges or programs that they believe, based on the student's application and supporting materials, may be a good fit with their academic interests and preparation.
While admission is competitive to the U of M as a whole, some of our colleges are particularly competitive given strong student interest and a limited number of spaces. For fall 2018, the application will include a new tab called “College Match,” and students will be able to indicate a first-choice college with up to two majors, and a second-choice college with up to two majors. (Previously students could only indicate one first-choice major and one alternate-choice major.) With this change to their application, they aim to support student success by continuing their focus on fit: 1.They want the “College Match” section to communicate more clearly to students that their holistic review includes determining the most appropriate U of M college of admission and that they may be admitted to an alternate choice.
2. They want their admissions committee to be equipped with more information about an applicant’s interests so they can make admission decisions that are the best fit for the student’s success in college.

Questbridge National College Match islooking for high school seniors who have shown outstanding academic ability despite financial challenges.

Eligibility: In order to be eligible to apply for the National College Match in the fall of 2018, applicants must graduate from high school during or before the summer of 2018 and plan to enroll as a freshman in college in the fall of 2018. The QuestBridge National College Match is open to all United States citizens and permanent residents, or students, regardless of citizenship, currently attending high school in the United States.

Academic Achievement: They seek students who have demonstrated a level of academic achievement that meets or exceeds the admissions standards of their colleges. The following is based on profiles of past finalists, and are not strict cut-offs:

Academic Criteria
Grades and rigor of high school curriculum / Primarily A's in the most challenging courses available (usually including Honors, AP, and/or IB level courses.)
Class rank / Top 5-10% of your graduating class.
Standardized test scores / SAT (CR+M) scores > 1240
ACT composite score > 28
They recommend submitting any AP, IB, or SAT Subject Test scores. Review the standardized testing requirementsfor each college.
Additional Criteria / They look for evidence of strong writing ability, intellectual spark, and determination through essays and teacher/counselor recommendations.

Financial Qualifications: Finalists typically come from households earning less than $65,000 annually for a family of four, and often less. This is not a strict cut-off and they encourage students who feel they have faced significant financial hardship to review these financial details carefully to see if they may qualify.

Go to https://www.questbridge.org/ for details and a list of College Partner schools.

Check out MyinTuition, the quick college cost estimator, demonstrates that a top college not only is within reach for qualified students, but also can be their most affordable option. By answering six simple questions, students can open up a whole new world of opportunity. https://myintuition.org/?utm_source=cl&utm_medium=whc&utm_campaign=hsc1

PRIVATE LOANS: Unlike financial aid from the Department of Education, private student debt tends to be a much more confusing topic for students and families. You can find information about private loans provided by LendEDU at this site: https://lendedu.com/blog/private-student-loans/
Their private student loans guide covers the following information:
- In-depth comparison of the different private student loan options
- Risks of using private student loans
- Information about servicing
- Information about interest rates
- Application process and eligibility requirements

LendEDU is a marketplace for student loans and student loan refinance.

Have you thought about going to college as an international student? You can attend the University of Manitoba utilizing the reciprocity agreement. Under the Manitoba-Minnesota Reciprocity Agreement, any student who is a resident of the state of Minnesota, as defined by the University of Manitoba, is granted reciprocity fee status following application, submission of required documentation, and confirmation by the Registrar’s Office. This status grants students’ the right to pay the same tuition and fee rates as Canadian Citizens.

HOW TO SEND YOUR TRANSCRIPT: The Osseo School District is offering FREE electronic transcripts for current students. Students needing a transcript should go to www.parchment.com, set up a personal profile using an e-mail address that is not their school apps e-mail address and then request their transcript to be sent electronically. Transcripts will be processed within two school days with the following exceptions – weekends, holidays, during processing of final transcript grades and two days before and three days after trimester end. Former students will be charged a $5.00 processing fee for this service. Note: When putting in your school, put in “Park Center” only and a drop down menu will come up and then choose “Park Center IB World”.

HENNEPIN TECHNICAL COLLEGE APPLICANTS…. IMPORTANT TRANSCRIPT INFORMATION

When sending your transcript through Parchment to Hennepin Technical College you must use the following e-mail address as the recipient’s address:

The National College Fair will be held on Wednesday, September 27th from 5:00 – 8:00PM at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Find the college that is right for you. Start your college search for free! Register for free at www.nacacfairs.org/ncf to receive fair details, avoid lines onsite and share your contact information with your choice schools.

Admissions representatives from Emory University, Johns Hopkins University, The University of Notre Dame, the University of Virginia and Washington University in St. Louis are hosting an information session for prospective students at Breck School on Tuesday September 26th at 7:00PM. RSVP at https://admission.emory.edu/portal/