The Road to College: Let's Plan Ahead!

NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

ATTENTION SENIORS AND PARENTS OF SENIORS! IF YOU DID NOT RECEIVE A COPY OF THE COLLEGE GUIDE AT SENIOR PARENT NIGHT, PLEASE VIEW THE ONLINE VERSION BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW.

Northtown College Guide 2008-2009


DON’T FORGET THE COLLEGE FAIR IS COMING SOON!
October 2: 2nd Annual Northtown College Fair 5 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Upcoming College Representative Visits

Representatives from the following colleges will meet with small groups of seniors during advisory on the following dates. All seniors are welcome to sign-up to see any college representative.

  • Oct. 30 Hofstra University
  • Nov. 3 Southern Illinois University
  • Nov. 4 Dominican University
  • Nov. 7 Oakton Community College
  • Nov. 13 North Park Univ.
  • Nov. 17 Northeastern Illinois Univ.


THE NORTHTOWN COLLEGE COUNSELING CENTER

The college counseling center at CICS Northtown Academy offers personalized attention to help students in every grade prepare for the challenges of college and life after high school. Students of all grades explore the world of college by talking with teachers about their fun days on campus, visiting colleges, meeting college representatives, and hearing from college students about what it takes to succeed. Every quarter, a variety of activities help students keep their eyes on the goal of going to college. Some of these activities include:

  • Using MyRoad.com, a comprehensive online college and career program to identify and track individual goals and plans
  • Financial aid and scholarship workshops
  • Adopt-A-College, a fun school-wide college awareness project that helps inform students about a wide variety of colleges while riding the excitement of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament
  • College tours to a variety of universities in Illinois and neighboring states

LET’S PLAN AHEAD!

CICS Northtown students of all grades complete activities each quarter to help them keep their eyes on the prize of attending college. Here are some of the activities and timelines for college planning.

Freshman Focus: What is College?
As a freshman, students begin to get acclimated to life in high school. The focus for the year is “What is College?” During freshman year, they will begin to understand the mission of CICS Northtown Academy, which is to prep them for entry into a college or university of their choice and once there, to graduate! To this end, activities are designed to give freshman a greater understanding of post-secondary education and why it is important for them to start preparing now to go to college. In April, freshmen receive a “Local College Preview” of all the colleges in the Chicago area. Freshman year closes with a Parent Night to introduce freshman and sophomore parents to the thematic focus for each year.

• Freshmen College Rally with Follow-up (January)
• March Madness: Adopt-A-College (February/March)

Sophomore Focus: Career Interests
Coming into their second year, students at Northtown will have a basic understanding of why college is essential to their success. The focus of sophomore year shifts to “Career Interests.” Students begin to explore their personal interests and learn to connect these with careers. During the year, sophomores will prepare their first college-bound checklist and a “Goal and Career Plan.” Sophomore year ends with a Parent Night to prepare them for the first steps they will take with their child starting in September of junior year.

• Academic Goal Setting (October)
• Creation of Personal Career Plans (Quarter 2)

Junior Focus: How Career Interests Drive College
After two years at CICS Northtown Academy, students have a general understanding of how to get to college and have evaluated their strengths and interests. Junior year is a very important time for students because they set academic goals; begin online research of schools of interest; create a personality profiler; and interact with professionals and college students in areas in which they want to explore in more detail.

• College Fair (October)
• Utilize MyRoad.com (Quarter 3 and 4)
• College Tour (March/April)
• Create Action Plan to prepare for senior year

Senior Focus: Getting into College
Senior year is all about tests, college applications and most importantly - college acceptance letters! As soon as the senior year starts, the main focus for students is to complete tasks and make deadlines. Each senior has individual time with the College Counselor and the opportunity to meet with college representatives face-to-face. During senior year, students get a taste of the real world. Seniors must be serious about deadlines, and getting their applications in on time to the schools to which they have chosen to apply.

• Letters of Recommendations
• Senior Parent Night (September)
• College Fair (October)
• Explanation of the FAFSA and FAFSA Night (February)
• Research and apply for scholarships

These are some of the activities and steps necessary for students to make high school their launching pad to college. The process is a series of steps that every student and family must accomplish to reach the ultimate goal: going to college.

If you have any questions about the college preparation process, please contact Mario Ortiz, College Counselor, via email or by calling 773.478.3655.