College Counseling Summer Send-Off

It may seem that high school graduation is a long way off but ask any senior who just made the trek, and they will tell you how quickly it all goes by. Summer is a great time to work on many things regarding your post-secondary plans so check out some ideas below!

Know that I am here to help you through this process. I am a 10 month employee so I do not work during the summer but I will be back on duty at the end of August.

Also, if you have not already, be sure to join the College and Career Counseling Schoology Group. It is the main way that I will be communicating with you regarding college, scholarships, internships, etc.

Perry Hall High School Join Code: 9BXF-ZC87-VV3SM

I wish you all a wonderful, restful and safe summer and I look forward to working with you in the fall!

Stephanie Campbell, PHHS College & Career Counselor

-Start Researching Colleges! You will eventually want a balanced list with a mix of public and private schools that cover the gamut of reach, target and safety schools. But don't worry too much about creating a firm list right now, just explore! There are tons of great college search sites listed below that make looking for a school fun! See below for search sites!

-Get involved! Summer is a great time to work on adding to your resume/activity list that every college will ask for. Get involved in your community by volunteering at local animal shelters, food pantries, or nursing homes. Keep a list of whatever you do both in and outside of school, giving a brief description and the dates of service. This will be crucial when it is time to apply to college as every college asks! Think about a club or activity you may want to get involved in next fall as well. See this link for suggestions and resume templates and look below for a link to job resources!: https://www.collegeessayguy.com/blog/college-resume-templates

- GO VISIT!!!! It's not too early to start visiting colleges and there is nothing that compares to stepping foot on a college campus and seeing for yourself what it is like and if it "feels right" to you. See below for tips on visitation. Check out the College Search and Application Spreadsheet that you can use to keep track of all of your potential schools, below! https://www.collegeessayguy.com/blog/tips-for-planning-a-college-visit

-If an in-person visit is just not possible, go to the college's website and do their virtual tour. It's the next best thing.

-Practice for the SAT. Log in to your College Board account and use the free services within to do practice tests and questions. Start here: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/practice Princeton Review is also a great resource for test prep with tons of free Youtube videos on test-taking strategies. The Answer Class is a local service that offers affordable test-prep both in-person and virtually. Check out the flier below! Visit https://theanswerclass.com/

-Begin looking for and applying to scholarships. IT IS NOT TOO EARLY!!! College is expensive and most of us need all of the help we can get. See the financial resources sheet below for links to legit websites as well as in your Xello account through your BCPS apps. Remember, you should NEVER pay for a scholarship search!!! That is a scam so don't even bother. The Golden Rule here - You should never pay money to get money.

-Speaking of finances, if you and your family have not already had a discussion about money for college, please do so as soon as possible! It is often too late for many students to try and figure out how to pay for college when they receive their financial aid packages in the spring of their senior year! Know how much you have and how much you may need to finance so that you can make realistic decisions.

-Clean up your social media! This is a good time to clean up your social media profiles. If you have any questionable photos or language, delete them now before you start your college search in earnest. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/yes-college-admissions-officers-do-look-at-applicants-social-media-survey-finds/2020/01

-College Board Big Future: Learn about and compare colleges

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/compare-colleges

-Collegevine: Provides college search and also great information on financial aid, scholarship searches and essay writing. https://www.collegevine.com/

-Niche: Great website that "grades" colleges based on college student reviews: https://www.niche.com/

-The Princeton Review: A long-trusted resource for students published yearly.

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/best-colleges

-CollegeXpress: https://www.collegexpress.com/: A unique college search site that allows you to search for schools by major, activities, state, and more!

-Campus Reel: Using videos, CampusReel's student-driven video content puts students at the forefront of their college communities to build trust, connection and engagement in the digital world. https://www.campusreel.org/

-College Scorecard: An excellent resource from the USDE to analyze test scores, fields of study, cost, etc. of any college. https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/

-Appily: Appily makes finding and connecting with the best colleges and universities easy. Browse using our free college search engine and see reviews, virtual tours, admission rates, and other insights to help you build your college list. https://www.appily.com/colleges

Email: scampbell3@bcps.org
Website: https://perryhallhs.bcps.org/
Location: 4601 Ebenezer Road, Nottingham, MD, USA
Phone: 443-809-5110
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PHHS.HallPride/