CCR Update

The CCR Update is a weekly newsletter from the St. Charles North Office of College and Career Readiness. Our weekly update contains information to help navigate students through high school and into post-secondary options. A variety of links will be provided to assist students and families in making choices along this journey. For additional information students should reach out to their individual counselor.

We will be hosting a special assembly schedule on Thursday. September 4th to formally introduce our new college and career platform, SchooLinks, to our students. Students will watch a video demonstration in their 2nd period classrooms on how to search for colleges and careers using this new resource. After the video demonstration, students will log in via Classlink and complete the Find Your Path career assessment. Students will then use the results of this assessment to begin exploring various features in SchooLinks. Seniors will have additional options to explore during the assembly schedule, as many have already completed the Find Your Path assessment.

Note: Parent/guardian emails will automatically be synced to allow parent access to SchooLinks after 9/4/25.

The College & Career Readiness Office would like to share the following reminders about student schedules:

Students wishing to make a preferential course request should schedule a meeting with their counselor through the counselor's "Student Appointment" button on the CCR Website HERE. We will do our best to accommodate your requests, however, we are unable to make changes regarding a lunch period or teacher preference. See the Course Offering Book for scheduling guidelines.

Please note the following important deadlines:

Adding a course (the tenth day of the semester) — August 26, 2025.

Dropping a course (the fifteenth day of the semester) — September 4, 2025.

Our Counselors will be offering workshops in the LRC Courtyard A to assist our Seniors with their post-secondary planning for college, military, trades, etc. These workshops will run during lunch periods every Wednesday from September 10th until November 5th. Seniors are reminded to attend during a lunch period in their schedule.

Sign-up in SchooLinks:

1. Log in to your SchooLinks account (https://app.schoolinks.com/).
   

2. On the Student Dashboard, click on the Events section to see all upcoming college application workshops.
   

3. Click on the date and period of the workshop you want to attend, and then click on the Register for this Event button.

Counselors met with Seniors on 8/19 during their Social Studies classes to walk through the college application process and/or the next steps for their post-secondary plans. If you missed the presentation or would like to revisit the information, you can do so HERE.

During the months of September and October, each Senior will meet individually with their school counselor regarding their post-secondary plan. Seniors can start booking appointments with their counselor using their You Can Book Me link found on the CCR homepage.

Important information for students who are interested in taking an AP exam but are NOT enrolled in the corresponding AP course:

Students wishing to take any AP exams for classes in which they are not enrolled must register and pay for the exam no later than Friday, November 7. The fee is $100 per exam and is non-refundable. Registration forms are available here or in the College & Career Office. Once payment is received, you will receive a join code from Mrs. Gomez to complete your order.

• SchooLinks Assembly Schedule - September 4th at the end of your 2nd period classes.
• D303 Financial Aid Night on September 17th 2025 at the Norris Cultural Arts Center (at St. Charles East HS) from 6:30-8:00 p.m.
• 2026-2027 FAFSA Application is scheduled to open October 1st 2025
• Junior Jumpstart Night (formerly College Options for Juniors) will now be held on October 15th 2025 in the St. Charles North Auditorium from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
• Pathways Night (2 Year, Tech, Trades & Military Post-Secondary Options) - Compass Academy/Haines Center on October 29th 2025 from 6-8 p.m.
• Early College Credit Information Night at St. Charles North HS in the Auditorium on November 18th 2025 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
• FAFSA Completion Workshop on December 10th 2025 at St. Charles North HS from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
• Fox Valley College Fair on March 24th 2026 at St. Charles North HS from 5:30-8 p.m.

More details will be shared as we get closer to each event date.

Elgin Community College is offering a series of College & Career events for the fall and spring semesters. Session topics include The Start of College Decisions, Financial Aid 101, Early College Credit options, Professional Etiquette, Discovering Careers, Career Clusters & Opportunities, Successful Interviewing and more. All events are free and open to the public. Events will be held virtually over Zoom on Tuesday evenings from 6 to 7 P.M. unless otherwise noted. For more information and meeting links, please visit https://elgin.edu/community/college-transitions/ccr/

Upcoming Events: Success by Design: Time Management & Study Skills that Work

Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Time: 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Location: Virtual

Upcoming Events: Financial Foundations: Budgeting Basics That Work

Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Time: 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Location: Virtual

Have you ever thought about a career as an electric lineman, firefighter, police officer, lab technician, or in tree maintenance, or IT/Networking? These are all individuals, and many more, who are employed by the City of St. Charles.

The City of St. Charles is offering a career pathway job shadow program to St. Charles high school students interested in exploring a career in municipal government. You may schedule up to three different job shadow experiences per school year, during which you can explore work sites, ask questions, see demonstrations, and learn about education and certifications. Students will be responsible for transportation to and from the City. The date, time, and length of the job shadow will be scheduled outside of school hours directly with the City’s job shadow program coordinator. Please return your completed registration form to Ms. Gomez in the College & Career Office.

College Visit Sign-up in SchooLinks

1. Log in to your SchooLinks account (https://app.schoolinks.com/).
   

2. On the Student Dashboard, click on the School Events section to see all upcoming college visits.
   

3. Click on the name of the visit you want to attend, and then click on the Register for this Event button.
   

Before attending the visit, make sure you pick up a College Visit Pass from our College & Career Readiness Office. You will need to fill out the form and have your teacher sign it before attending the visit. You will also be responsible for making up any missed work when attending a college visit.

If you have a conflict with a college visit, please email Ms. Kathy McCoy at kathy.mccoy@d303.org for the college rep's contact information.

For Scheduled Virtual Visits: Click the link to enter the live virtual conference with a college rep. For the full listing go to the College Visit page on our CCR Website.

Upcoming Visits:

9/2/2025 Texas Christian University

9/3/2025 Syracuse University

9/3/2025 University of Arizona

9/4/2025 University of South Carolina-Columbia

9/5/2025 Valparaiso University

9/9/2025 Loyola University Chicago

9/9/2025 Ithaca College

9/9/2025 University of Wisconsin-Madison

9/9/2025 Grand Canyon University

9/10/2025 Northern Illinois University

9/10/2025 University of Oregon

9/10/2025 Iowa State University

9/11/2025 Bowling Green State University-Main Campus

9/16/2025 Augustana College (IL)

9/16/2025 Wabash College

9/16/2025 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

9/16/2025 Savannah College of Art and Design - Savannah

9/17/2025 Virginia Tech

9/17/2025 University of Nebraska-Lincoln

9/17/2025 University of Iowa

9/17/2025 Michigan Technological University

9/18/2025 Indiana University-Bloomington

9/18/2025 Western Michigan University

9/19/2025 Marquette University

9/19/2025 Fairfield University

9/22/2025 North Central College

9/23/2025 Hawaii Pacific University

9/23/2025 University of Denver

9/23/2025 University of Kentucky

9/23/2025 Xavier University

9/24/2025 Elon University

9/24/2025 Winona State University

9/24/2025 Illinois College

9/25/2025 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville

9/25/2025 Lake Forest College

9/29/2025 University of Chicago

9/29/2025 Illinois Institute of Technology

9/30/2025 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

College & Career Readiness Team

255 Red Gate Road, St. Charles, IL, 60175

331-228-6290