Exploring Colleges:
The process of selecting a college can be an overwhelming one. After all, there are over 3,000 colleges and universities in the United States alone. Narrowing that list down begins with students knowing what they are looking for and what things are important to them. They may want to consider things like geographic location, school size, programs offered, cost of tuition, entrance difficulty, religious affiliation, campus resources, and sports, clubs or activities available. Once they have determined what they need and want from a college, it will be much easier to find colleges that meet their criteria. The following resources might be helpful in this process.

•  www.collegeincolorado.org  This website is designed to help students plan, apply and pay for college. Among the many resources available on this website, students can use a “College Matching Assistant” tool to help them locate colleges of interest to them both inside and outside the state of Colorado.  It also allows students to compare colleges side by side and to take virtual campus tours.  Students can find these tools on the College in Colorado website under the “College Planning” tab.  For further information, students can check with their counselor.

• Individual college websites: these sites typically offer a vast amount of information often including virtual tours of their campuses. 

• College Guide Books: There are many college guides that profile hundreds of schools.   Local bookstores and libraries often carry a variety of these guides.

College Visits:
Each year college representatives from all over the country visit Lakewood High School.  These visits are excellent opportunities for students to gather information and ask questions about particular programs and institutions.  Students are encouraged to check the Focus on Your Future newsletter (available on the school’s website), the board in front of the counseling office or Naviance for upcoming visits.  If students are registered with Naviance and have entered colleges of interest to them, an email will automatically be generated when that college schedules a visit to Lakewood. 

Tips for Visiting Colleges:
There are essentially two types of college visits.  The first type usually occurs early in the student’s high school career and is an opportunity to get a general idea of what different types of colleges are like.  Visits of this nature may help a student determine what kind of school he/she would like to attend: two-year or four-year, large or small, urban or rural.  

The second type of college visit is typically an opportunity for students to visit specific colleges that they may be interested in attending.  A visit of this nature will afford the student the chance to examine dorm life, talk to students, sit in on classes, visit programs or departments of interest, and look at resources (like libraries, science labs, internet access, smart classrooms, etc.). Sometimes this type of visit is used to narrow down the list of colleges a student is considering for application.  In other instances, students will conduct this type of in-depth campus visit after they have applied and been admitted. Then, based on the experience, they will make their college selection. In any case, if a student is seriously considering attending the college, an overnight visit is highly recommended.  

Admissions Timelines:
Once they start researching colleges, students will discover that colleges have different application deadlines. Students should pay close attention to the deadlines for each of the colleges they are interested in attending.  Additionally, students may need to decide whether they want to apply under an early application process or during the college’s regular admissions process. To help them determine what’s best for them, the different types of admissions options are outlined below:

Regular Decision:
Each individual college or university selects a date by which all application materials must be submitted.  For instance, if a college selects January 15th as their regular admission deadline, then students must submit their application, application fee, transcript, test scores, letters of recommendation and any other requested material by that date in order to be considered for admission.  Most regular decision deadlines fall between December and March.  There is no limit to the number of schools a student can apply to under the regular admission option.  This is the process selected by a majority of students.

Early Decision:
Some colleges and universities will offer students the opportunity to apply to their first choice institution by an early admission deadline.  This is a deadline selected by the college that falls well in advance of their regular admission deadline—typically in the month of November. By applying Early Decision, the student is making a binding commitment to attend that school if he or she is accepted.  Students may apply to other institutions under their regular application procedures but may only have one Early Decision application pending at any given time. The advantage to this method is that the college will typically notify the student of their admissions decision within four weeks.  If the student is accepted, he or she is expected to enroll.  If they do not, it is unlikely that another school will accept the student as colleges and universities typically honor one another’s binding decisions.  Financial hardship is the only way that a student would be released from an Early Decision commitment.

Early Action:
Unlike early decision, early action allows students to apply early to a school without having to make a commitment to attend.  Students can apply to more than one school under this option and, even if they are accepted, they do not have to attend. Early action deadlines are usually in November and students are typically notified of acceptance decisions within four weeks. 

Restrictive Early Action:
Some schools will offer students the opportunity to apply early to their school but may place restrictions on student’s applications to other school’s early plans.  Most commonly, a school will give the student the opportunity to apply to their school only through the early action program but will restrict them from applying to any other schools early.  Students who are admitted under a Restrictive Early action plan are not obligated to accept the offer of admission and have until May 1st to inform the school of their decision.

Rolling Admissions:
Some colleges and universities accept applications on an on-going basis and evaluate them as they receive them.  This type of admissions process typically favors students who apply early.  In November and December, colleges usually have many seats available for the next year so students with good but not great credentials will be considered.  Later in the application process, colleges may be pickier as they will have fewer seats available.

 College Application Process:

In 2010-2011, we processed over 1000 college/scholarship applications and survived our first year of electronic submissions.  Below are the directions we developed to accomplish this feat and we ask you again to follow them in submitting your applications.  PLEASE let us know any questions, concerns, problems you may have.  As with anything new, there is a learning curve but we look forward to continuing the streamlined, quicker and more reliable process that benefited all.

Getting Started

The Counseling Office will process and send:

Additional Information

Entrance Exams:
As part of the application process, most colleges require students to take a college entrance exam designed to predict success in college.  The two tests, described below, are written by separate organizations and are slightly different.  Most colleges will allow you to submit scores from either exam. However, some colleges prefer or require one over the other. For more information including test dates as well as to register, go to the websites listed below.

ACT:            www.act.org
Format:        Multiple Choice
Time:           Approximately 3 hours
Sections:     English (45 minutes), Math (60 minutes), Reading (35 minutes), Science (35 minutes)

Scoring:       One point for each correct answer
No points for incorrect or unanswered questions
1 to 36 on each of the four sections as well as an overall, composite score

NOTE: Currently, the State of Colorado requires high schools to administer the ACT test to all juniors during their spring semester.  The ACT is given at Lakewood in late April. This state sponsored exam is accepted at most colleges and universities. 

SAT:  www.collegeboard.com
Format:        Multiple Choice and Student-produced responses
Time:           Approximately 3.5 hours
Sections:      Math, Reading, Writing
Scoring:       One point for each correct answer
No points for unanswered questions
Lose one-quarter point for every incorrect answer
Scaled scores range from 200 to 800 on each of the three sections and a composite score

SAT II:  (Also called Subject Tests) www.collegeboard.com
Format:        Mostly Multiple Choice
Time:           One hour for each test
Sections:      There are currently 22 subject tests
Note:           Many highly selective colleges require two or three Subject Tests in addition to the SAT I

Practice Exams:

PSAT:  The PSAT is not a college entrance exam; however, it is a good predictor of how well a student will do on the SAT.  It is also the qualifying exam for National Merit Scholarships.  The PSAT, which is typically given at Lakewood High in October, is open to both sophomores and juniors.  Students can register for the exam in the Counseling Office. The exam fee changes from year to year but is approximately $18.00.  For more information on the PSAT and the National Merit Scholarship, check the College Board’s website at www.collegeboard.com.

PLAN:  The PLAN is not a college entrance exam; however, it is a good predictor of how well a student will do on the ACT.  It is also a valuable resource for career planning because of the extensive interest inventory included.  The PLAN test is open to sophomore students only.  It is typically given in November and costs approximately $18.00.  Students can register in the Counseling Office.  For more information on the PLAN test, check ACT’s website at www.act.org .

Free Online Test Prep:

Financial Aid/Scholarships:
There are many types of financial assistance available for furthering an education beyond high school.  In general, money available for college may be divided between public and private aid.  Public, or federal aid, is supported by the United States Government and is, by far, the most common type of funding for school.  This aid can take the form of loans subsidized by the government to ensure low interest rates and grants that do not have to be paid back at all.  All federal aid is “need-based” or available to those families that have a demonstrated need for financial assistance to pay for tuition, books, fees and other costs associated with getting an education.  In general, we encourage all students planning on attending a two- or four-year school to apply for federal aid rather than assume that they will not be eligible. 

The application for federal aid is called the FAFSA, (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  The best time to file the FAFSA is in January of the senior year.  Students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov ; however, students can request a paper FAFSA by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) or by visiting www.edpubs.org.  (Note: the online version of the FAFSA is processed much more quickly than submitting a hard copy through the mail.  Typically, online forms are processed in four to six days as compared to four to six weeks through the mail.) Much of the information needed to complete the FAFSA is based on the federal tax return and many people find it useful to fill out both forms together.  In either case, full knowledge of the previous year’s income is required to complete the FAFSA.  Most of your questions regarding federal aid may be answered by reading the Funding Your Education publication available in the counseling office or by visiting www.studentaid.ed.gov

Private aid is available from many sources; however, most private aid is “merit-based.”  In other words, it is available to students whose performance in high school or extracurricular activities has made them eligible to receive private funds for college.  In addition to public aid (like loans, grants, and work study), individual colleges will offer private, merit-based aid in the form of scholarships with specific criteria.  Sometimes students who complete and submit the college application are automatically considered for all of that particular college’s available scholarships.  In other instances, students will need to fill out a separate scholarship application to be considered. 

In addition to colleges, private aid is also available from various organizations and businesses.  Many national companies like Coca-Cola and Tylenol offer substantial college scholarships; however, these are highly competitive as many students typically apply each year.  Local groups also offer college scholarships.  Although the dollar amount of the scholarship may be less than that offered by national corporations, they are usually not as competitive as fewer students apply.  Examples locally include the South Lakewood Elementary Scholarship and the Class of ’51 Scholarship.

Scholarship Search Resources:

Naviance is a great resource for scholarship searches.  Students can access their Naviance page through the LHS website by clicking on “Family Connection.”  After logging in, students should click on “Scholarship List” which provides an A- Z index of available scholarships.

College Opportunity Fund:
Created by the Colorado Legislature, the College Opportunity Fund provides a stipend to eligible undergraduate students who attend college in the state of Colorado.  Students can find more information and apply for the fund by clicking on the “College Opportunity Fund” tab in the upper right corner of the www.collegeincolorado.org website.

Scholarship Opportunities for Underclassmen:
Occasionally scholarship opportunities arise for freshman, sophomores and juniors.  Typically these are in the form of a contest such as an essay contest or oratorical competition.  Students interested in these opportunities can find information and applications in the Counseling Office.

Scholarship Scams:
Please beware that there are also many scams that prey on parent and student fears regarding educational funding.  There are many companies that charge hundreds of dollars for services that are widely available for free.  In general, a good rule of thumb in looking for private aid is DO NOT PAY MONEY TO GET MONEY.  It is estimated that students and parents waste millions and millions of dollars unnecessarily in their pursuit of financial assistance for college.  If you have a question, ask your counselor.

College Planning Timeline:

FRESHMAN YEAR:

SOPHOMORE YEAR:

JUNIOR YEAR:

Fall:

Spring:

Summer:

SENIOR YEAR

Fall:

Winter:

Spring:

Higher Education Admission Requirements: (HEAR) Pre-collegiate curriculum