College Planning Night

Happy First Day of School!

Welcome back, HPHS!

The College Office is eager to work with all of you again this year. Please make note that our annual Parent Nights will be held in the last week of September! You and your families are invited. 

A special note to seniors: Please stop by the College Office in the next couple of weeks to meet your college advisor, register for the SAT, pick up an intake form, and learn the next steps in the college application process.

Don't forget to also check out our Career Office in B10 for news about internships, jobs, resume help, and more!



-- The CDI @HPHS team!

Summer Seminar and CDI Office Hours

The CDI College and Career offices are open this summer and just completed the second college summer seminar! Our students drafted college lists, a college essay, learned about financial aid, and much more. Check them out in action:

If you missed seminar, you can still utilize our services. Schedule an appointment by emailing Fatimah at fatimahshalash@cdi-ny.org, or give us a call at 212-780-9175 x3002. Our office hours are 9AM-5PM.

See you soon!

Juniors: Sign up for the Summer College Seminar Orientation

RSVP HERE: http://goo.gl/forms/CCEb244bEY

CUNY Assessment Tests (CAT): Frequently Asked Questions

CUNY Assessment Tests (CAT): Frequently Asked Questions

1) What are the CUNY Assessment Tests (CAT)?

CATs are placement exams that are used to help determine admission and placement into college-credit courses. Every student needs to take the math exam for placement purposes, and students who scored below 75 on the ELA Regents or below 480 on the critical reading component of the SAT must take a reading exam and a writing exam as well.

To find out which exams YOU may need to take, check out the admission requirements HERE: http://www.cuny.edu/academics/testing/cuny-assessment-tests/admissions-requirements.html.

Math: The math exam is an un-timed exam that is given on the computer. You will only be able to use the computer calculator. The test is organized into the following sections: numerical skills/pre-algebra, algebra, college algebra, geometry, and  trigonometry.  You need to pass the first two sections (Math 1 and Math 2) in order to be placed into a college-level math course at a 4-year CUNY.  Already proficient students will take the Math 3 exam. Take as much time as you need with this exam.

Reading: The reading exam is an un-timed, multiple-choice, computer-based test of reading.  Questions will involve identifying facts from the reading, identifying author’s tone and purpose, and making inferences. Take as much time as you need with this exam.

Writing: The writing exam is a 90-minute written essay test in which you will be asked to write a response to a short passage. You should take the complete 90 minutes to read and annotate the passage, brainstorm or outline, write your essay, and revise.

2) When do I take these exams?

After you have heard from the CUNY colleges to which you have been accepted, you should receive a letter about testing. You should make sure to take the Placement Exams as early as possible because they are required for admissions to certain programs, and most colleges have free workshops for students who do not pass. If you have not yet received a testing letter, but have been accepted by a CUNY college, contact the Testing Office at the college in which you plan to enroll.

3) Why bother preparing for the College Assessment/ Placement Exams?

• They’re required for entrance into the SEEK program! Most CUNY’s require these tests to be taken by April 1^st.
• It can save you time:  If you pass, you can get started right away on your college courses instead of taking zero-credit developmental courses first (remedial classes).
• It can save you money:  College classes are expensive, and each class at CUNY can cost between $720 and $1,240. If you pass the exam, you can bypass paying for zero-credit developmental courses! If you don’t pass, see how you can still save money in question 5, below.

3) How do I prepare for the CUNY Placement Exams?

Reading Exam

·         An overview of the exam can be found at: http://www1.cuny.edu/readingtutorial/launch.html

·         Additional practice exercises can be found at: http://jjc.jjay.cuny.edu/erc/act/reading/exmenu_reading.php

Writing Exam

·         An overview of the exam can be found at: http://cuny.edu/academics/testing/cuny-assessment-tests/resources/CATWInformationforStudentsandpracticeweb.pdf

Math Exam

·         Overviews and sample items relating to the math exam can be found at: http://www.cuny.edu/academics/testing/cuny-assessment-tests/resources/Mathematics_Test_samples.pdf

·         A great site for online diagnostic and practice exams can be found at: http://www.hostos.cuny.edu/oaa/compass/

·         http://areyoureadyformath.com

4) What do I need to bring for the exam?

In order to take the exam, you need to have applied to CUNY and you need to know your social security number or CUNY ID. On the day of the exam, you will need:

1)      Testing letter or ticket,

2)      photo ID (either high school or driver's license), and

            3)    pen and pencil.

5) What If I don’t pass?

·         Don’t fear! CUNY has a program called CUNY START where you take part-time or full-time classes for the first semester of college. Instead of using your FAFSA money for this semester, you only pay $75 (all books included) and you re-take the CAT test up to two times until you pass! This gets you COLLEGE READY and you can start Spring 2016 as a full-time student.

Good luck! Please check in with me if you have questions, or respond to this email. 

Meet your Bridge to College Coach!

Dear Seniors,

As we come into the home stretch of the school year, we know there is a lot to think about and do in order to help you make the transition to life after high school. Please complete this REQUIRED graduation survey before you leave for Spring Break later this week: http://goo.gl/forms/pOAPSA7BHe. By completing the survey, your name will be entered to win a $25 AMEX gift card!

This summer, our school will be working in partnership with the “Bridge to College” program.  We have hired College Coaches, students who graduated from HPHS and have completed their first, second, or third year in college. The information you list on the survey will help your coach and me, best assist you over the summer with the next steps. They will be available, in addition to your college advisor, to answer any questions you have about any of the following:

ØCompleting any college applications or financial aid forms;

Ø  Scheduling college placement exams;

Ø  Transportation to college;

Ø  Special programs at your college; and/or

Ø  Registering for classes

Your College Coach’s name is listed in the email we sent you on March 30th. We will be hosting a meet-and-greet party to introduce you to meet your college coachin the coming weeks.

We are so glad that we will have  coaches working with us this summer to help you as you take these next big steps. As your coach reaches out to you via phone and email, we expect you to respond to your coach in a timely manner, so we can get updates on any issues you are having or to know if things are going well for you! 

Please be in touch with us if you have any questions or concerns.

Best,

The College Office

FAFSA COMPLETION NIGHTS: Register Today!

HPHS Senior Families:

Free College Financial Aid Workshop

Work one-on-one with trained New York Cares volunteers to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Wednesday, February 25^th from 6:00-9:00pm @HPHS

Saturday, February 28^th from 11:00-2:00pm @HPHS

In order to participate in the FAFSA Completion Event:

·       ADVANCED REGISTRATION REQUIRED: FILL OUT FORM WITH FOLLOWING LINK: CLICK HERE

·       Bring financial documents (tax forms,  social security numbers, etc) listed on the attached sheet

·       Bring a list of colleges you have applied to

·       Arrive at HPHS 15 minutes before your scheduled start time (5:45 PM on 2/25 and 10:45 AM on 2/28) 

CHECKLIST to apply for Financial Aid (2015)

You must bring ALL of the following documents to your advisor BEFORE your scheduled workshop.

What You Need	YOU	PARENT(S)
Birth dates (MM/DD/YYYY)	X	X
Social Security Number	X	X
Alien Registration Number (A#), if you are a permanent resident	X
Email Address	X
2013 & 2014, 1040 Federal Tax Return	X	X
2013 & 2014, IT-201 NY State Tax Return	X	X
W2 Forms (if applicable)	X
List of Colleges Applied to	X
MM/YYYY of Marriage/Separation/Divorce/Widowed		X
Money in cash, checking, savings, and investments	X	X
Date of Arrival in NY State (MM/YYYY), if you arrived less than five years ago	X	X
Untaxed income documents (Social Security, Unemployment, Public Assistance (Not food stamps), Disability…		X

Get PIN Numbers (You can also apply for a FAFSA PIN in person)

o  Get a FAFSA PIN at www.pin.ed.gov.

Students and parents need personal identification numbers (PIN) to complete the FAFSA online. The PIN is a four digit code that is used as an electronic signature.  This MUST be obtained EITHER at the workshop or at least 24 hours in advance of the training.

o  Get a FAFSA PIN for one of your parents (whoever will sign the FAFSA).

If a student is considered dependent, both students and parent(s) need to request PINs. If a student is considered independent only the student needs to request a PIN. Parents without social security numbers will not be able to apply for a PIN. To sign the form, they should print out a signature page, sign it, and send it in the mail.

For more information or to RSVP contact:

Fatimahshalash@cdi-ny.org (Last names A-K) or

 Marinaroyo@cdi-ny.org (Last names L-Z)

*A parent or guardian must attend with the student in order to complete the FAFSA. If you would like to attend, but your parent/guardian cannot be there, please notify your advisor.

Hope to see you there!

I've turned in my college applications: What's next?

Seniors, now that you've turned in all of your applications (congrats!), read the following next steps closely to stay on top of the process: 

1.     Check your Application Statuses NOW: Begin checking your application status at EACH individual college you’ve applied to. This may mean you have to CALL or EMAIL colleges, but many colleges probably sent you a username/password to login to their system and check. Do they have your transcript? SAT scores? Letters of recommendation?

Colleges do NOT inform me us if something is missing. L Only you. So, please complete this important step!

2.     Check your email and voicemail daily (clean out your inboxes or set them up, people!) and read your messages carefully. Now is the time that colleges will begin contacting you for consideration of their SEEK, EOP, and HEOP programs. Don’t overlook these important emails, phone calls, mailings, etc.!! They don’t care, but you will!

3.     Check your Financial Aid Requirements: visit EACH college’s financial aid website ASAP to verify what financial applications/documents they need and when they need them by.

·        When is their priority deadline for FAFSA? (many colleges have priority deadlines – meaning they will first consider students who have filed their FAFSAs by the listed date for their scholarships and other institutional aid)

·        Do they require the CSS Profile? This is a separate financial aid application via the College Board, often required by more selective colleges (but not necessarily). Check the colleges websites or this list (https://profileonline.collegeboard.org/prf/PXRemotePartInstitutionServlet/PXRemotePartInstitutionServlet.srv) to confirm. Typically, the deadline for this application is Feb 1^st or 15^th! It takes A LOT of time to complete, so don’t wait until the last minute.

·        Do they want signed copies of your parents’ tax forms? You won’t know this unless you check the websites!

4.     Keep your grades up! . Your senior grades matter…A LOT (even gym class!), and colleges WILL see them. So, don’t ruin your chances of admission – stay motivated in every class! Your mid-year reports will be sent to college in February.

Our Financial Aid Night is next Wednesday, January 21^st at 6pm in Room 321. We encourage you AND your parent(s) to attend to learn important information about financial aid, loans, and more!

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email the college office or stop by. We are available to help you complete ALL of these applications, mail/fax your documents, etc., but we need you to review what is required of your colleges before we meet.

Best,
The College Office

PS: Don’t forget to share your college acceptances with us!! Every.Single.One. J