The SAT was redesigned (beginning March 2016). The biggest change is that you are no longer penalized for incorrect answers. Therefore, if you don't know, GUESS! The organization of the sections and the scoring has also changed.
Look at the infographic below to compare the SAT and the ACT. Which one sounds like it will be more likely to display your strengths? OR when in doubt, take each and then re-take the test you were most comfortable with (or whichever you scored better on). On October 4th, we held our annual Financial Aid Information Night for seniors and their families! Thank you to all that attended! If you were not able to attend or if you wish to review the information that we presented, you can download a copy of the powerpoint slides that we used by clicking the icon below:
Parchment is the free service that we use to send your transcript electronically when you apply to college. There have been a few updates to the Parchment service this year, so Mrs. Burkhardt has created a new tutorial video to explain how to create your account and send your transcript. Check it out below. If you have any questions please feel free to see your counselor - we are happy to help! Mrs. Burkhardt has created a new tutorial video for how to use the Common Application. Check it out below for help getting started. Please feel free to see your counselor with any questions - we are happy to help! This post will be particularly relevant to the class of 2017! The Common Application (or Common App) has implemented a few important changes for this year. CommonApp onTrackFirst, Common App has created a smart-phone app called CommonApp onTrack. Common App onTrack features include college submission status view, reminders, and push notifications that help students keep track of their application progress and ahead of each college deadline. For more information, check out the youtube video below: CommonApp Account Info RolloverApplications from the 15-16 school year will roll over into the 16-17 school year. In the past, if a junior started their application in the spring or early summer, the data did not roll over beginning in August. THIS IS NO LONGER THE CASE. Rising seniors can now begin working on their Common App accounts NOW without fear that the data will be deleted in August. However, some info will not roll over. Please see the info below: What information will carry over from one year to the next? We will preserve the answers you provided to any questions that appear in the six sections of the “Common App” tab: Profile, Family, Education, Testing, Activities, and Writing. What info will NOT carry over from one year to the next?
Click here for more info. Essay Prompts Despite many changes to the Common App this year, the essay prompts have not changed. We recommend that students using common app begin working on these essays early on in the summer. Save these in a word document or on your google drive account because if you put these in your common app account, they will not roll over in august (see above). NOTE: Individual colleges may require or encourage supplementary essays that are specific to that particular college. That info will be available in the college's specific section of the application. The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don't feel obligated to do so. (The application won't accept a response shorter than 250 words.)
2016-2017 Essay Prompts 1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. 2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? 3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again? 4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. 5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family. Yesterday, we held an informational meeting about all of the Dual Enrollment Opportunities that students have access to here at RCHS. Information about the following topics was presented: - What Dual Enrollment Is - The Advantages of Dual Enrollment - Current and Future Offerings at RCHS Mrs. Burkhardt (RCHS Counseling Dept. Chair), Mr. Cary (DSLCC Dual Enrollment Coordinator), Mr. Hand (RCHS Principal), and Mrs. Wheelock (RCHS/DSLCC Career Coach) answered questions and led a panel discussion about the topics. We hope that the presentation was informative! If you were unable to attend the presentation you can click the icon below to download the presentation or use the button to view an archive of all of our parent presentations
A Barn Quilt is a square piece of artwork that depicts a quilt design in a larger scale to be hung up on a house or barn. The concept has increased in popularity in recent years and a National U.S Barn Quilt Trail can be seen throughout Virginia and across the country in a total of 48 states! While these beautiful works of art are representative of history and culture, they are also fantastic examples of geometry concepts that our students have been studying all year. Our students applied what they have been learning in class to create amazing barn quilts of their own! Students needed to accurately measure and apply knowledge of geometric properties and transformations in order to re-create a barn quilt design on mat board with acrylic paint. The designs can be see throughout the school. We are so impressed with their work, so we've also displayed a few pictures of their final projects below. Great job students! Pictures and information courtesy of Mr. Fleshman.
Today, students enrolled in Economics and Personal Finance had an opportunity to participate in the first implementation of The Reality Store Experience at Rockbridge County High School. The program, hosted by the Virginia Tech Extension Office, is a simulation in which students are assigned a profile (career, income, family size, etc.) and must then navigate the complex world of being an adult - buying a home and car, arranging child care, budgeting for groceries and cell phones and entertainment, insurance, and dealing with life's difficulties as they arise (i.e. unexpected medical bills, the birth of an additional child)... and SO MUCH MORE! So many students learned valuable lessons about saving money and about the importance of finding a career that will meet their personal and financial needs. We had an absolute blast hosting this event and are very grateful to all of the staff at the VA Tech Extension Office and our many community volunteers that help to organize this event. The School Counseling Office hopes to make this a yearly event for our students so that they can more proactively think about and plan for their lives after high school. Seniors, have you received your financial aid award letter for the college you are planning on attending?
If so, make sure you understand the different types of aid you may be offered. The chart below explains the order in which you should accept aid. You may not have received all of the types of aid below. If you haven't received an award letter yet, do not panic! They can take time! But you'll only receive the award letter if you have filed your FAFSA AND you've sent your FAFSA to the college. Students often forget to do that last step! If you did, log into your FAFSA account and have it sent to each college you are considering! If you need help, please see your school counselor. If you have questions about your financial aid award letter, be sure to see your school counselor! We can help you interpret your financial aid package and discuss options you have. Stuart Hall School is hosting a community forum about college for students in grades 9-11. The event is hosted at the Staunton Public Library (Meeting Room) on April 6th from 5:30-7:00pm.
Please see the ad below for more information. |
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