Photo courtesy of Harold Melamed
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College Counseling for Juniors
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Junior year is the time to begin thinking specifically about the college search process. Students should focus on their academics while balancing involvement in meaningful activities.
The College Counselors begin working with the juniors in the fall through the College Seminar. The seminar introduces students to various facets of the college search. Second semester, the College Seminar becomes an SAT Prep Course.
Introspection and self-awareness are critical to the college search. Blake students take the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory. Such vehicles encourage us to think about who we are and what is really important to us.
Juniors and their parents learn more about individual colleges by attending the fall college fairs. The MISP College Fair, held on a Sunday afternoon, attracts 150 college admission counselors representing colleges from across the country. The National College Fair, sponsored by the Minnesota Association for College Admission Counseling, is held the Minneapolis Convention Center. Blake students are encouraged to attend the National Fair during the fair's evening session.
Juniors take the PSAT (which also acts as the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Program) in October, and may choose to take the SAT Subject Tests and AP exams, if appropriate. Click here for more information about College Admission Standardized Testing.
Students are assigned a College Counselor in early February. Typically, counselors meet first with the student and then include parents in a second or third session later in the spring. Counselors are available to meet, by appointment, over the summer as well.
In June, juniors participate in a college admissions simulation and role-play the admissions committee at a selective college. In this exercise, they have the opportunity to work with college Admission Officers. Students experience the complexities of the admissions process in a "hands on" manner.
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The Junior College Seminar
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First Semester: College Topics
Throughout the junior year, students will meet weekly in College Seminar during their scheduled period, or at 7:30 am on Friday. The College Seminar educates students about the phases of the college search process: exploration, application, selection, and transition to college.
College Counseling objectives for this program are that each student will develop the following:
- A self-understanding as related to the college search.
- An understanding of how colleges review files and determine outcomes.
- An understanding of the college exploration, selection and application process: necessary tests, types of applications, college visits, interviews, essays, resumes, portfolios, and recommendations.
- Knowledge about and ability to use college search resources including written materials, computer searches and application programs, the Internet, and media materials.
- Familiarity with standardized testing: PSAT, SAT Reasoning Test, ACT, SAT Subject Tests, TOEFL.
- An understanding of the student, college counselor, and parent roles in the college search process.
During the first semester, the college counseling staff will teach the seminar addressing topics as scheduled in the syllabus.
Second Semester: Standardized Test Prep Course
Beginning in January, the focus of the College Seminar is SAT Reasoning Test preparation. Students will review the math necessary for the test, build vocabulary skills, increase reading speed, and identify the various question types most likely to appear on the test. The materials for the course come from actual SATs used in recent years. We hope to help students maximize test-taking speed without sacrificing accuracy. One of the principle advantages to this course is lessening test-anxiety; fourteen weeks of practice before the "real thing" reduces stress and gives students confidence.
We recommend that juniors begin and end the course by taking the SAT on a national test date. The purpose of the initial test (to be taken in December or January) is to have students gain practice testing under real conditions. The test score will provide a base line against which to measure improvement; and a score report analysis can be requested from College Board to help them assess specific areas needing work. At the end of the course, we encourage a second.
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PSAT (information and preparation)
Criteria students consider in college selection
Criteria colleges consider in selecting applicants
Test Planning (when, where) & College counseling calendar
Admissions plans and applications
Interviews
Essay Writing
College visits (what to look for)
Recommendations, (whom to ask & when)
College resources (written, computer & media)
Test Prep Introduction
Test Prep Conclusion
Admission Stimulation
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