Look under the student icon on the Chaparral HS fusion website for the guidance calendar, list of college visitations, scholarship opportunities and information related to the NCAA clearing house and the college admission process.

November 20, 2008 6-8PM.
Location TBD
Sponsored by San Tan Financial

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - 3:15-4:15 PM
Location: Chaparral HS Room: C226

With Studentedge, students , and their parents have access to a variety of college planning, financing, and career exploration resources, as well as test preparation, including on line courses for the SAT, ACT, PSAT and AP’s and various interest and personality test. To get started go to www.mystudentedge.com. First time users should select the option “New Use.” All new users should enter the school’s access code: YRXTQFAU. After users submit the access code, they complete a registration for including an e-mail address.

Olin College prepares future leaders through an innovative engineering education that bridges science and technology enterprise, and society. Skilled in independent learning and the art of design, Olin's graduates seek opportunities and take initiative to make a positive difference in the world. Official Opening - fall- 2002
Admission - Highly selective: Outstanding achievement in coursework and testing. Special attention given to creativity, passion and enterprise
Current Enrollment - 304 freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors
Location - Needham, Mass.
Programs - Undergraduate Engineering (Electrical, mechanical and Computer Engineering, Student to faculty ratio- 9 to 1
Scholarship Policy - Every admitted student receives a four-year full tuition scholarship valued at $130,000.

Is a campus visit a factor in admission is an important question that a majority of colleges responded in the following manner: “although there was an increase in the number of campus visits, it is not a factor in determining admissions.

Admission Standards	Type of Students/ Security and Related issues
Actual Cost of College to You	Graduation/Transfer Rate
Campus Life/Career Services	Academic Programs/ Supportive Services

Given that admissions officers are seeking students with special talents or skills, here is what a few said:
Adelphi U.- Critical thinking, service to community/HS involvement.
Carnegie Mellon - Strong academically; good evidence of leadership.
Claremont McKenna - Leadership skills
Cornell U. - Leadership, community service and involvement with high school
Dartmouth C. - Evidence of intellectual capacity, motivation and personal integrity
Dickinson C. - Seeks students that want to make a difference.

The following colleges and universities do not charge tuition.
College of the Ozark - (MO, www.cofo.edu.)
Copper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art- (NY, www.cooper.edu)
Deer springs College - (CA. www.deerspring.edu)
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering - (MA, www.olin.edu.)
US Air Force Academy - (CO, www.usafa.edu)
US Coast Guard Academy - - (CT, www.cga.edu)
US Merchant Marine Academy - (NY, www.usmma.edu.)
US Military Academy - (NY, www.usma.edu.)
US Naval Academy - (MD, www.usna.edu.)

Educators are searching for reasons why the national scores for the SAT fell by four points in math and reading. The College Board, which owns the test, said greater diversity among test takers accounted for the decline. Minority students accounted for 39 percent of 2007 test takers. And College Board officials said that whenever the testing pool expands, scores fall.

According to ACT, 23 percent of graduating students taking its test are ready for college level work in English composition, biology, algebra and social science, a slight increase over last year. But the ACT warned again that students hoping to graduate from college are not taking tough enough high school courses. For example, only 15% of the test takers took algebra 1 and 11 and geometry, met ACT’s “college-readiness benchmark. In contrast, 40% who also took high school trigonometry met the benchmark.

What role will the college essay play in admissions in 2008? A number of colleges said simply," it is important. But others, such as Purdue U. said "it had no role at all." Here are a few examples of how the essay might be used.
American U. - Required and important
Bucknell C. Very important
Carnegie Mellon- Still required
Claremont McKenna - Significant CMC is writing intensive
Colgate U. - Considered as a part of he review process.
Cornell- It is required of all students.
Dartmouth- Personal statement is a significant component of the application
Dickinson - Supplemental to academic qualifications.
Harvey Mudd- As always, it is important.
Lafayette C. - We vale the essay as a means of getting to know our applicants
Pomona C. - One of many factors
Reed C. - The graded paper from high school is more important than the SAT writing.
St. Lawrence- It plays an important role in our holistic review process.
UNC/Chapel Hill- One of many factors in the honors/merit decisions.
Whitman C. Significant; plus graded critical analysis paper form English class.

(Trends for the College Admission Counselor 9/07)

1. Talk to Your Counselor
2. Stay In Touch with Your Counselor
3. Do Your Research
4. Get Started Early
5. Don't Procrastinate
6. Listen to Your parents
7. But, Don't let Your parents do the Work for You
8. Open Up your Mind
9. Visit, and Visit early
10. Don't Let the Pressure Get To You

MIT College Program will host a college night question & answer on October 5, 2008 at 7PM. This event sill be held at Tesseract Middle School/High School campus located on the southwest corner of 40 Street/Shea.

The Baird Foundation Scholarship
Any student that is interested in this scholarship must contact Mrs. Murray in the College and Career Center no later than Wednesday, October 1, 2008. This is a nomination scholarship whereby each high school in Arizona nominates one student who has consistently and effectively displayed the characteristics that define a leader. The completed application requires three letters of recommendations be included in the application packet.

Chaparral is hosting "Discover Duke". This event will feature Steve Mc Lauglin, Assistant Admission Director at Duke. The event will be held in the Chaparral HS Media Center on Sunday, September 28 from 3 to 5PM.
Any interested Chaparral students and families are encouraged to attend.

AIMS Retakes: October 28-30
Writing/Reading/Math

AIMS Test: February 24-25
Writing/Reading

AIMS Make-up Test: March 3-4
Writing/Reading

AIMS Test: April 1-2
Math/Science

AIMS Make-up Test: April 7-8
Math/Science

All Students/Parents In-State College Night TBA. More details to follow. Out of State College Night is Mon., Sept. 20th at 6:00 p.m. in the library. All are welcome to attend.