Palos Verdes High School

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CEEB Code: 052358 PVPUSD
College Career Center » 10th Grade College Planning: Sophomore

10th Grade College Planning: Sophomore

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Mrs. Joanne Lewis
Director, College & Career Center
Phone: 310-378-8471 Ext. 43618
[email protected]

 

Mrs. Teresa Hoffman
Scholarship & Financial Aid Coordinator
Phone: 310-378-8471 Ext. 43347
[email protected]

     SEPTEMBER
 
  • Meet with Counselor to ensure you’re meeting ‘A-G’ eligibility requirements for UC/CSU
  • Update your Schoolinks information. On Schoolinks you can start keeping track of your awards and honors, school and community activities that you’re involved on – both paid and volunteer work, and descriptions of what you do. If you have any problems with your Schoolinks account, contact your counselor for assistance.
  • Concentrate on academics
  • Continue to develop extra-curricular interests; try new ones...attend CLUB RUSH!
  • Participate in Community Service that is meaningful to YOU!
  • Attend at least 2 or more of the Mini College Fairs on Tuesdays held over lunchtime from mid September - mid November. No registration needed... bring your friends and start investigating colleges you might not have heard of along with those you have!
  • Start thinking about and investigating what kind of careers you might enjoy most! There are great resources in Schoolinks under the "careers" tab!

    OCTOBER

  •  All sophomores will take a practice college entrance exam to become exposed to the new Adaptive Digital SAT to get a glimpse of what that tests is like on College Testing Day in October.  For extensive information regarding college testing please see the link College Admission Tests.
  • Stay on top of academics: turn in homework on time, follow up on test with test corrections.

    NOVEMBER – JANUARY

  • Receive and review results from the College Day testing. This will help you understand more about college entrance exams and help you prepare for the actual ACT and/or SAT which you will take in your junior year.
     
  • Sophomore families are encouraged to attend our college admission testing night in December to gain a better understanding of the testing process looking forward to a more concrete testing plan in junior year.  For extensive information regarding college testing please see the link College Admission Tests.
  • Remember, grades, GPA, and your academic schedule is important!! 
    Testing is ONE component of your college application. It can be an added value to showcase your academic strengths and potential for success in college. Your day in day out course work and effort in your classes are the biggest component of the academic review in an application. Not JUST your GPA, but how you've grown over time, consistency or growth in grades, adding honors/AP/advanced coursework in academic areas of strength, etc. Take the time to do well in classes. 
  • Get organized. You might begin receiving mail and e-mail from Colleges. Start a file of important documents and notes… you can keep the information in a file box or in a digital folder, but you should keep your test scores in a folder along with your transcript, report cards, etc.

    FEBRUARY – MARCH

  • Keep up your grades; retain good writing samples for personal use
  • Continue with community service; focus on service that you feel is important and where you can try to make a difference.
  • Learn what resources are available to help you plan for college by visiting the College & Career Center and speaking with your Counselor. Check out catalogs, guidebooks, college search programs and college web sites.
  • Do some college major/career exploration by taking some self assessments on sites like these:
       
    Me3 Major and Career Quiz Find a major, degree program and career that fits you with me3®, an online interactive major and career quiz.
    Collegexpress Explore college lists to find right fit colleges
    What Can I Do With A Major In… Curious about typical careers for a given major? Use this website to explore.
    Need help picking a major? Start here If you don't know what you're going to do with your life yet, don't panic. This might just be your AHA! moment.
    California CareerZone Learn more about who you are and what you are interested in doing.
    O-Net Career Interest Profiler Learn about what you like to do and what types of careers you might want to explore.
    Career Finder Answer questions about your interests to learn about possible career paths to consider.
    ASVAB Career Exploration Program Find Your Interest Inventory (FYI) helps you translate your hobbies into career-related interests.
    16 Personalities It only takes 10 minutes to get an accurate description of who you are and why you do things the way you do.
  • Explore upcoming summer internships and jobs. Talk to your parents about your family plans for summer and discuss the possibility of participating in a summer enrichment program, workshop or camp with specialty focuses such as music, arts and science.
  • Military Academy Information – If you are interested in applying to a U.S. Military Academy as a senior, plan to attend the Military Academy Information session or contact your local Congressional representative to obtain a timeline of application procedures.

    APRIL – MAY

  • Meet with your Counselor to discuss your academic plan and course selections for your junior year. Talk to your counselor about Dual Enrollment, Advanced Placement (AP) and honors courses; keep in mind that you will want to challenge yourself with tougher courses that make sense for you. Every student should take the most challenging courses he or she can perform well in.
  • Prepare for college entrance exams by taking a practice full length ACT / SAT. These are valuable tests to help you prepare for the actual ACT / SAT that you might take in your junior year. It’s important to understand which test works better for you so that you can focus on preparing for that test you can do your best on... keep in mind that the UC's and Cal States are TEST FREE and will not consider any college entrance exam scores for admission.
  • Attend College Fairs where sophomores are admitted: The NACAC College Fair is one of the largest and a great opportunity to meet admissions representatives from hundreds of colleges around the nation.
  • Sign up to take summer courses if appropriate. Volunteer or work over summer, take classes or enrichment programs – whatever the case, make those plans now so you don’t miss out later.

    JUNE – AUGUST

  • Enjoy your summer doing whatever it is you decided to do! Try something new or dive deeper into projects or activities where you are excited and eager to participate.
  • Start now or continue a discussion with your family about College: Find out about the different types of schools. Decide which characteristics are most important to you, such as size, distance from home, cost.
  • Begin your college search and visits right here in California by visiting some of our amazing local colleges and universities!