Ramaz Upper School

Introduction to College Advising
Pre-College Planning Calendar | The College Process
The Importance of Meetings | SAT I, SAT II, and ACT

JUNIOR - SENIOR YEAR
October 2011 - June 2013

Introduction

College guidance, in its formal sense, is a two year process that begins in the fall of the junior year and culminates with the graduation of our seniors. The process is termed "guidance" rather than "placement" since the essential element is to find the college that matches a student's religious development, personal disposition, academic profile, talents, interests, and ambitions. To this end, the College Office schedules group meetings, individual conferences, parent conferences, informational evenings, and workshops.

The role of the college advisers, Mr. Blumenthal and Dr. Honig, is to provide the information and tools that each student needs in order to ask probing questions, obtain answers, make intelligent decisions, write a compelling personal essay, process the paperwork, and grapple with dilemmas as he or she ultimately finds the college that is the best fit. The college advisers maintain files for each student that contain in-house faculty reports, student activity sheets, interview summaries, transcripts, and lists of college choices. The College Office is, as well, the place to obtain forms and receive help in completing SAT and ACT registration materials.

Throughout the entire process, the College Office team functions as a unit to disseminate and collect information, to spur students to make personal choices, and to advise students and their parents. Although the advisers write an individualized, comprehensive school recommendation for each senior, once applications are filed, the advisers communicate with the colleges and provide whatever information they may yet require. In this capacity, the advisers serve as the liaison for the Ramaz Upper School and, as advocates for the students, ensure that all schools to which our students apply are aware of our rigorous dual curriculum requirements, the extent of our curricular and extracurricular offerings, and the strengths of each individual Ramaz applicant. Our rate of success can be measured by the number of students who complete their four years of college in an environment that answers their religious needs, enables them to fulfill their inherent potential, enhances their academic growth, and helps them meet their career goals.

The college process begins formally with the administration of the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test, or PSAT, in October of a student's junior year and concludes with graduation. The following is a calendar outlining the steps and events in this period and detailing some of the responsibilities of students, parents, and Ramaz.

October 26, 2011	PSAT is administered at Ramaz.
Second week of December	Advisers return PSATs individually, reviewing results and implications for future standardized testing. Students and parents should similarly review PSAT results and decide on an approach to standardized testing.
February - May	Group and individual meetings between students and advisers take place; a full description of these meetings appears later in this document. Students and parents should be reviewing together the substance of both group and individual meetings.
April 23, 2012	College Visitation Day for Juniors. Juniors are encouraged to visit and tour a college campus on this Monday, and to spend the previous Shabbat on campus if possible.
March/April	Test date for SAT I and ACT. Most juniors will wait until May or June to take one of these tests. Students ask three teachers to submit in-house reports about them to the college advisers. Students and parents should plan together what colleges they would like to see on College Night, taking into consideration the adviser’s recommendations. Chol HaMoed Pesach is an opportune time for one or more campus visits. Students should also be researching their college choices, making use of the College Office library and consulting with older students.
April 30 , 2012	College Night for juniors and their parents. Over forty colleges send representatives to make presentations.
May	Test date for SAT I or SAT II subject tests. This is the most popular date for students to take the SAT I.
May-November	Advisers meet with students and their parents. Read more about these meetings later in this document.
June	Test date for SAT I or SAT IIs or ACT. Those students applying to colleges which require SAT II results may use this date to take up to three SAT II subject tests. This is the only test date for the Modern Hebrew SAT II.
Summer	Students should continue to research colleges and should make college visits and/or schedule visits for the fall. Students should create an account for the Common Application at www.commonapp.org and look at supplements for colleges of interest. The Common Application website goes live on August 1. Students should start drafting the personal essay and complete a draft before school begins in the fall.

October, Junior Year

The PSAT is administered at Ramaz. Students are advised to familiarize themselves with the kinds of questions that are asked, and the school provides practice tests (past PSATs) to help accomplish this.

A College Night for Parents of Juniors is held to officially kick off the college process. Parents will meet the college advisers, hear an overview of the college search and application cycle, and have the opportunity to ask questions.

A financial aid workshop is held for interested parents; a speaker explains the process of obtaining aid and suggests how best to complete aid applications.

December, Junior Year

In mid-December, PSAT scores are released to students. The scores are accompanied by literature explaining how to interpret and use the results. College advisers are assigned, and they meet with each student individually to help further explain scores.

At about the time that PSAT scores are released, the College Office arranges a lunchtime discussion led by seniors who have made use of various forms of test preparation (e.g., Princeton Review, Kaplan, private tutor, self preparation) to familiarize juniors with the advantages of each. The advisers are available to discuss individual choices.

The College Office generally recommends that students take the SAT I once during the spring of junior year. The exam is offered at Ramaz on certain Sundays in March, May, and June. We also suggest that students who will be applying to colleges that require them take one or two SAT II subject tests during the spring. These exams are given in May and June; SAT I and SAT II tests may not be taken on the same day. Keep in mind that these recommendations are general and that individual needs may necessitate different schedules or the postponement of SAT II testing until senior year. Most schools, in fact, do not require subject tests at all, although many highly selective schools require two. The advisers are available to discuss individual testing needs. A more in-depth discussion of testing follows.

Many Ramaz students take the ACT rather than, or even in addition to, the SAT. More subject-oriented than the SAT I, it is an appropriate choice for some students. While some colleges will accept the ACT in lieu of both SAT I and SAT II subject tests, a few highly selective colleges will accept the ACT in place of the SAT I only and will still require SAT II subject tests. ACT Test dates are available in September, October, December, April and June at New York University, although the test is not offered at Ramaz.

Group and individual counseling of juniors begins at this time. The individual counseling provides an opportunity for adviser and student to get to know each other; the group counseling presents discussions of some of the larger issues facing juniors, such as when to schedule standardized tests, how to research colleges, and what to expect in an interview. See below for more information about these meetings.

Spring, Junior Year

Individual and group meetings continue.

Students will usually take the SAT I in either May or June, although some may opt for March testing. If required, SAT II subject tests are generally taken in June. Students planning to use the June date for SAT II testing should use the May or March date for the SAT I. Students who opt to take the ACT may take it in April or June.

Students research the colleges on the tentative list discussed in the individual meetings. Students also ask three faculty members to write short “in-house” reports for use only within Ramaz; these letters will help the advisers gain a fuller understanding of the quality of a student’s work. Students select their senior courses, deciding on possible major areas of interest and areas for advanced study. The administration, together with the college advisers, reviews each senior’s projected academic program in both general and Judaic studies.

It is not too early to investigate colleges. Visiting campuses, taking directed tours, and speaking with college representatives are valuable experiences in narrowing down a list of appropriate colleges. In the spring, Ramaz holds its annual College Night, when parents and students are invited to an informational evening held at the school. Over forty colleges send representatives (either admissions officers or alumni) to give short presentations. A family will be given an opportunity to hear up to eight different presentations, as well as a panel discussion, on that evening.

Following College Night, the advisers are available to meet with parents and students to discuss choices. Each family should decide, based on its own circumstances, whether to choose a junior year meeting or a senior year meeting. To help students and families determine appropriate college choices, advisers need standardized testing results (SAT or ACT), junior grades, and a defined senior year program. It is helpful to know all these factors by the time of the family meeting. No family will be met with twice before all families are met with once.

Summer Following Junior Year

Students continue researching colleges by viewing resources online and by reading college viewbooks and visiting schools. Students should also make plans now for visiting colleges in the fall and should begin to work on the college essay.

Fall, Senior Year

A weekly Senior Bulletin will alert students to important deadlines and scholarship opportunities. Each student should pick up the Senior Bulletin on Mondays (or the first school day of each week) in the sixth floor office or in the College Office. It is also available on the website so parents can read it, too.

Those families who have not met with an adviser do so now, the earlier the better.

All students should check in with their adviser to talk about the summer and any recent developments.

Students should visit colleges and schedule interviews where appropriate. If possible, students should try to visit campuses over Shabbat to experience the quality of Jewish life over an extended period of time.

A special Israel Programs Night is held for students and parents to learn about opportunities for a year of study between high school and college in a Torah institution in Israel.

A large number of college representatives make visits to Ramaz. Visits are generally scheduled for lunchtime, and students have an opportunity to ask questions generated by their research.

Students may wish to retake the SAT I or ACT and to take additional SAT II subject tests. SAT is offered in October, November, and December; ACT is offered in September, October, and December.

Students are responsible for completing applications by the due dates and turning in required forms to the College Office by the deadlines established by the advisers.

A financial aid workshop is held for interested parents; a speaker explains the process of obtaining aid and suggests how best to complete aid applications.

The advisers are available to meet with students individually to help them refine lists of colleges, choose faculty to write recommendations, and complete applications. The advisers also consult with students about their application essays.

Winter, Senior Year

Ms. Leslie Aranzazu, Registrar, sends out all transcripts and supporting materials. Students ask teachers to send their recommendations to colleges.

Advisers visit/contact schools to which students have applied to advocate for applicants with admissions officers.

Spring, Senior Year

Advisers are available to discuss admission results and financial aid packages as necessary with individual students to help them make decisions about which school to attend.

Throughout the advising process, the goal of the College Office is to facilitate the exchange of information and to provide personal counseling for each student. In this respect, the heart of the process is the series of meetings that take place beginning in the winter of the junior year and continuing through the fall of the senior year.

The junior year meetings are held on two levels: group and individual. The group sessions are designed to address common issues facing any student applying to college. Such issues include, but are not limited to, the scheduling of standardized tests, interviewing, what to look for when researching a college, how to accomplish that research, and College Night, our spring evening when over forty college representatives visit Ramaz.

The individual meetings are one-on-one and serve several purposes. The meeting is an opportunity for the adviser and advisee to get to know each other better. It is also a time for both to gain some insight into the direction in which a student is heading in terms of lifestyle, college, and career. Personal and academic history and goals are discussed, and the student should leave the meeting with a preliminary list of colleges to be researched, as well as with an idea of what tests he/she needs to take and when.

The family meetings of junior or senior year focus more on colleges and the application process. The agenda includes a review of the student’s high school record, careful refinement of the list of colleges begun earlier in the spring, a detailed look at the application process, including the responsibilities of Ramaz and the student, and an introduction to the financial aid application process.

The following is a brief introduction to the world of standardized testing. It is intended as an overview to help students do some preliminary planning for junior and senior year. Any such planning, however, should be tailored to the specific needs of the individual student.

It is generally recommended that students take the SAT I once in the spring of the junior year and once in the fall of the senior year. One need not worry about a lower score on one section of the SAT I since almost all colleges will consider a student’s highest critical reading, math, and writing scores, even if earned during different administrations of the SAT.

According to the College Board’s new policy, students may choose to report only those SAT I and SAT II subject test scores they wish to report. Be aware, however, that colleges have the option of requesting to see all scores. As in the past, ACT students may choose which ACT results to report. See your college adviser for details.

On any given test date one may take either the SAT I or anywhere from one to three SAT II subject tests. One may not take the SAT I and subject test(s) on the same day. (Subject tests are not offered in March.) The SAT I takes three hours and 45 minutes; a subject test takes one hour.

There are some colleges that are SAT optional (such as Fashion Institute of Technology, Franklin and Marshall, Muhlenberg, and Union), but most colleges to which our students apply do require the SAT I test or the ACT. Most colleges, however, do not require subject tests. Some colleges not requiring subject tests include all of the divisions of the State University of New York (SUNY) and the City University of New York (CUNY), as well as NYU, the University of Chicago, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins (except for engineering), Yeshiva University, Brandeis University, and numerous others. Students should consult with their college adviser about the advisability of taking subject tests. For some students, preparing to take a subject test may be an unnecessary burden, distracting them from schoolwork.

Those colleges that require subject tests usually require two. For liberal arts programs, any two subject tests are acceptable. More specialized programs, such as engineering, have stricter requirements.

The ACT with writing, a more subject-oriented test, is accepted by most colleges in lieu of the SAT I and subject tests. The exam is offered in New York City (New York University is one Sunday test site), but NOT at Ramaz. It is administered less frequently than the SAT.

Not all subject tests are given on every testing date. The Modern Hebrew exam is given only in June. The French and Spanish Listening exams are given only in November. The French and Spanish exams without listening are administered on all SAT II dates except November. The World History exam is given only in December and June.

In New York State, only certain tests are available on certain dates:

January	SAT I, SAT II
March	SAT I
April	ACT
May	SAT I, SAT II
June	SAT I, SAT II, ACT
September	ACT
October	SAT I, SAT II, ACT
November	SAT I, SAT II
December	SAT I, SAT II, ACT

In some cases, students with a diagnosed learning disability or handicap may take the SAT I, SAT II or ACT with extended time during a non-standard test administration. Such students must be approved for extended time by the testing agency many months in advance of the registration dates. Receiving extended time at Ramaz does NOT guarantee approval by the testing agency. These arrangements are facilitated by the Ramaz Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) Coordinator, Ms. Deborah Biegen.

Typical testing schedules for students planning to take SAT tests or the ACT appear below. Any such schedule should be individualized in consultation with the College Office.

Sample Testing Schedules

Spring Junior Year - Fall Senior Year

Date

March

May

June

October

November

December

Student #1

SAT I

SAT II-Math Level 1

SAT II-Hebrew

SAT I

SAT II-Physics

Student #2

SAT I

SAT II-U.S. History, Literature

SAT I

ACT

Student #3

SAT I

ACT

SAT I