Cut Them Free!

Seniors, as you start narrowing down your college choices, it is important to cut the other schools free. What does that mean?  It means that as you begin identifying which college or the few colleges that are still in the running that it is important for you to notify the other colleges that you do NOT intend to attend their school beginning next year. Please, wait to tell the schools that you will not be attending until you are completely sure that you are no longer considering them. However, I realize that many of you have already decided or have at least narrowed your choice to a smaller group of colleges and you have completely eliminated others from consideration. Those which have been completely eliminated are the colleges I am recommending you notify as soon as possible.

This is important because it allows the college to plan for their upcoming student body and to know if they have room to accept other students off of their wait-lists. Think about your classmates who might be on the waiting list for a school and they want to hear back from the schools as quickly as possible and there are other students across the country in the same situation. Colleges can't begin opening up additional slots until they know which students will or will not be attending. Additionally, if you received scholarship offers from one of the colleges that you have eliminated from the running, this can also potentially allow the college to offer that money out to other students which, again, can help people such as your fellow classmates. Believe me, the colleges will not be angry with you for deciding that you will not be attending their school - they understand that this is part of the process, so just go ahead and take a few minutes to let them know of your intent to attend a different college.

Local Scholarships

The local scholarships are now completely updated and available on the Lexington Student Services Center website.  These scholarships provide a great opportunity for students to earn some additional financial help for college. And, with the scholarships being local, it means that there would be less people applying for the scholarships (compared to national scholarships) which gives you a better chance of receiving one of the scholarships.
Please take the time to carefully read through the criteria for the scholarships to see which ones would be appropriate for you to apply for and then start working. When you go to the Student Services website and click on the SENIOR TIMELINES & SCHOLARSHIPS area you will be taken to the listing of all of the scholarships and it has the link to each scholarship application.
Most of the deadlines for completed applications are coming up in April and May(some are earlier) and no late applications can be accepted. I cannot stress enough the importance of planning ahead and starting to work on these scholarships now!
Also, please pay attention to see if the applications require a written recommendation letter and ask your teacher(s) for a letter as soon as possible - especially if they have not already written a rec letter that you can use for the scholarships.

Academic Options Night

In addition to the wide range of courses that we have available here at LHS, there are other academic options available to our students.

The College Credit Plus (CC+) program is an opportunity for high school students to take college courses while still enrolled in high school. This program has replaced what used to be called Dual Enrollment and PSEO.

Students are still able to go to the college campus to take classes or take classes with LHS teachers that will also give you college credit.

There are a lot of details involved in participating in the CC+ program and students must complete and submit the paperwork before April 1st to indicate their intent to participate in the CC+ program in the following school year.

In order to explain all of the details of the program and to provide you with the forms necessary, all students and parents interested in participating in this program should plan to attend the Academic Options night next week on Monday, February 23th at 7:00pm in the LHS auditorium. This will be a joint meeting for all of the students and parents in Lexington.  Representatives from Ohio State University and North Central State College will attend to share the opportunities available through CC+ with their college. Please see Mr. Secrist if you are unable to attend this meeting as it is mandatory that you attend one and there are other options being provided at local colleges which you can attend if you can't make it to our meeting next week.

 

 

 

I hope that all students and parents interested in learning more about College Credit Plus and ways to earn college credit while in high school will join us Monday, February 23 at 7pm.

How did exams go (a week later)??

How did the first day of exams go? Were you feeling anxious?

Test Anxiety can be common for students - especially with exams since they have such a significant influence on your 3rd six week grades. The best strategy to prevent test anxiety is being prepared. It is much more likely that you will be anxious and struggle with feeling overwhelmed if you have not adequately studied and prepared for the test. Unfortunately, for some students, you can be well-prepared, but still struggle with anxiety.

There are a wide range of strategies you can use to help deal with anxiety:

- Research has indicated that spending several minutes before a test to write about your feelings will   help decrease test anxiety and improve test scores. The University of Chicago researchers “believe  worrying competes for computing power in the brain’s ‘working,’ or short-term memory.”
- Practice putting yourself in testing situations when studying. The more you get used to the experience and feelings of testing the less anxious you will feel when in the actual test.
- Just before the test, avoid talking about the test material with your friends. Chances are fixating on the test material and talking about it with your friends right before the test will only make you more anxious.
- Approach the test with a positive attitude. Don’t go into the test expecting the worst to happen. You can remind yourself that you have studied and know the material.
- Avoid distractions so that you can focus on the test and not on what other students are doing. Do not compare yourself with others and how they are doing on the test.
- Take a deep breath, relax, and do the best you can.

I should also mention that smart testing strategies like getting a good night of sleep, eating breakfast, having all of your required materials (pen, pencil, calculator, scratch paper, etc), getting regular exercise, and giving yourself plenty of time to get to your test on time will also benefit you as a whole and in testing situations.

Good luck in the next three days of exams!

Submitting Test Scores

The college admissions tests (ACT and SAT) are one of the basic components that most colleges consider when evaluating an application. While any scores that we have appear on your transcript, the vast majority of the colleges want to receive the score results directly from the testing agency. You receive the option to send your scores during registration to 4 colleges for free and there is an additional charge for any extra schools you want to send your results to after those initial four.

You can log in to the ACT and SAT websites to review the locations where you selected to send your scores to make sure that every college you are considering has received a copy of your scores. This is an important step as you are completing the application process. So, in addition to making sure that you have completed your application form, written your essay, secured your recommendation letters, and submitted your transcript release form, please make sure that you have sent your official test scores to each of the colleges where you are applying.

Don't forget, not every college will require these tests so it is not the end of the world if you are not a strong test taker. Visit http://www.fairtest.org/ for a list of the over 800 colleges that do not require admissions tests as a component to evaluate the applicant.

Senior Schedule Changes

Every year we have seniors come in asking to drop 2nd semester classes from their schedules.  And every year when a senior approaches me with that request I encourage the student to stay in the class and if they really feel strongly that they want to make the change that they need to contact all of the colleges where they have applied to see if it will impact their admissions decision.  Students will frequently roll their eyes and think I am crazy for making that suggestion, but we consistently hear that message from colleges because it is so important.  Today I received an email from a college where many of our students apply and I am copying it for you just so you will realize that making changes at the semester – especially if you are looking to drop a class – is NOT a decision you should take lightly.

Because strength of curriculum is an important factor in our decision, we require students to notify us if they plan to change their senior year course schedule. Please ask them to include the following information in the email: (1) their current spring 2015 schedule as it appears on their original application, (2) the change they would like to make, and (3) the reason(s) for the change. We will review and respond to all requests as promptly as possible. If the student has been offered admission, the Admissions Committee may choose to reconsider that offer based on the change of schedule. If a student is notified that his or her decision is being deferred, any course changes will be considered when the final admission decision is made.

If you are struggling with your academic load and NEED to make a change, please come see me so we can talk about the options, but again, I strongly encourage you to maintain a rigorous schedule throughout your entire senior year.

PSAT Results

Your scores have arrived! Any students who took the PSAT test in October, your scores will be distributed this week. I will call you down in small groups and explain your results, go over next steps and AP Potential. If you have additional questions about your scores, feel free to come and see me and we can take a look together. The score reports include lots of helpful information, tips, and practice for improving as well as information that we have available on the counselor website - Student Services, Testing Information.

Also, there is a section that you can look at with regards to your scores that will help guide you on selecting courses for your future.  For example, the AP Potential section will give you an idea of which AP tests you can expect to be able to earn a 3 or higher (and therefore be able to earn college credit for the class).

Don't forget, these are just practice tests so they are giving you a general indication of where you might expect to score if you were taking the SAT with no additional preparation or review.