PSAT message for parents

The School Counseling Department will meet English 9, 10, and 11 classes in the library between February 8 and 16 to distribute the PSAT 8/9, PSAT, and PSAT/NMSQT to our students. Please ask your child to show you his or her score report. If you don't see the score report by February 16, then something is amiss.
When you review the score report, we ask that you not focus solely on the individual score, since students are not judged on their PSAT scores.
However, we ask that you pay particular attention to the skills insight that is provided on the report, and work with your child to improve the skills that have the greatest room for growth.
If, in the coming weeks (for juniors until the April 12 SAT) and months (until the next PSAT for sophomores and freshmen), the students focus on a particular skill set (like words in context or problem solving and data analysis), then they will see concrete improvement for the next time around.
Please know that the College Board has partnered with the Khan Academy to provide FREE SAT prep that is customized for students' own performance, and can be linked to their www.collegeboard.org account. As I indicated in an earlier email, please don't create multiple collegeboard.org accounts for students, as that will cause problems in 12th grade.



Lastly, the school counseling office would like to reinforce two ideas: while the PSAT provides good prediction for SAT performance, and SAT is one measure of college readiness, it is certainly not the only way to measure a students' readiness for college or career. There is no disputing that a student's performance in rigorous (within reason) coursework (such as Advanced Placement) provides a much more thorough insight into a student's readiness for college than any one test. Second, the ACT (www.actstudent.org) is an equal, if not more preferred by many, college admissions test, and students are encouraged to consider both tests in 11th and 12th grades. More colleges move to test-optional admissions every year, and every college accepts the ACT as willingly as they accept the SAT.

As always, don't hesitate to reach out to your child's school counselor if you would like to discuss post-secondary planning.

How was your summer?

What did you to this summer?

Welcome back to school, from the School Counseling Department!

ALL STUDENTS

While we do not have any staffing changes, Mrs. Murphy is planning to supervise a school counseling intern this fall, whose name is Mr. Doyle.

Included with the schedules was a sheet of directions and registration codes for the parent accounts at http://connection.naviance.com/PikesvilleHi so that you can monitor your child’s college and career searches and begin the process of searching for scholarships. Speaking of financial aid, information is always updated at http://tinyurl.com/PHSCollegeCash, and it is never too late to start saving for college at http://www.collegesavingsmd.org/. Students should continue to see, and parents should continue to call, Ms. Billingslea, the School Counseling secretary, to schedule appointments, as she has access to all of our calendars.

If you have not yet seen it, please check out (and subscribe to) our blog at http://PikesvilleHSCounseling.blogspot.com. Also, if you are on twitter, follow us at http://www.twitter.com/PHSCouns. These are two resources where you will hear about opportunities and insight as you navigate the high school experience.

All stakeholders – teachers, parents and students of all grade levels – are asked to complete our annual needs assessment survey at http://tinyurl.com/PHSCounsNeeds14 so that we can get a sense of how we are doing and how we can improve our program. This year, we will work even harder to bring our comprehensive school counseling program to the breadth and quality that is recommended by the American School Counselor Association, and we can’t do that without your input as a community.

Last year, we started the #PHSfit Career of the Day project, when a different career was featured on Twitter and the morning announcements. This year, we will switch back to a different college each day, and also plan to post the career’s description on the blog.

If you haven't already heard, families who qualify for free and reduced lunch are eligible for a reduced rate on high-speed internet access from Comcast. Call 855-846-8376 or visit http://InternetEssentials.com for more information.

GRADE 9

http://pikesvillehscounseling.blogspot.com/p/grade-9-information.html

This is a critical time in a student’s life. Without a comfortable and successful start to high school, students find it challenging to get re-centered at a later point. Remember that the college admissions process starts on the first day of ninth grade, as each quarterly grade affects your final grades, and colleges will see those final grades from freshman year. Each final grade you earn freshman year has the same impact on your GPA as each final grade you earn junior or senior year. Success tends to have a snowball effect. In addition, it is really important to get involved in a few activities that interest you. You don’t need to spread yourself too thin, but the goal is to find people who share your values and priorities, and joining a club with like-minded people will help you make and strengthen connections with your peers in high school. It is recommended that you stay after school, either for coach class or with a club, at least twice each week. We also recommend that you spend at least 20 minutes on each academic subject each evening. This time can be spent doing the assigned daily or long-term homework, rewriting class notes, studying those notes, and pre-reading course material so you’re ready to participate in class the next day.

All students in grade 9 will be given the PSAT in October. Please know that only those students who have accommodations approved by the College Board are permitted to use those accommodations on the PSAT. More information will come in September. The test will be given on October 15, and students who are late to school will not be permitted into the test.

In the winter, students will begin to craft their four-year plans with their school counselor, as part of the course advising process.

GRADE 10

http://pikesvillehscounseling.blogspot.com/p/grade-10-information.html

Sophomore year is a time to hit your stride. If your freshman year grades are below a 2.0 average, you’d need sophomore year grades above a 3.0 to just break even at a 2.5 GPA. The higher GPA you have, the more options you’ll have for after high school. Sophomore year is the time to start visiting a few colleges so that you can develop a sense of priorities when you begin the planning process with your school counselor. Pick one or two of the activities you joined freshman year and start to pursue leadership opportunities within those organizations. Or start a new organization! October 15 of sophomore year is when you’ll take the PSAT at no cost to you, and your score will give you some early indication of your readiness for college and AP courses.  We will discuss your scores in December.

Later in the winter, when sophomores meet with their school counselors for course advising, we will update your four-year plans.

GRADE 11

http://pikesvillehscounseling.blogspot.com/p/grade-11-information.html

In the past, we have conducted college planning sessions upon request. This year, we will do more than that. Each junior is going to be assigned a pre-scheduled time, either 1:15 or 1:45, to meet with his or her school counselor, during the 2^nd quarter. Parents are invited, but not required, to attend this session. Your school counselor will give you a copy of your high school transcript, listen to your priorities (so be sure you’ve started thinking about it) for post-high school planning, and give you some feedback and tips so that you can be proactive about finding the right academic fit after you graduate.

On October 15, you’ll take the PSAT, which is your last unofficial exposure to college admissions testing, so be sure that you take advantage of this opportunity for meaningful feedback, and use that feedback as you prepare for the SAT and ACT, which really starts for you in January.

Baltimore County Public Schools anticipates another school-day SAT like we had last year, but we do not yet have details about how it will be implemented this year. You will be notified when more information comes to light.

GRADE 12

http://pikesvillehscounseling.blogspot.com/p/grade-12-information.html

Welcome to the busiest year of your life so far. In addition to your regular course load, you will spend this year applying to post-secondary programs and scholarships, and you should take advantage of as much down time as you have to both proactively complete these tasks and rest to recharge your batteries. Before school starts is an ideal opportunity to work on your college essays. If you have not already done so, finalize your list of colleges, which should be between five and ten. Activate your account at www.commonapp.org and/or www.eduinconline.com and be sure that you are registered for your second SAT or your first ACT. The school counseling department will meet with you in your English 12 classes to orient you to requesting high school transcripts in Naviance. Be sure to give your teachers and school counselor at least two weeks’ notice, with proper documentation for requesting letters of recommendation and for processing transcripts. Scholarship opportunities are regularly updated at http://tinyurl.com/PHSCollegeCash and you should also use twitter to participate in the weekly #CollegeCash tweet chat about financial aid.

The coolest part of Mr. Goldman's summer was when First Lady Michelle Obama mentioned some of the great things happening at Pikesville High School:

SAT Day 2014

Baltimore County Public Schools is once again providing all juniors the opportunity to meet a college admissions requirement by giving the SAT in school on April 30.

Instead of leaving it up to students to arrange for transportation and potentially take such an important test in an unfamiliar location, our 11th grade students will take the SAT in their own school, on a regular school day.

This year, the juniors will be registered by the College Board, and test registration tickets will be mailed to the home addresses that we have on file. We just ask that the students bring their admission tickets to their advisory teachers. The admission tickets will be returned to the students on the morning of the test, April 30, because they will need important information that is printed on them.

In order to help students prepare, our English 11 teaching team has already evaluated trends that we saw in the juniors' PSAT scores and developed plans to address common areas of need. Additionally, juniors are advised to use their My College Quickstart codes that were printed on the PSAT score reports and that they accessed in December when PSAT scores were distributed.

The best way to prepare for the SAT, however, is to take full-length practice tests (like this one here). So when we have snow days, or on weekends, and especially during spring break, take a solid four-hour stretch of time to sit and take a practice SAT so that you can get a sense of how much time you should be spending on each question. Remember, on the SAT, you only gain points for correct answers so it makes more sense for your score to go for the answers that you can be sure to have at least a 33% chance of being correct, rather than risk losing 1/4 of a point for guessing.

Because we don't anticipate getting score reports back before the school year ends, it is that much more important for juniors to use Naviance to compare their SAT scores and GPA against the colleges on their prospective college list. Of course, the school counselors are available to discuss reasonable options given our school's historical admissions trends at a number of schools.

Just because the SAT is given in school, however, that does not mean that the SAT is the only test that students should be taking to prepare for college admissions. It is recommended that students who are intending to apply to four-year colleges should take both the SAT and the ACT during their junior year and then use the summer to prepare to re-take whichever test felt more comfortable to them or  on which they had a stronger performance.

Please be sure to use the Grade 11 page on the blog to get some input on what tasks would be helpful and developmentally appropriate at this critical time in your college planning and high school career.

On April 30, make sure you...
Eat dinner the night before
Eat breakfast that morning
Arrive on time for school, as we will start at 7:45 like any other day
Bring your #2 pencils and an approved calculator that you trust
Leave your cell phone in your locker, since cell phones are absolutely prohibited during testing

And in case anyone was wondering, April 30 will continue to be a regular school day for everyone else, even though the underclassmen may find that their classes are temporarily moved to a different classroom.

Course Advising 2014-15

On January 16, the 9th through 11th grade students received their course request forms and accompanying BCPS Course Registration Guides. During advisory, the students watched a short video that explains the process:

As you can see in the video, students have automatic course requests at the top of the form, and these courses are simply the next sequential courses based upon their current progress in this year's classes, as recommended by this year's teachers. While the teachers' recommendations are supported by the school, they are not set in stone. The conversation can continue through to the end of the school year. If the family still disagrees with a teacher's recommendation, please discuss that disagreement with your school counselor.

We will begin offering every student eight credits next year, and Pikesville's method is to implement that with a four-period A day - B day format. Please supplement the recommended "automatic" course requests with electives so that the total number of credits equals eight. We also ask that each student identify at least four credits of alternates in case of a time conflict, or in case a course does not have enough requests to staff.

Because student requests impact staffing decisions, the school cannot allow students to make changes to their levels or electives once schedules are mailed in the summer. Please put as much thought and care into your requests as the school is.

We also would like students to consider increasing their academic rigor. The greater rigor students pursue in high school, the more college ready they will be in college. However, we ask that you choose wisely, and not request too many AP courses, either. Being recommended for five AP classes does not mean that you should take five AP classes. Please consider athletic, employment, and family obligations, as well as how much time it takes to complete homework and (especially) study for tests, as AP courses have a much greater emphasis on testing than other classes. Please watch the GetAPFit channel to get an idea of what you can expect in each class, and ask your current teachers, the teachers currently assigned to teach your intended AP course(s), and their department chair as many questions as you need this year, because once you are in the classes next year, you'll be in them all year. Please refer to your PSAT score report to see which AP classes have the greatest statistical probability of your passing the AP Exam.

Rising seniors are advised to consider what is the most appropriate plan for their seniors year. Aside from academically rigorous courses that are available in-school, eligible seniors also have the option to either get real-world experience by working in an internship or by taking college classes. When deliberating the best plan for you, please call the colleges to which you are considering applying, and come to our #PHSfit College Fair to ask admissions counselors what they would most highly recommend as part of the application process in order to best demonstrate your college readiness.

Each student already has ten minutes reserved to meet with his or her school counselor for course advising during the first two weeks of February. And again, even though we will be entering course requests at that point, requests can be changed as often as necessary in order for all students to leave school in June confident that they have committed to the best #PHSfit course requests for them.

Last, please refer to the academic resources page on this blog for more insight into the process.

Panther Prep Day

 PHS seniors learn real world skills in Panther Prep Day

By Gregory Hill

Last Wednesday, while freshmen, sophomores and juniors took the College Board’s ReadiStep and PSAT assessments, seniors at Pikesville High School walked confidently in their finest suits and blouses as they engaged in Panther Prep Day to help the soon-to-be graduates prepare for career and college.

Students in six groups rotated every half hour among six stations.

At one station, students presented their resumes and participated in a mock interview with a variety of professionals, academics, and business owners, including Mathew Death, community outreach coordinator for the Baltimore Orioles, and Robert Sarnovsky, molecular biologist from the National Institute of Health.

“The interviews show first hand the importance of having a polished resume and being prepared for a job interview,” said David Kreller, PHS School to Career Coordinator who planned the event in conjunction with school counselor Erin Murphy.  “The fact that the students receive feedback can be invaluable in students’ lives as they prepare for life after high school.”

After the interviews, the professionals rated the students and provided them feedback on their resume and interviewing skills.

“I have never been interviewed before,” said senior Shannon Nichols.  “I was kind of nervous, but when I interviewed, I realized it was like a conversation.  I now have more confidence.”

In addition to interviewing, students also participated in a career fair featuring Armed Forces recruiters, trade schools, and local businesses to offer students career advice and options.

“I liked how it was authentic, and it was a new experience for me,” said senior Dylan Alexander.

A third session, led by First Financial Credit Union, aimed to teach students financial literacy, including the realities of college debt, credit cards, and spending money wisely.

“I like the financial workshop because I learned how to be responsible in college to avoid financial ruin,” said senior Bezankeng Njinju.

A fourth session, led by School Resource Officer Joseph Goralczyk, taught students personal safety and awareness.

“I liked the safety part because I know how to conduct myself to avoid situations that put me in harm’s way,” said Bezankeng.

The seminar from the Community College of Baltimore County featured an overview to college options for students.

Finally, Kelly Yousem, a medical malpractice lawyer, vegan chef, and expert in nutrition, taught the students how to eat and live healthfully.

“We thought that it was important for students to understand what healthy eating looks like.  It is very important to their well being, academically, physically, and socially,” said Mrs. Murphy.

Jeremy Goldman, school counseling department chair, reflected on the positive outcome from the Panther Prep Day event.  He shared, “for a day that is traditionally so focused on assessments, it was refreshing to give seniors this opportunity to do something different. Because of Panther Prep Day, all of the students at Pikesville High School were actively engaged in college and career readiness, and it elevated our students’ awareness of why school is so important.”

October Update

with the exception of the 7% who were absent on certain days in the past two weeks...
Our student body has now activated their accounts at the Naviance Family Connection!
http://connection.naviance.com/PikesvilleHi
Through this portal, students can conduct college searches using many different criteria, save the colleges they are interested in and rank their interest level, and eventually request transcripts to be sent to those colleges. On the faculty side of the site, the school uses Naviance to submit transcripts and letters of recommendation to colleges where the students are applying.
One of the most popular uses of Naviance is the scattergram, which allows students to see how previous students from their high school have historically fared at popular colleges:

We will also use Naviance to help our ninth graders identify career clusters that are of interest to them, sophomores identify their Holland Career Interest Type, and juniors determine their Myers-Briggs Personality Type. Combining these three assessments helps individuals to get a clear picture of what occupational roles and tasks offer a suitable and gratifying fit for their futures.
As a special shout out, the following students have logged on more than their classmates and deserve recognition for investing their time in exploring their options for the rest of their lives:
12th grade: Kara S.
11th grade: Austin G. and Nicholas O.
10th grade: Parker B. and Ismail H.
9th grade: Waham A. and Jamie N.

With the activation of Family Connection accounts, this marks the second time that every one of our students has had contact with a school counselor, plus whatever personal, group, or lunch duty contact individual students may have had. Our goal is for students to have the chance to interact with school counselors in individual, group, and classroom settings more than ever before in the history of Pikesville High School.

Thanks to the support stemming from Twitter and the previous post, we were able to fund two iPads for the school counseling department. Students have used these iPads for SAT and ACT registration, assistance with Naviance, and have streamlined the school counselors' ability to make and log contact with students outside of the office. If you can, please contribute whatever amount you are able for the third iPad and complementary keyboard covers through DonorsChoose.

Now, for some announcements:
October 3 - college planning workshop, led by Loryn Strauzer, from the admissions office of Towson University. Mr. Goldman, assisted by Ms. Andrea Wilson (school counseling chair from Owings Mills High School), will inform parents about Naviance Family Connection and help parents activate their Naviance accounts.
The school counseling department will also hold its first-ever advisory council meeting, taking another step toward alignment with the ASCA National Model. We will have representative students, parents, community members, teachers, and college admissions counselors to provide feedback. If you would like to provide feedback on the program, please do so at http://tinyurl.com/PHSCounsNeeds13.

PANTHER PREP DAY
On October 16, all juniors, all sophomores, and about half of the freshmen will take the PSAT. Approximately 100 freshmen will take the ReadiStep assessment. Information was provided in English classes or directly from Mr. Goldman, and PSAT-takers were given practice test booklets so that they can prepare. The ReadiStep assessment is explicitly intended as an assessment for which students should not prepare or study.
The seniors will engage in a series of post-secondary readiness workshops. Financial planning, independent sustenance, career options, and of course mock interviews, are among the stations through which the seniors will cycle during the three-hour period when the underclassmen will be engaged in testing.
At approximately 11am, the school will resume its usual schedule beginning with mod 4 (fourth period or A lunch).

Plan to attend the NACAC Fall National College Fair on November 12 and 13 at the Baltimore Convention Center to interact with dozens of colleges and learn about the multitude of opportunities for students to find their post-secondary #PHSfit.

SENIORS and their deadlines
Now that seniors have activated their Naviance Family Connection accounts, it is crucial that they use the site regularly to get comfortable with it. While the process is posted in other places, it won't hurt to list here as well:

1. Seniors need to submit the transcript release form, signed by parent/guardian, to the school counseling secretary. This is necessary for us to have permission to send the transcript, and Ms. Billingslea can then unlock the ability for students to request transcripts.
2. For those who are applying using www.commonapp.org, they need to complete the Education portion (denoted with a green check), add a college to their list on CommonApp, and click on "Assign Recommenders." Read, complete, and sign the FERPA agreement. In Family Connection, type the email address that is used for the Common App account and click "MATCH."
3. In Naviance Family Connection, add colleges to the "Colleges I'm applying to" list, and add transcript requests for each of those schools. Make sure that every common app school is included.
4. Provide $2 for each destination to the school counseling secretary, either in cash or a check made out to Pikesville High School. 
5. For those who need letters of recommendation (which is true for all common app schools), complete and submit the "School Counselor Recommendation request" survey, located in the "About Me" tab in Family Connection.

Once steps 1-4 (and 5, if applicable) are complete, requested documents will be sent within TEN SCHOOL DAYS. You can monitor the progress from your family connection account.
Teachers also have the ability to submit letters of recommendation through Naviance Family Connection. You should always discuss your requests with them personally, but you will need to add them in the "Colleges I'm Applying To" list with a pull-down menu to select the 1-2 teachers from whom you are requesting letters of recommendation.
Please keep your list up-to-date, so that you are able to meet (or beat!) deadlines.
Once you receive admissions decisions, please bring a copy to the school counseling office so that we can track our students' success rates at the colleges to which they apply.

As always, please feel comfortable coming in to schedule appointments with your school counselor. We are here to help.

Second-week Check-in

News and notes from the School Counseling Department

We are more than a week into the school year, and it seems like things are going well. There wasn't an overwhelming number of families who waited until (or beyond) the last minute to enroll in school, and thanks to our tripled efforts to give students more support in academic planning for this school year, we have had far fewer-than-usual issues with students second-guessing their electives or core course levels.

Between Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah, this will (hopefully) be a quiet week before we dive into classroom visits:
September 9: Ninth graders - orientation to high school and the role of the school counselor
September 10: Twelfth graders - college applications and resources
September 11: Tenth graders - Hitting your stride in high school and setting goals
September 12: Eleventh graders - Understanding the importance of junior year

During those classroom sessions, we will introduce the students to a new initiative we are establishing this year, based on responses on our needs assessments, which we are calling "Transition Tuesdays." Many students feel the need to talk about things that they are experiencing, but are not always comfortable missing class to do so, and can't find an appropriate way or place to discuss them. Therefore, we will hold an open group every Tuesday during students' lunch periods, to process transitions that they are experiencing (grieving the loss of a loved one, the separation of a family, new arrivals to Pikesville, or preparing for new challenges, etc.) Students just need to come to the conference room during their lunch shift on Tuesdays. If this ends up drawing a larger crowd than anticipated, then we'll make alternative plans.

If you haven't yet, please complete this year's needs assessment survey so we can identify areas of strength and potential at http://tinyurl.com/PHSCounsNeeds13 - anonymity is completely optional.

Between September 20 and October 2, students will activate their accounts at Naviance, a college and career planning portal with which BCPS just began a multi-year contract. Naviance is how we will submit transcripts and recommendation letters to Common App members and other colleges.

Upcoming events, so please mark your calendar:
October 3 at 7:00pm: College Planning Workshop in the PHS Library - this is planned to be facilitated by our admissions representative from Towson University, Ms. Loryn Strauzer. If time permits, parents can also get their personalized Naviance access codes.
November 12-13: NACAC College Fair at the Baltimore Convention Center
December 12 at 7:00pm: Financial Aid information night, with Dr. Benee Edwards from MHEC  (to explain FAFSA) and Jennifer Bauer from Central Scholarship Bureau (to explain scholarships).
February 6 at 5:00pm: #PHSfit College Fair with planning workshops. Expect the cafeteria to be a flurry of activity with college admissions representatives from dozens of colleges in our region, as well as college planning workshops presented by local college admissions consultant Craig Meister from Tactical College Consulting.

One feature in Naviance is the ability for students to sign up for information sessions with college admissions recruiters. Many of our visits that are scheduled for the fall have already been posted to the edline calendar. Students may come see Ms. Billingslea in the school counseling office to sign up for information sessions until their Naviance account is active. After that, we ask that students sign up prior to the day before the visit so that Ms. Billingslea can make a hall pass for teachers to allow the students to leave class.
The following college information sessions are already scheduled:
September 18: Bryant University (10am)
September 19: Dickinson College (8:30am)
September 23: Ithaca College (8:30am)
September 25: Elizabethtown College (9am)
September 26: Washington College (10:45am)
September 27: Stevenson University (9am) and American University (1pm)
September 30: Towson University (8:30am)
October 1: Tufts University (11am) and Muhlenberg College (1pm)
October 2: McDaniel College (9:15am)
October 3: High Point University (8am) (by this point, all students should be signing up in Naviance)
October 7: Goucher College (1pm)
October 8: Washington University of St. Louis (9:30am)
October 15: University of Southern California (12pm)
October 22: George Mason University (1pm)
October 24: Lycoming College (9:30am)
October 30: Albright College (9am)

October 25 will be this year's administration of the ASVAB, an assessment that is used for college planning, and also is required for those who plan to enlist in the military. Students who take the ASVAB are under no obligation to enlist. Sign up on Naviance.

October 16 will be a very big day, and is worthy of its own blog post. Until then, know that ALL PIKESVILLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS will be engaged in college and career readiness activities. The 9th graders will take the ReadiStep, the 10th and 11th graders will take the PSAT, and the 12th graders will have their annual Senior Mock Interview Day (SMID) and other college and career planning exercises.

As always, don't hesitate to email or schedule an appointment to discuss any questions or concerns. We are very proud that our proactive efforts are having their desired impact, which allows us the opportunity to provide more schoolwide programming to benefit all students.

One last note - inspired by some school counselors in other states, we are trying to raise funds for each school counselor to have an ipad so that we can be more mobile in the school and have immediate access to college and career planning resources, as well as take immediate notes of student contact. If you would like to donate to this cause, you may do so at Donors Choose. Once the first two devices are fully funded, we will work to identify funding for the third. If you use the promo code "INSPIRE" at checkout, DonorsChoose will match donations of up to $100 by September 8.

Is my score good?

We are over half-way done distributing and explaining the PSAT and ReadiStep scores to students. Today, several students asked me individually, "is my score good?" The most truthful answer I can give is that as long as you tried your best, it's your score.

We have many students who are conditioned to believe that you "have to" get into a "good" college, and lose sight of the fact that there are thousands of post-secondary institutions, many of which will be "good" for each individual student. The students' PSAT score reports show how they did at taking this test. It isn't an indication of their value or worth as a human being, or even just an assessment of the quality of student that they are. While it is true that PSAT, SAT, and ACT scores have some predictive validity related to students' success in college, it is only part of the picture. Success in high school courses plays a much larger role in college admissions, and success in academically rigorous courses is even more important.

Regardless, it is extremely important for all of us to remember that even if your grades and test scores are not  in the range of a particularly coveted college, there are still options. Perhaps there is something about this college that the student admires which can be attained at any of dozens of similar colleges in (or outside) our region. It just takes some time to schedule an appointment with your school counselor to discuss best-fit colleges, beyond just the "best" colleges that we hear about so often in the media.

Further, if a student is really so determined to attend this dream school (think "Rudy"), remember that what matters in life is how you finish, not necessarily how you start, and that the journey is more valuable than the destination. Students can start at one four-year or two-year college and then potentially transfer to a different college. Many who plan to transfer end up staying where they are because they eventually learn that being where they are is actually in their best interests!

It's not about a "good school," it's about a "good fit" school.

First Post

Welcome to the blog for Pikesville High School's School Counseling department!

In the pursuit to find the best way to convey the latest information, we are trying this venue. By signing up for email notifications, you can find out anytime the blog has been updated, which we plan to do on a regular basis as scholarships and summer programs are publicized.

This blog is also a way to provide a more in-depth discussion about current or upcoming issues that are pertinent to our students and their families.

So... what's current?

• We held a financial aid information night presented by Benee Edwards from MHEC, and posted (thanks to Jake F.'s mom) the video on our Library/Media Center's youtube page. 
• PSAT and ReadiStep score reports are in the building, and are in the process of being distributed to English classes in the computer lab, when we will assist all of the students in creating accounts at www.collegeboard.org. Such an account is necessary to register for the SAT Reasoning and SAT Subject tests, so it is important to start that now. Not only will students use the site to register for the tests, but their ReadiStep and PSAT score reports grant them access to MyRoad, to explore colleges, careers, and majors. 
• Half of our sophomores and half of our juniors took a Field Trial version of the SAT in September. The College Board tells us that they will ship the score reports to us by December 20, so they will likely be distributed to students in early January.
• Also in January, we will start the process of course advising for the 2013-14 school year. Look for links to our first Virtual AP fair!
• February 4-8 is National School Counseling week. One of our events that week will be the #PHSfit College Fair, attended by between 25 and 75 regional colleges. The fair will be held from 5pm to 6:30pm, with a college information session presented by Craig Meister from 6pm to 7pm. Dinner will be available as a fundraiser by our AVID students.
• March 4 and 5 will bring the CCBC/BCPS college fair, attended by more colleges (more opportunity) and more people (less intimacy) than our school's college fair. We recommend that you attend both to get the most exposure to possible appropriate college matches.