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This
page was
last updated:
February 27, 2013
GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING NEWSLETTER
Students who wish to take AP exams must sign up through their AP instructor March 4--8
All students who are enrolled in upper level honors or AP courses that prepare students for AP exams have been given a copy of the 2013 AP (Advanced Placement) exam bulletin. Between March 4 and March 8, AP teachers will ask students to sign up for the AP exams that will take place from May 6-15. The cost for AP exams is $95 per test. This includes a slight surcharge above and beyond the test fee to pay for the proctors who will be supervising testing. The test fee will be collected by the classroom teacher around April 2--4. If a student orders a test now and cancels later this spring, he or she must pay a penalty fee of $15 because AP charges Saint Francis a penalty fee for each unused test. Students and parents should keep in mind that these tests are exceedingly difficult.
Please note that students in AP courses are not required to take the exams in May.
A student who chooses to take an AP exam should be performing very well in their honors or AP courses and is comfortable with standardized testing. Students should test their knowledge of AP material by practicing on sample test questions both inside and outside of class.
Since AP teachers cannot always cover every topic that may be on an AP exam, students who want to perform well on AP exams usually have to do additional work on their own. Information on AP courses and exams questions is available at www.collegeboard.com. Senior students should check with their prospective colleges about their AP credit policies. A link to college AP policies can also be found on the college profiles at www.collegeboard.com. For further information, students should see Mrs. Rigney or the AP instructor and consult the document on the Student Services page of the St. Francis website titled AP Testing.
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It is crunch time for seniors who are seeking financial aid for college. Any senior seeking financial aid for college must complete the FAFSA form as soon as possible. You need to complete the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov . Many colleges have a priority filing date of March 1 or March 15 for completing the FAFSA. Get your FAFSA processed ASAP!
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Juniors should sign up for April and June ACT tests
The regular registration deadline to sign up for the April 13 ACT test is Friday, March 8. Students may still register for the April test if they do so by March 22, but they will have to pay the late registration fee. The final ACT test for this school year will take place on June 8 with a registration deadline of May 3. To register go to www.act.org. Make sure you use our high school code to identify the school you attend so your scores are sent to St. Francis. Our code is 144-383.
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Princeton Review offers free practice for the ACT or SAT test
Princeton Review is sponsoring free strategy sessions and practice tests for both ACT and SAT during May, July and August. Interested students should go to www.PrincetonReview.com, enter the type of test and your zip code at the top of the page, click search, and the free events will be listed. Students may then enroll online for the practice test.
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Junior students should attend spring college fairs and begin the college search process
Several spring college fairs will be held in the months of March and April providing a great opportunity for juniors to get a start on their college search. A regional college fair will be held at the Recreation Center at North Central College in Naperville on Monday, March 18, from 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM. Nearly 200 educational, military and technical institutions will be represented at this fair. A list of colleges attending the North Central College Fair can be obtained by going to http://www.northcentralcollege.edu/x11694.xml.
In addition to the college fair at North Central College, DePaul University will host a fair on March 26, 5:00—7:00 PM, Lewis University on March 5, 6:00—8:30PM, and St. Charles East HS on April 9, 6:30 —8:30 PM.
It is very important that juniors begin the college search now, starting by researching possible careers and college majors. Students need to determine their preferences in terms of size, location, setting, etc. Online, students can complete a college search through programs such as the Naviance Family Connection, College Board My College Quick Start, Princeton Review, College View, Wired Scholar, or Peterson’s. Students may access these and other sites by going to www.sfhsnet.org/top/studentsvcs/guid-websitesforcolleges.htm. Finally, students should squeeze in some preliminary campus visits this spring or in early summer. College is a huge investment and it requires considerable research and planning. Start now!
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Are your child’s study skills what they need to be?
Good study habits help your child use study time in the most effective way to ensure maximum learning, retention, and good grades. After the flurry of Semester One Exams, students tend to launch into “slump time” and study habits fall by the wayside. Take a few minutes to review the following study factors that are associated with students who maintain A and B averages in school. Pass them along!
1. SET GOALS: Motives determine the amount of effort a child puts into a task and are among the strongest influences on performance. Putting a goal in writing will help your child to focus on it on a daily basis.
2. KEEP REGULAR STUDY HOURS: Once certain hours are set aside just for studying, your child will find this decision saves time. There will be no need to spend time deciding when to study or what to do first. The hours right after class are the best hours for learning.
3.REVIEW NOTES ON A DAILY BASIS: Reviewing is homework, too! Reviewing often will reduce cramming for tests. It will also help store information in the long term memory making it easier to study for tests at a later date.
4. ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS: Insist that your child study in a quiet space without television, telephone or instant messaging. Set a specific time for friends to connect with one another or tape a show to watch on Saturday.
5. BUILD IN REST PERIOD TIMES: If your child is working on a set task, encourage him or her to take only 5 to 10 minute breaks so that the momentum won’t be lost.
6. CHART PROGRESS: Regularly obtain information about progress. Encourage your child to communicate with teachers to clarify information and to keep a record of test and quiz grades inside notebooks. Measuring progress is highly motivational and keeps interest up and goals in sight. It also allows your child to take charge of his or her own education.
7. TAKE NOTES AND MAKE NOTES: Encourage your child to always re-read (or write out or say aloud) notes taken in class the same day they are taken, while they are still fresh in memory. The second part of this effort is to make sense out of the notes by adding missing details from the text, filling in abbreviations before they are forgotten or writing questions in the margins to ask in class the next day. By doing this, notes will be complete when studying them at a later date AND the likelihood of this information making its way into long term memory is much higher!
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