THE COLLEGE CHRONICLE

An Upperclassmen Update
Quisque: Welcome to the College Chronicle, a newsletter designed for Animas High Schools Class of 2013. In this edition youll find a wealth of important information designed to assist our 11th graders and their families as they plan and progress in Semester Two. Be sure to check out all the articles and updates related to the college admissions process, upcoming standardized testing and our inaugural LINK experience in March. Its an exciting time for our Juniors and our faculty is excited to support students in their post-secondary planning efforts. It seems like only yesterday the Class of 2013 assembled on a crisp fall morning for the first day of student orientation at Edgemont Ranch. Now, our first class sharpens their focus on the next leg of their journey. Its been an amazing experience and we look forward to celebrating success with our first graduating class!
Animas High School Values: Rigorous academics, where all students are prepared for college success Culture of excellence, where students are held to high expectations Strong faculty-student relationships, where students are well known Engaging learning, where students see the relevance of their education

Whats Inside?
A Juniors Journey: A Timeline for the Class of 2013 Early What? Early Decision & Feugiat: Early Action Defined
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Whats Happening In Animas Highs College 3 Counseling Department? LINK Program Update Standardized Testing for College Admissions
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A Juniors Journey: A Timeline for the Class of 2013

Continue Researching and Exploring: Using your College Criteria List, research schools, search the web and work with AHS staff to identify schools that are a good fit. Utilize online tools like college finders and top college lists, examine college websites, take virtual tours and speak with college representatives to learn as much as possible about the schools you have interest in. Expect to add and delete schools to your list of colleges during this exploratory phase. Organize a testing plan: Find out if the colleges you are interested in require the SAT, ACT, or SAT Subject Tests. Figure out when youll be taking these important tests and mark the dates on your calendar. (See Testing Section of this Newsletter for more info) Register to take the tests you need as most 11th graders will begin taking these tests this winter or spring. You can test again in the fall of your senior year if youre unhappy with your scores. Consider participating in a test prep program here at AHS and get ready for the state sponsored ACT this April. Athletics Anyone? If you want to play sports in college, you must investigate a schools athletic opportunities. Similar to making your College Criteria List, brainstorm key factors and critical attributes you want to see as part of any college athletic program. You should also familiarize yourself with NCAA rules and guidelines for student athletes. Search for schools that meet both your academic and athletic needs and reach out to coaches and team reps. Youll need to demonstrate interest by letting coaches and athletic directors know you are interested in pursuing college athletics. Many programs will have particular requirements like the submission of future seasons schedule, providing the program a preview tape, gathering recommendations from current coaches, creating a portfolio of press clippings, box scores, etc. In addition to the AHS College Counseling staff, potential college athletes should check in with the many AHS faculty members who pursued athletic scholarships and participated in college sports.

Other Activities Anyone? Just like student athletes, those involved in specific extracurricular activities like theater, speech and debate, video arts, music etc., should also reflect upon what role those activities will hold for them in college. Identify directors and coordinators of these programs at potential schools and send them an interest letter. Many extracurricular programs will have additional admission criteria, (audition tapes, tryouts, portfolio submission, etc.) if you plan on participating. Pursuing extracurricular activities in college may provide a student additional scholarship and financial aid opportunities. Organize Your Efforts: Once youve done your research, met with the AHS College Counseling Dept. and solidified your College Criteria list, request application materials from potential schools. At home, create a filing system so you can organize the materials you will receive. With a file system in place, it will be much easier to locate specific information you are looking for when you need it and keep track of important admissions related correspondence. Keep Your Family in the Loop! Make sure you are communicating with your parents and family about your ideas and intentions. Share with them your College Criteria list, potential schools list and any other resources you are using to assist in your decision process. Remember, your parents, grandparents, siblings, etc., all have perspectives about you as a student and a person. The more information your team has, the better support they can give you. So discuss with others what they think is important for you to consider.

Got Recommendations? AHS faculty and staff will be asked to write recommendations for most of our students. Consider whom you want to ask now and let them know so theyll have time to prepare before getting tons of requests in the fall. Ask teachers who know you well and who will have positive things to say. Students will learn more about how to properly request recommendations from AHS teachers later this spring through their work with the College Counseling Dept. Letters of Recommendation from a coach, activity leader, or adult who knows you well outside of school are also valuable. Approach those folks before the start of summer and help them prepare to write you a great recommendation. Consider a summer job or internship: Summer employment and internships in fields youre interested in will look appealing on a college application or resume. The money you earn can also be used to help pay application and testing fees in the fall.

Early What?
If a student finds a college that seems a perfect fit, applying early may be a good idea. Early decision and early action plans allow 12th graders to apply early (usually in November) and get an admission decision from the college well before the usual spring notification date. You know by December or January whether you have been accepted at the first-choice college. Sometimes, students who apply under these plans have a better chance of acceptance than they would through the regular admission process. These plans are also good for colleges because they get students who really want to go to the college to commit early in the process.

THIS SUMMER
Refine, Refine, Refine: Begin narrowing down your college choices. Make sure you have all the information you need about the colleges youre interested in (entrance requirements, tuition, room and board costs, course offerings, student activities, financial aid, etc.). Continue filtering schools through your College Criteria List and rank your choices.

Early Decision
Early decision is a common policy used in college admissions for admitting freshmen to undergraduate programs.

Consider Financial Needs: With your parents, review your familys financial resources and gather information about financial aid from the schools youre interested in. Learn more about paying for college from the AHS College Counseling Dept. and be sure to attend AHSs College Planning evenings with your parents next fall. Develop a funding plan that includes a list of the aid sources (loans, grants, scholarships, etc.), requirements for each application, and a timetable for meeting the filing deadlines. There are lots of scholarships out there; you just need to spend a little bit of time and effort to find them. The sooner you start looking for scholarships, the easier it will be to select some to apply to during your senior year. Visit colleges. Youll often have to plan ahead when visiting colleges. Call the admissions office to set up a personal interview, campus tour, and a meeting with a professor or coach if youre interested. If possible, visit the campuses of your top five college choices. Take a tour and speak with the admissions and financial aid staff. You may also be able to talk to students if some classes are in session. If you have an interview, be sure to send a thank-you letter to the interviewer once you return home.

Early Decision is used to indicate to the University or College that the candidate considers that institution to be his or her top choice. Candidates applying early decision typically submit their applications by the end of October of their senior year of high school and receive a decision in mid-December. In contrast, students applying regular decision typically must submit their applications by January 1 and receive their admissions decision by April 1.

Early Action
Early action is a type of early admission process for admission to colleges and universities in the United States. Unlike the regular admissions process, early action usually requires students to submit an application by November 1 of their senior year of high school instead of January 1. Students are notified of the school's decision by mid-December instead of April 1.

Get advice from other college students. If you have friends or relatives in college, talk to them about what college life is like, especially if they attend a school youre interested in. Although its important to hear what the admissions staff has to say about a school, its also important to get the students perspective. Start working on your application essays. Compose rough drafts of the essays youll need for your college applications. Have a teacher read and discuss them with you so you can see what to work on. Make any revisions to your application essays and prepare final drafts. Dont forget to proofread your final essays a few times. Make early decision preparations. If you plan to apply early decision to any school, take the time to visit the school again and make sure youre willing to commit. If you elect to apply early decision, you should start working on your application as soon as possible because its deadline will be earlier than others. Time to be a Senior! The first semester of senior year is no time to relax. Prepare to start the school year strong and have a plan for balancing academics, extra-curricular and the college admissions process. The AHS College Counseling Dept. will be available to students in July and August to assist students in their preparations for a strong and successful Senior year!

In this way, it is similar to many colleges' early decision programs. Early decision, however, is a binding commitment to enroll; that is, if accepted under an early decision program, the applicant must withdraw all other applications and enroll at that institution. Thus, early decision does not allow applicants to apply to more than one early decision school simultaneously. Early action, on the other hand, allows candidates to decline the offer if accepted, and depending on the program, it may be possible for a candidate to apply to more than one early action school and an early decision school. There are two types of early action programs: restrictive early action and non-restrictive early action.[1] Restrictive EA allows candidates to apply to only one early action institution and to no institutions for early decision, while, as the name implies, there are no such restrictions on non-restrictive early action. Regardless, the applicant is still permitted to reject any offer of admission in both types of early action.

Whats Happening in Animas Highs College Counseling Department?

There continue to be great developments in the AHS College Counseling Department. This year, Animas High School was awarded a College Counseling Grant from the Colorado Department of Education. Next, we moved to hire a Director of College Counseling to build our new program. AHS conducted a nationwide search for the most promising candidates and we welcomed the top prospects to our campus this past fall. After meeting with faculty and the Class of 2013, we chose an applicant who was offered a contract and agreed to start at AHS this April. However, due to unforeseen circumstances the chosen candidate will not be joining us here at AHS. Independent of the hiring process, program development continues. The most important objective for AHS is to provide superior college counseling services to our students. To this end, Animas High School is committed to providing college counseling services to our students while the school continues its search for a qualified, post-secondary counselor. The school has efforts underway to profile Animas High to colleges and universities and the faculty will hold their next professional development workshop on February 21st, 2012 spending the day practicing and strengthen Student Recommendation writing skills. This semester, Animas High will continue providing students on-campus, post-secondary planning services with locally contracted college counseling professionals. Since the school has contracted two professionals, students will be able to choose the best match for them. Our counseling team will provide on-going support to the Class of 2013 and will start holding weekly office hours in February. We encourage students and their families to schedule time with our college counseling team and capitalize on all the fantastic talent and wisdom AHS has assembled this spring. Additionally, AHS College Counseling services and support will be offered to students throughout the summer. Stay tuned for more!

LINK Update
Only seven more weeks until AHS juniors leave our campus to explore their professional goals and extend their learning beyond the classroom! LINK runs from March 12thMarch 29th, culminating in a LINK Exhibition/Mentor Appreciation event at the Durango Discovery Museum on March 30th from 9 a.m. until noon. In preparation for their internships, students are hard at work refining resumes, creating project proposals and designing a LINK page on their Digital Portfolios to showcase their internship experiences. Through this internship, students will learn how to thrive in the workplace and will be able to connect their coursework to the professional world. We have had overwhelming support from the Durango community and created some exciting collaborations and partnerships with a wide range of organizations, community leaders, and local businesses including: LPL Financial, Spine Colorado, Durango Orthopedics, DSNG Railroad, Durango Search and Rescue, Weaselskin Equestrian Center, Soundtraxx, Durango Mountain Resort, Open Shutter Gallery, Durango Discovery Museum, Turtle Lake Refuge, American General Media, The Durango Herald, San Juan Hand Therapy, Arts Perspective, Durango Humane Society, The Durango Telegraph, Fort Lewis Colleges Athletic Training Department, and with Travis Brown of TREK USA. Additionally, five students will be leaving Durango to pursue medical opportunities with the Childrens Hospital in Denver, engage in urban poetry outreach with Street Poets Inc. in L.A., teaching at Life School in Guatemala, assisting humanitarian work in Cambodia through Loop Abroad, and exploring the latest engineering technology with NASA in Florida.

For more LINK info, the latest updates, or to become a mentor, please visit http://www.wix.com/ahslink/ahsli

Standardized Testing for College Admissions

Animas High School is proud to offer students guidance and support as they evaluate the standardized tests they must complete as part of the college admissions process. AHSs College Testing Coordinator, Kristi Good, has provided students the following update. Please contact Kristi at Kristi.good@animashighschool.com with any and all questions you have concerning SATs, ACTs and Test Prep courses.

Spring 2012 Timeline: Standardized Tests for College Admission

Date January 28, 2012 February 11, 2012 March 10, 2012 April 14, 2012 April 24, 2012* May 5, 2012 May 8, 2012 June 2, 2012 June 9, 2012 ACT National test day at FLC National test day at FLC National test day at FLC State test day at AHS (mandatory for 11th graders) National test day at AHS Make-up state test at AHS National test day at FLC National test day at FLC SAT National test day at FLC

*This test will be administered during the school day and is mandatory (and there is no cost) for Juniors.

Looking Ahead to Fall of 2012

Date
September 8, 2012 Early Oct. (TBD) October 17, 2012 October 27, 2012 Early Nov. (TBD) Early Dec. (TBD) FLC FLC AHS AHS FLC AHS

ACT

SAT

PSAT/NMSQT

For more information about the ACT, go to: http://www.actstudent.org/ For more information about the SAT, go to: http://sat.collegeboard.org/home

Standardized Tests: Registration Deadlines

Spring 2012 Test Dates January 28, 2012 Location* Registration Deadlines Regular SAT & Subject Tests ACT SAT only ACT State ACT at AHS SAT & Subject Tests at AHS SAT & Subject Tests ACT December 30, 2011 Late January 13, 2012

February 11, 2012 March 10, 2012 April 14, 2012 April 24, 2012*

January 13, 2012 February 10, 2012 March 9, 2012 n/a

January 20, 2012 February 24, 2012 March 23, 2012 n/a

May 5, 2012

April 6, 2012

April 20, 2012

June 2, 2012

May 8, 2012

May 22, 2012

June 9, 2012

May 4, 2012

May 18, 2012

*All tests held at Fort Lewis College unless otherwise noted

Standardized Test Prep Courses at AHS

In conjunction with our partners at Animas Academics, AHS is please to sponsor the following Test Prep Courses:

January ACT Prep Course Update: So far the students in the course have completed a full practice ACT to serve as a diagnostic test that gives them a baseline score (assuming they have never taken the ACT before). Since the ACT prep course takes place during SIG time on Mondays and Thursdays, you can visit Power School through AHS for attendance information and ACT practice test scores. This is a great way for you to track your student's progress in this course.

Saturday morning ACT practice test on January 28th: Animas Academics will be administering a practice ACT at Animas High School on Saturday, January 28th. The test will be held from 8am to 12pm. The cost to students is $10. This is a great opportunity for students to experience the test in a way that will be most similar to the actual ACT. To sign up: Pay $10 in cash or by check, payable to Animas Academics by Friday, January 27th. You can mail payment to Animas Academics, PO Box 2191, Durango, CO 81302 or hand deliver to Kristi at school or via the AHS Main Office. Spring 2012 SAT prep course at AHS: Dates: April 2, 2012 May 3, 2012 Courses will take place during the SIG period-Mon/Thurs. (2:15-4:15p) Priority is given to Juniors and the class size is limited to 15 students. For more information email Kristi.good@animashighschool.com Looking ahead at ACT/SAT test prep at AHS
End of Summer ACT prep o SOLICITING STUDENT INTEREST NOW! o Contact Kristi.good@animashighschool.com if youd like to see this scheduled o Possible schedule Early August, during Summer school session Mon.-Thurs. 9a-12p for 2 weeks Fall SAT (PSAT) prep
Anticipated Dates:

Start on Tuesday, September 4th End on Thursday, October 4th.