College & Career Prep

Any junior who would like to schedule an appointment with Ms. Calcagno soon, please click HERE to sign up for an open time. There are some slots available during final exam times. You may sign up only if you do not have an exam or class activity scheduled during that timeframe.

Mr. Blue & Ms. Calcagno

We often get questions about building a resume of activities. Creating a resume is an essential skill for students on any post-high school path. They can enhance job and college applications as well scholarships applications. The resume is an opportunity to show who you are beyond the classroom. Counselors will need access to student activities to help them write recommendation letters. Check out Resume Genius for some great examples and advice on creating a resume.

Resume Builder in Naviance Student - This spring, students had an opportunity to utilize the Resume Builder in their Theology & English classes. We encourage students to list every activity initially. They can then build a resume highlighting activities that have the most meaning to them for their own use as needed.

Build Your Own Resume - Some students who have already created a resume or prefer creating their own resume instead of using Naviance. Either option works great.

Be sure to include your Christian Service activities too. We uploaded copies of each student's service record into Naviance Student earlier this semester. Students can access it by clicking on About Me > Documents shared with me > Christian Service Record. Remember to add any new service to your resume as well.

Click on the button below to view CC's online Job & Internship Board* for part-time, full-time and summer positions.

Parents/Guardians: Interested in hiring students? Please send your information to Mr. Blue at dblue@centralcatholichigh.org and we'll add it to the job board.

*Central Catholic is sharing this information as a service to student. It is the responsibility of students and families to fully investigate these opportunities.

Consider dedicating some time to get started this summer and make your first semester a little less stressful...

Visit colleges - Campus visits can be a great way to get a better sense of which ones might be a good fit for you. Choosing a college can be a tough decision; the opinions of those who know you best can provide helpful insight into which college is best for you. Make college visiting a family event. Although it is ideal to visit colleges during the academic year, going in the summer can be valuable too. If you can't visit in-person, check out virtual visits and information sessions offered by many colleges.

Continue to work on applications - The Common Application can be used to apply to over 1,000 colleges and universities. Students started it in their English classes this spring and should continue working on the main part of the Common App in June and July. You’ll also find online applications that are unique to an individual college or a system or group of colleges such as the Common Black College Application, Coalition, University of California system application and California State University system application. I suggest holding off on creating these accounts until August.

Recommendation Requests - Most private colleges and some of the public ones will require at least one teacher recommendation as well as a counselor recommendation. Students should reflect on which teacher can speak to their academic ability & potential, as well as their personality & character. Colleges prefer recommendations from teachers in core subjects (English, math, science, social studies, or world languages) who taught you either junior or senior year.

• Counselor Recs - All students can work on some items to help with their counselor recommendations by completing the Counselor Recommendation Info Survey assigned under the "Tasks from My School" section in Naviance Student. They also need to make sure their resume is ready as well.
• Teacher Recs - Most teachers do not start taking requests until we return to school in August. If a student wants to ask a core academic teacher now, they should only ask their first choice teacher and give them the option to write over the summer. Once the teacher agrees, email Ms. Calcagno and she will assign the First Teacher Recommendation Survey in Naviance.

Unless you are applying Test Optional, be sure to register for the SAT or ACT as soon as possible. Test centers may fill quickly especially for the August SAT and September ACT. See below for test dates and registration deadlines. Take time to prepare using free resources through Khan Academy Official SAT Test Prep and ACT prep.

Search for scholarships - Get a head start on searching for scholarship over the summer. Free scholarship searches can be done using Fastweb.com or Scholarships.com. Also, check out the scholarships highlighted later in this newsletter. As you find ones that you'd like to apply for, start keeping track of them using the Scholarship Tracking Tool created by the University of Portland (located under Scholarship Resources).

• June 24 & 25 from 12:30-2:30 pm: Participants will have dedicated time and support to continue their work on the main part of the Common Application and prepare for the letter of recommendation request process.
• August 13 & 14 from 9-11:30 am or 12:30-3 pm: Participants will fine tune the main part of the Common app, begin working on college-specific questions and prepare for the letter of recommendation request process.

All students had the opportunity to start their Common Application during our presentations in Junior English classes this spring. Students will still need to rollover their account in August but can work on the main part of their Common App over the summer. Here are some helpful reminders for their Common App account:

• The start term and deadline dates that they see are for the current application year (2023-24). When the new application launches at the beginning of August, students will see the correct terms and deadlines for applications.

• When students log into their account at the beginning of August, they will rollover their current account. Most of your answers from the main Common App tab will rollover at that time but there might be a new question or two.

• Any answers that students have in the My Colleges tab (ie. college-specific questions) will not carry over in August. Students should wait to complete those sections until after they rollover their account.

Also, the Common App site is usually unavailable toward the end of July as they update their system for the new application cycle. Students should anticipate taking a break from being able to work on their application during this time.

• June 12 - Discovering Majors & Careers
• June 18 - Supporting Your Student Through Their College Search
• June 24 - Apoyando a su estudiante en la búsqueda universitaria
• July 9 - The College Essay (Senior English teachers will work with students on college essay writing in the fall too)
• July 23 - All About Testing

Please note: The presenters above will likely refer to the Coalition Application during their session. While most students will apply using the Common Application, the session content is still useful.

Some of you might also find Behind the Scenes of the Admission Committee on August 14 helpful as well. They also have webinar recordings available for past presentations HERE.

During Oregon Private College Week, twelve of Oregon’s private, independent colleges host concurrent sessions that will offer informational presentations about admissions, financial aid, and academic programs. Visit up to ten private colleges in only five days! Details and registration links for each college or university are available HERE. Be sure to register soon as space is limited.

The Colleges That Change Lives, Inc. story begins when a book by the same name — Colleges That Change Lives — was published by retired New York Times education editor and journalist Loren Pope. He sought to change the way people thought about colleges by dispelling popularly held myths and challenging the conventional wisdom about college choice. Many of the colleges featured in the book began working together to further promote this philosophy of a student-centered college search. The fair is one of those cooperative efforts.

The program begins at 7 pm with a 30-minute information session at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Portland. A college fair follows immediately afterwards, lasting approximately 1.5 hours. This program is open to the public and free of charge. Click HERE to register online in advance of the program.

Colleges anticipated to be in attendance include:

Agnes Scott College • Allegheny College • Austin College

• Beloit College • Birmingham-Southern College • Centre College

• Clark University • Cornell College • Denison University

• Earlham College • Eckerd College • The Evergreen State College

• Goucher College • Hampshire College • Hendrix College • Hiram College

• Hope College • Juniata College • Kalamazoo College • Knox College

• Lawrence University • McDaniel College • Milsaps College

• Ohio Wesleyan University • Reed College • Rhodes College

• Saint Mary’s College of California • Southwestern University

• St. John’s College • St. Olaf College • University of Lynchburg

• University of Puget Sound • Ursinus College • Wabash College

• Whitman College • Willamette University • College of Wooster

Upcoming Test Dates:

July 13 - Register by June 7

September 15 - Register by August 9

October 26 - Register by September 20

December 14 - Register by November 8

Since the the SAT has eliminated the optional essay portion of the test, many colleges no longer require it with the ACT Test as a result. Be sure to check the policy for each of the colleges on your list.

REGISTER - HERE

FREE ACT PREP - HERE

Upcoming Test Dates:

August 24 - Test centers are full. Cancellations may open spots up until the deadline.

October 5 - Register by September 20

November 2 - Register by October 18

December 7 - Register by November 22

Most, if not all juniors should already have a College Board account. DO NOT create a new one -- use the one you have!

REGISTER - HERE

FREE SAT PREP - HERE

Breakthrough Junior Challenge - Students ages 13 through 18 are invited to create a short (under 90 seconds) video explaining a challenging concept in physics, mathematics, or the life sciences in an engaging, illuminating, and creative way. Don’t miss your chance to win a $250,000 college scholarship. Deadline: June 25

Cameron Impact Scholarship - Four-year, full-tuition, impact-driven undergraduate scholarship awarded annually to 10-15 exceptional high school students who have demonstrated excellence in leadership, community service, extracurricular activities, and academics. The Cameron Impact Scholar is unique among their peers in their desire to directly impact their communities and in the world at large. To be considered, students must have a minimum of a 3.7 unweighted GPA and be a US citizen.

Regular deadline: When they reach 3,000 eligible applications OR September 5 at Noon PT - whichever occurs first. They typically reach capacity prior to the final deadline and STRONGLY ENCOURAGE applicants to submit well before the September deadline.

Next year, you will continue to receive a monthly college and career newsletter. In it there will be information regarding scholarships available for students. Here are a few examples that might be worth checking out now...

Act Six Scholarship - This is a full-ride, leadership scholarship to attend George Fox University and possibly Corban University or Warner Pacific University. Act Six is seeking Portland’s most promising emerging urban leaders. They look for young people who want to use their college education to make a difference on campus and in their communities at home.

BigFuture Scholarships - BigFuture rewards students for doing what they already are doing: planning for life after high school. With no essay, minimum GPA, test score, or citizenship requirements, BigFuture makes it easy to enter drawings each month. Students simply complete unlocked steps on their dashboard, and they'll be automatically entered to win. Students whose families earn less than $60,000 a year receive two entries each drawing.

Bonner Program - Participants receive a scholarship in exchange for weekly commitment to intensive and meaningful service with a local community organization over the four years as an undergraduate student with their campus partners. There are two different programs: Bonner Scholar Program and Bonner Leader Program.

Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship - The Evans Scholarship is a full tuition and housing college scholarship for high-achieving caddies with limited financial means. To qualify, caddies must meet the requirements of having a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need and outstanding character.

Lewis & Clark College Barbara Hirschi Neely Scholarship - The scholarship is valued at more than $200,000 over four years and is Lewis & Clark’s highest merit award, recognizing incoming first-year students of exceptional academic achievement from Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington, including the greater Portland Metro area. Students must apply to Lewis & Clark through either Early Decision or Early Action by the applicable deadline to be considered for the scholarship.

Regeneron Science Talent Search - Your science, engineering or math research may be eligible for the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious STEM competition for high school seniors. Students who have completed independent research projects are encouraged to apply online for the chance to win up to $250,000.

Stamps Scholars Program - The program awards multi-year scholarships to driven and talented student leaders to help them achieve their goals. They partner with 30 colleges and universities to enable extraordinary educational experiences. Scholars receive annual awards up to the full cost of attendance with additional funds for enrichment activities such as study abroad, academic conferences, and leadership training.

The Gates Scholarship (TGS) - TGS is a highly selective, last-dollar scholarship for outstanding, minority, high school seniors from low-income households. Each year, the scholarship is awarded to exceptional student leaders, with the intent of helping them realize their maximum potential.