STUDENT RESOURCE PAGE
STUDENT RESOURCE PAGE
Start the conversation!! If you are looking for potential questions to ask during your admissions interview, check out this list: QUESTIONS TO ASK COLLEGE ADMISSIONS OFFICERS
COLLEGE APPLICATION RESOURCES
Anatomy of a Application: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-in/applying-101/quick-guide-the-anatomy-of-the-college-application
Common App Writing Requirements by School: https://appsupport.commonapp.org/s/writing-requirements
ISAC College Matching Tool: https://isacportal.isac.org/en/collegematch
ISAC Student Portal: https://studentportal.isac.org/student
College Greenlight (Scholarship and School Search): https://www.collegegreenlight.com/
College Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
College Search: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/
Illinois College2Career: https://www.ilcollege2career.com/#/
Illinois Commencement: https://admissions.illinois.edu/commitment
Chicago State Commitment Initiative: https://www.csu.edu/news/Cougar_Commitment.htm
CAREER RELATED RESOURCES
MyNextMove: https://www.mynextmove.org/
U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
Career Finder: https://roadtripnation.com/edu/careerfinder
Here's details about completing your Common App profile, adding colleges & recommenders and other important task needed to complete the Common App. Remember these pieces of advice:
1. You can add up to 20 colleges to your Common App
2. Make sure to add different Recommenders than who you have already requested a LOR for through Naviance
3. DO NOT add Mrs. Heard or SFC Darling as a Recommender, but DO add Mrs. Heard as an Advisor or Counselor
4. Make sure to complete the FERPA Release and select that you have a waiver for SAT or that you are part of a Free/Reduced lunch program
5. Keep note of all of the essays you have to submit for each college and meet the deadlines
6. Take a look at your Social Security Card or Alien Registration/Green Card (if applicable) to make sure your name is correct in Aspen, Common App and all college applications.
7. Before you hit submit for a college, send Mrs. Heard an email so she can check your progress
8. Get tips and best practices to give yourself the best chance at success by watching this video: Application guide for first-time students
The Gap Year Pathway may be an option for students who want to experience a semester or year of experiential learning, typically taken after high school and prior to a career or postsecondary education in order to deepen their practical, professional, and personal awareness.
Students who choose the Gap Year Pathway must submit an acceptance letter as evidence of their plan to meet the Learn.Plan.Succeed. graduation requirement.
During a gap year, students take time away from formal education to engage in planned activities that can help them decide what they want to do with their future. While students must define a plan for their gap year to meet the Learn.Plan.Succeed. requirement, they can allow flexibility in their plan to pursue new areas of interest that may arise.
Gap year activities vary widely, depending on the student's interests, what he or she wants to accomplish, and other factors. Primary types of gap year activities include:
Volunteer/Service: Experiences that help students understand interdependence and allow them to give back
Career Exploration/Internship: Real-world work experiences that help students decide on a future course of study or career
Social Change: Experiences that enable students to participate in efforts to improve communities
Don’t think of a gap year as a “break.” Consider how taking a gap year will support your efforts to prepare for and to inform the next steps in your life journey. Among the many benefits of taking a gap year are becoming a more well-rounded individual and finding purpose. Experts argue that your purpose, calling, dream job, point of happiness, pathway, or reason for being can be found where these four elements meet: (1) what you’re good at, (2) what you love, (3) what the world needs, and (4) that for which someone will pay you.
To learn more, research Ikigai, a Japanese concept about the meaning of life. Your ikigai—your purpose—lies at the center of the interconnection of passion, mission, vocation, and profession.
What students do during a gap year may depend on budget restrictions and how much structure and support the student desires. Here are some options:
Engage in self-directed activities
Enroll in a formal gap year program
Travel
Students who opt for a gap year should also think about where college fits in their plan. Some colleges offer built-in gap year programs, so students can apply for admission to a gap year program at the same time they are applying for college admission.
If a gap year is a postsecondary option that interests you, consider taking the next steps:
Gather information
Talk to your school counselor and family members early in your gap year planning process to get help identifying core priorities, resources, and learning outcomes.
Define your goals
Consider what you want to achieve, learn, and experience during your gap year.
Define your activities
Decide where you will go and what you will do. If you want to travel, determine where you will live.
Manage college applications
Decide when you will submit college applications and confirm enrollment deferral policies wherever you apply.
Start early
The earlier you start, the more time you have to research program options and submit applications for scholarships and grants.
On November 23, President Obama shared a virtual meeting with CPS students, in which he announced that his current book, "A Promised Land," is available free for all CPS students. Here is the link to his announcement and discussion, led by Dr. Jackson, in which he agreed to be part of a book club with CPS students to discuss the text!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcqo6Wei8c4
Here is address to CPS library to access the text: library.cps.edu