Welcome to your senior year!  This is an exciting time for EACH of you as you continue your final leg of the journey toward college.  The college counseling support team has been working overtime to put supports in place for your arrival to college in the fall of 2025.  The following document helps to put in one place all of the burning questions you might have about the college process, who to seek for help, and how to go about getting support.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out anytime as we are here to support you.

Seniors are required to meet with their college counselor at leastthree times. This helps ensure that you are meeting all parts of the college process at every step along the way.  Deadlines to complete these meetings are listed below and will be announced in your College Prep/Consumer Economics courses. The focus of our meetings will be…

Q1:  Reviewing your college list, goal setting, and prioritizing (Deadline: October 22nd)

Q2:  Reviewing submitted applications, finalizing required 8 applications (Deadline: December 10th)

S2:  Reviewing financial aid packages and admission decisions, conference with family regarding college options, and making the final decision (Begin: February 14th,Deadline: April 29th)

In addition, you will be required to attend a required senior exit interviewbefore your final transcript will be sent to your final college choice.  A separate schedule will be sent in May.  Interviews will be scheduled for 30-minute time slots beginning the week of final exams through the week following graduation.  Failure to complete an exit interview will hold up your final transcript, which would result in a hold on your college/university account, preventing you from scheduling/attending classes.

You will be required to apply to 8 different schools.  These schools must meet the following guidelines…

2 safety schools

2 target schools

2 in-state schools

1 reach school

1 need-based or Cristo Rey partner school

In addition, at least one of these eight schools must come from the College Department's “Sweet List.”  Schools cannot double dip.  So, a partner school cannot also count for your in-state school.  You are welcome to complete more than the required amount, but please note that students who complete more than ten applications may not receive as much assistance from the counseling support team for applications beyond the 10th.

The first question you need to ask is WHO should write your recommendation.  You need to evaluate the needs of the application (scholarship, school, or otherwise) and determine who can best speak about you in that capacity.  For example, if a scholarship asked for a recommendation about your leadership on the basketball court, then you should ask your coach or a respected teammate to write the recommendation, not your Math teacher.  Be sure the person writing the letter can BEST speak about who you are, how you operate in the classroom, and what values you demonstrate daily.

Now that you have really thought about and chosen who is best to write the recommendation, here is the process for asking…

1. ASK FIRST!!  Ask the individual if they would write the recommendation, what the recommendation is for, when it is due, and any other relevant details.  You should do so by writing a personal and professional email.

2. Once the individual agrees, then then EMAIL a copy of your student activity sheet and, if you are comfortable, a copy of your student background form.  Some may also require you to do a short virtual interview.

3. Request FORMALLY on Naviance.  Even though you have asked, you also need to make the formal request on Naviance.  Naviance is where the individual will be submitting their recommendation.  If the individual is not on Naviance, please speak to your college counselor about what you need to do.

4. Your primary recommendation request from a teacher MUST be made by September 17th.  For other recommendations, please provide the individual at least three weeks to complete the recommendation.  Your teachers, especially, have so much to do and will most likely be writing many recommendations at the same time.  They reserve the right to refuse writing your recommendation if you fail to provide enough time.

5. Remind the individual one week before the due-date.  It is your responsibility to ensure ALL of your paperwork is submitted in a timely fashion…even if your recommender forgets!

6. Check on Naviance to ensure your recommendation has been submitted.

All students across the nation fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to receive financial aid from their respective institutions.  The FAFSA becomes available as of October 1st.  You will be required to complete the FAFSA NO LATER THAN December 3rd.  This is an involved process that requires your parent(s)/guardian(s) to complete portions with their tax returns.  We will have the following opportunities available to learn more about completing the FAFSA…

September 15th@ 6:00pm—Senior Parent Night—there will be a general financial aid presentation by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC)

October 4nd@ 5:30pm—FAFSA Night @ CTK—representatives from a local university will be on hand to work with families on completing the FAFSA.

When you receive a financial aid award letter from your school, please provide a copy of it to the college counseling office.  It is extremely important to provide a copy so your college counselor can help you compare financial packages but also to help gauge how well certain schools do in providing CTK students with financial aid.