Winnacunnet High School
School Counseling
Melinda Shofner, College and Career Counselor
Announcements
Important: Do not request Teacher or Counselor letters via Common App. They will be sent via Scoir. You must follow the WHS process for requesting letters of recommendation, using Scoir and requesting transcripts.
Seniors will be sent screen shot instructions for the Common App Recommenders section, Requesting letters via Scoir, Short and Sweet Steps to a Complete College Application and links to the Student Appraisal Form for Non WHS and Parent Questionnaire. This will all be presented in English class in the first weeks of school.
Winnacore: On the Common App, go to the Education tab, Honors and then this line:
WinnaCore: Community Service Honor Society for those who earn 50 hours or more of community service
The community service that earned the 50+ hours should be described in your activities.
Good Articles/Blogs/ Podcasts
Admissions Leaders Share New Years Resolutions
Georgia Tech Admissions Blog
sites.gatech.edu/admission-blog/
Jeff Selingo jeffselingo.com/next-newsletter
Inside Yale Admissions Podcast
The Truth About College Admissions podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-truth-about-college-admission/id1649349413
SENIORS: If you have a February 15 College Application deadline, please complete the yellow Transcript Request Cards (one per school) and bring it to Ms. Gillis in the counseling office. At this time, you must also move the college to the "Colleges I'm Applying To" tab on Scoir. To ensure we have enough time to prepare and submit all your documents, turn the cards in by the end of school on Thursday Jan 16th. We cannot prepare for a deadline that you do not follow the directions and let us know about.
Parent "Brag Sheet" Questionnaire: This is an opportunity to give me more information about your student to incorporate into the counselor letter of recommendation. It is voluntary but I highly value your insights!
Appointments: email me for the link
Information and Resources: I have lots of information and resources to share! Please see my website for information, announcements and resources. I also post videos and links there. I will post information that goes out to students there as well so parents can see what students are being told as well.
https://sites.google.com/warriors.winnacunnet.org/whs-college-and-career-service/home
No matter what post-secondary goal a student has, I am here to help students navigate and make sure they have a plan in place. While this email makes it seem like the focus is all on the college application process, there are many other options. My hope for all students is to have a plan for post graduation and have everything they need to meet their goals, regardless of what those goals may be. I'm looking forward to a great year.
6/21/23 Excellent Article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brennanbarnard/2023/06/21/the-college-admission-tyranny/?sh=4d19a5356137
“If I make this choice and I do not get into the college(s) that I am hoping to, will I still be glad I made it?”
6/12/24 Teacher Recommendations
Class of 2025 can begin asking teachers for letters of recommendation. Please pick up the pink Teacher Letter of Recommendation Request form in the guidance office. Ask the teacher in person. In the first weeks of school, I will give instructions on how to send the link via Scoir for the teacher to upload the letter. Do not request it via Common App.
If students want to wait until September to request letters, that is perfectly fine. There will also be opportunity for parents to fill out the "Brag Sheets" and teachers who are not writing a recommendation to complete the Student Appraisal Form/Green Sheet. Employers, Coaches and Advisors can also complete similar forms. This will all be shared in first weeks of school.
6/24 To Retake the SATs or Not?
This is not a straightforward answer!
1. If you did well on the SATs and think you will likely submit them to colleges whether test optional or not, you should re-take them to get the best possible scores.
2. If you know you are applying to test required colleges, you should take them again to get the best possible scores.
3. If you did not get scores that are a good match for your grades AND you are applying to all test optional schools, no need to re-take. You won't submit.
4. If you do not know yet if all the colleges you are likely to apply to are test optional or not, keep a list and make a decision as it gets a bit closer.
Sign into your CollegeBoard account to register for all fall dates
https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/dates-deadlines
Even if you decide to apply early to colleges, the October date will give you time to get the scores back to send (or not).
Intersting Articles: This is not an exhaustive list because there are SOOOOO many articles about college admissions. But, sometimes, some strike me as more interesting than others!
This one isn't just worth looking at due to the list but it's what she says about how the schools get on the list and what it means that made me take notice.
Admissions Leaders Share New Years Resolutions