NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS
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THE ELLISON COLLEGE COUNSELING CENTER
The college counseling center at CICS Ralph Ellison Campus will offer personalized attention to help students in every grade prepare for the challenges of college and life after high school. Students of all grades explore the world of college by talking with teachers about their fun days on campus, visiting colleges, meeting college representatives, and hearing from college students about what it takes to succeed. Every quarter, a variety of activities help students keep their eyes on the goal of going to college. Some of these activities include:
- Financial aid and scholarship workshops
- College tours to a variety of universities in Illinois and neighboring states
Forthcoming activities:
- Using MyRoad.com, a comprehensive online college and career program to identify and track individual goals and plans
- Adopt-A-College, a fun school-wide college awareness project that helps inform students about a wide variety of colleges while riding the excitement of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament
LET’S PLAN AHEAD!
CICS Ralph Ellison students of all grades complete activities each quarter to help them keep their eyes on the prize of attending college. Here are some of the activities and timelines for college planning.
Freshman Focus: What is College?
As a freshman, students begin to get acclimated to life in high school. The focus for the year is “What is College?” During freshman year, they will begin to understand the mission of CICS Ralph Ellison, which is to prep them for entry into a college or university of their choice and once there, to graduate! To this end, activities are designed to give freshman a greater understanding of post-secondary education and why it is important for them to start preparing now to go to college.
• Freshmen College Rally with Follow-up (January)
Sophomore Focus: Career Interests
Coming into their second year, students at Northtown will have a basic understanding of why college is essential to their success. The focus of sophomore year shifts to “Career Interests.” Students begin to explore their personal interests and learn to connect these with careers. During the year, sophomores will prepare their first college-bound checklist and a “Goal and Career Plan.”
• Academic Goal Setting (October)
• Creation of Personal Career Plans (Quarter 2)
Junior Focus: How Career Interests Drive College
After two years at CICS Ralph Ellison students have a general understanding of how to get to college and have evaluated their strengths and interests. Junior year is a very important time for students because they set academic goals; begin online research of schools of interest; create a personality profiler; and interact with professionals and college students in areas in which they want to explore in more detail.
• College Fair
• College Tour
• Create Action Plan to prepare for senior year
Senior Focus: Getting into College
Senior year is all about tests, college applications and most importantly - college acceptance letters! As soon as the senior year starts, the main focus for students is to complete tasks and make deadlines. Each senior has individual time with the College Counselor and the opportunity to meet with college representatives face-to-face. During senior year, students get a taste of the real world. Seniors must be serious about deadlines, and getting their applications in on time to the schools to which they have chosen to apply.
• Letters of Recommendations
• Senior Parent Night
• College Fair
• Explanation of the FAFSA and FAFSA Night
• Research and apply for scholarships
These are some of the activities and steps necessary for students to make high school their launching pad to college. The process is a series of steps that every student and family must accomplish to reach the ultimate goal: going to college.