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College and Career Planning
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College Planning
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- College Search Tips
- College Application Process
- Financial Resources (FAFSA)
- Scholarships
- NCAA Eligibility
College Search Tips
While Comparing Colleges Use this worksheet to help organize your thoughts on schools you are currently considering.
This is a helpful tool to stay organized and give you a graphic representation of what each school has to offer you!
College Comparison Worksheet
College Search Tool (click here) check out https://www.scholarships.com/college-search
The College Selection Process can be described as having 4 main components:
Information, Preparation, Visitation, & Application.
1. PREPARATION:
Begin by prioritizing the factors is most important to you in a college. By prioritizing, you begin to develop a means for compromise, if necessary. Before you begin gathering information and speaking to colleges, ask yourself where and what you are willing to compromise on.
TO DO:
- Meet with counselor to discuss your grades & GPA. See how you compare to students enrolled.
- Ask for Advice on taking SAT Reasoning, SAT Subject Tests, & ACT
- Maintain academically rigorous schedule and good grades through 12th grade
2. INFORMATION
Once you have prioritized the factors that are important to you in a potential school play a simple game of matching. Research and visit schools that come the closest to your "ideal". Remember this is an involved process and you should use these factors that are a way of assessing your post-secondary options.
TO DO:
- Attend WCCC College Fair in September and/or Pittsburgh National College Fair in February.
- Use these sites to search for schools to visit:
- Attend College Rep visits during your Junior & Senior years.
3. VISITATION
The campus visit is the most important way of assessing the school. Pay attention to your gut feelings while there. You may have 2 days excused from school during your Junior & Senior years. See the Guidance Office for the College Visitation Form.
TO DO:
- Make a lit of questions to ask during the visit
- Take an unofficial copy of your transcript with you on the visit
- Take a walking tour with a student guide and meet an admissions counselor and a Financial Aid Officer
4. APPLICATION
The Application component of the College Selection Process can be very involved. Gather the application and review this with your parents and counselor
TO DO:
- Consult with your counselor on an appropriate list of Reach, Realistic, & Safety Schools.
- Follow the instructions in pulling your application materials together!
- Know your deadline!
Plan Well: try to have all applications out by Thanksgiving of your Senior Year.
Questions to ask when visiting college:
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/questions-to-ask-on-a-college-visit
https://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/questions-to-ask-on-a-college-tour
College Application Process
Financial Resources (FAFSA)
Scholarships
NCAA Eligibility
Student athletes must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center to be eligible to play NCAA Division I or II sports in college. Athletes playing in Division III do not have to register. The NCAA Eligibility Center certifies whether prospective college athletes are eligible to play sports at NCAA Division I or II institutions. It does this by reviewing the student-athlete's academic record, SAT or ACT scores, and amateur status to ensure conformity with NCAA rules.
The NCAA recommends that student-athletes register at the beginning of their junior year in high school, but many students register after their junior year. There is no registration deadline, but students must be cleared by the Eligibility Center before they receive athletic scholarships or compete at a Division I or II institution.
You are eligible for a registration fee waiver if you have received a waiver of the SAT or ACT fee. This is not the same as a U.S. state voucher. You must have an authorized high school official submit your fee waiver documentation online after you complete your registration.
NCAA Freshman Eligibiltiy Standards Quick Reference Sheet:
NCAA Eligibility Registration Website:
How to Register for NCAA Eligibility:
Career Planning
At Greensburg Salem High School we have begun incorporating the 'Career Pathways' model to organize our courses into 5 career clusters. These pathways help organize careers with similar interests and educational requirements and align the course work needed to successfully pursue these career interests after high school. Here is the Westmoreland County's Career Pathway Model which is used in our course selection guide as an organizing tool to showing students which courses and electives are associated with potential careers/career clusters.
If you need any help regarding career planning, please contact your school counselor. If you found any of the above information particularly helpful or if you have suggestions on how we can provide you with better online information, please let your guidance counselor know.
Not sure what careers are a good fit for you? Let's start exploring options by taking the self-assessment and some career exploration here:
https://www.bls.gov/
https://www.pacareerzone.org/
https://www.mynextmove.org/
https://www.bls.gov/bls/topicsaz.htm
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
https://www.careeronestop.org/explorecareers/assessments/self-assessments.aspx
https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip
http://www.educationplanner.org/
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/majors-careers
Resumé & Cover Letter Preparation
A resumé is used to introduce you and summarize your experience, skills, education, and goals. It is often the very first impression you will make on a potential employer. Everyone old enough to work needs a resumé but even students who do not work will find a resumé very helpful for tracking their academic and extracurricular activities. In addition to your GPA, school coursework and other academic items, volunteer work, community involvement, leadership experience, and athletic achievement can be featured in a resumé. A nicely formatted resumé with dates and descriptions for your academic and extracurricular work may get you noticed by a potential employer, a college recruiter, or even a scholarship reviewer. You will also find it handy to have all this information at your own fingertips when you find yourself filling out application after application, form after form. The following sites provide help with resumé preparation. Use them to find a sample or a template that you can use to adapt for your own.