By: Natalie Norman-Kehe
During the first ever Community Day, Counselors Brenden Hensel, Lisa Maggio, and Jean Good encouraged students to ask questions about their futures.
In a question and answer style session, the Hershey High School’s counselors answered students’ questions they had about college and their futures after high school.
The counselors started the session out by having everyone introduce themselves and write three questions down on a piece of paper. They then collected the papers and collectively answered questions pertaining to college and the admissions process. The questions were anonymous which allowed the students to feel more comfortable having their questions answered.
Some of the questions answered in the session are as follows:
How early should students start looking for colleges?
Good suggested that if you’re in a town or a city with a college, even if you’re not interested in that particular college, it’s a good idea to stop on by to get the feel of a college campus. “Typically your Junior year is when you seriously start looking for colleges,” Good said. She then went on to explain that you start applying to colleges in the fall of your senior year. The Common Application becomes available in August whereas most other Applications become available in September.
Explain the admissions process.
Hensel explained that Junior year is when you typically start looking for colleges and senior year is when you should know what schools you’re actually applying to. “Researching where you want to go and what you want to do is the most important part,” said Hensel.
Do Keystone Exam results show up on your transcript?
Yes, Hensel explained, although Governor Tom Wolf signed a law postponing Keystones being a graduation requirement for two years, Keystones still show up on transcripts. The transcript will still say what you scored, if you are a freshman or a sophomore, you do not need to reach proficiency to graduate. Hensel also explained that Keystones do not have actually a lot of weight on your transcripts.
Does is matter how many AP classes you have?
“The key is to challenge yourself appropriately,” Maggio said. “It’s really just about what you can handle.” It doesn’t matter how many you have. You can have 9, 4, 1 or even none, and it’s all okay. It’s really just about what you can handle, and if you are challenging yourself.
How can you stand out to colleges?
Big schools like Penn State will mostly look at test scores and your GPA whereas some other schools also care about what you’re involved in. “But,” Hensel says, “it’s not so much about the quantity of what you’re involved in.” Colleges nowadays are looking for you to take what you’re interested in and go more in depth with that rather than loading up on a bunch of random extracurriculars.
How many schools should I apply to?
If you’re applying to more competitive schools, 5-7. If you’re applying to schools that you’re confident that you’ll get into, apply to 3-5. They also added that your “safety schools” should still be schools that you would be happy going to.
Students that attended the session will take home valuable information that will help them with the college admissions process. Lauren Washington, a sophomore who attended the session said, “I think it was helpful with knowing when I should apply and how many schools I should apply to.”
