Panel Night At The High School To Focus On College Options

The Newtown High School guidance department is conducting a College Panel Night on Tuesday, November 29, at 7 pm, in the lecture hall, Room 107A, at the high school.

Tufts, UConn, SUNY Maritime, and Wentworth will be sending representatives to present a program called “Keeping Your Options Open,” the what, how, where, and why of the college process.

This program is geared for parents and the students who are in eighth through the twelfth grades. The college application process may begin as early as what course selections a student makes in the ninth grade.

There are no easy answer to questions about course selections, timing, testing, the best school, visits, interviews, as well as numerous other concerns. College requirements, options, and programs are so varied that no one answer will do. The best advice is to keep as many options open as possible and to follow the general guidelines put forth by the high school guidance department.

Representative Brian Usher of UConn will provide information about the application process, completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, scholarships opportunities, and the importance of adhering to application deadlines.

Jackie Gould of Wentworth will discuss investigating college fairs, attending college representative visits, counselor workshops, and computer searches. Ali McClenaehan of SUNY Maritime will discuss the often most neglected phase of the college search, the exploration of general information about colleges such as size, type of college, location, cost, and atmosphere. Ms McClenaehan will talk about the advantages of visiting colleges and universities when at all possible and factors to consider when making those visits.

Denny Pardes, representative from Tufts University, will discuss the importance of course selections in the ninth through twelfth grades. Discussions of academic abilities, adhering to as demanding a program as possible and the importance of extra curricular involvement will be included in this portion of the panel presentation. Information regarding test taking such as the PSAT, SAT, and ACT will be provides, as will suggestion of the minimum course and credit requirements that students wishing to go on to college should take.

For further information about the College Panel Night call Neil Culhane in the high school guidance department at 426-7652.