College Guidance
Preparing Students For Lifelong Learning
The Academic Counseling office seeks to support the mission of Founders Classical Academy and help students to determine their post-secondary plans and understand the college search, application, and selection process. While we realize that not every student will attend college, or perhaps not attend immediately, it is our goal that our graduates have excellent opportunities from which to choose and that we have provided them with the resources and guidance to pursue these opportunities.
In many ways, college preparation begins the moment a student walks through the doors of Founders. They are given opportunities to grow intellectually, philosophically, morally, and socially. They are encouraged to think deeply and live well, and to develop the habits of a lifelong learner. In order to be well-prepared for the college selection process, students should seek challenges, work hard in their studies, develop their character, and pursue happiness.
Choosing a college requires time, effort, and thought. The Academic Counseling office strives to make the college search and application process both efficient and effective. As students see their choices develop, they will discover that it is time well spent.
College Preparation Information for High Schoolers
Please click the links below to download documents prepared by our college counselor to guide students and parents through the college application process:
Manage Your Applications Using Naviance
Naviance is a college and success planning tool designed to help high school students that provide tools to explore personal, college, and career interests, and to manage the college application process. With Naviance, families stay informed on student progress, and teachers and staff are enabled to support student needs.
Naviance is accessible from any computer or mobile phone and allows students to:
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Learn more about their strengths, interests, and goals
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Search for scholarships
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Request transcripts and letters of recommendations
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Track time-sensitive tasks
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Explore different careers and career fields
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Research and compare colleges
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Develop resumes and portfolios
Through Naviance, families can learn about college and career options, help students take ownership of the college and career planning process, stay informed about time-sensitive tasks, and track document request outcomes. Each student is provided with a username and temporary password in order to access Naviance. Upon request, a parent may receive a separate login for their student’s account.
Click on the blue link above to learn how Naviance facilitates the College/Career/Application process, how Naviance is integrated with the Common App, and to see the Student Data that is stored in Naviance.
The district has thoroughly vetted Naviance’s policies and practices with respect to preserving data security and student privacy. Please review Naviance’s commitment to data security and student privacy.
Parents, guardians, and students who are 18 years or older having any concerns, including data privacy, may choose to opt-out of using Naviance at any time. If you wish to opt-out of having your student’s data in Naviance, please click HERE.
Families who opt-out will need to work directly with your College Counselor and teachers to submit supporting documents to colleges manually.
Plan Your College Visits
High school students are allowed two excused days of absence for college visits during their junior year and two excused days of absence for a college visit during their senior year. The College Visit Absence Request Form can be found here.
Consider using your school holidays to make college visits. Always be sure to schedule well in advance to ensure availability at the college, especially if visiting on a holiday. Consider also using Spring Break, Bad Weather Days, Student Holidays, Early Release Days, and stop at colleges along the way during any road trips or travel in the summer.
Questions for College Representatives
How do you know if a college will be right for you? Thoughtful, thorough questions will not only increase your knowledge about the school but show the representative that you are an informed participant in the admissions process. Click here for a list of questions to keep in mind as you first begin looking into colleges.
College Visit Checklist
You've got your list of colleges, and now you're on campus for the first time. What do you say? What should you look for? Use the questions above to guide your conversations with tour guides, students you meet, and admissions representatives. Take notes and record your impressions immediately after each visit. You’ll be glad you did! Once home, make a "compare and contrast" sheet of the favorite (and not so favorite) things you learned. Spend as much time as you need deciding where to go and what to do. Socrates* would tell you, "the unexamined life is not worth living," but will you believe him? Examine your skills, your strengths, and your life goals. Ultimately, trust that no matter what you choose, your life is yours to create. Military, college, trade school, or family business, you are choosing your path because it is what is best for YOUR future.
*[38a] and if again I say that to talk every day about virtue and the other things about which you hear me talking and examining myself and others is the greatest good to man, and that the unexamined life is not worth living, you will believe me still less. [Plat. Apol. 38a]