Parkway North Holds First College Info Night

 college_info4           On Oct. 23, Parkway North held its first college information night for underclassmen to help parents and students better prepare for post high school education.

            “We’re talking about building a good high school record which includes GPA, testing, class rigor, and finding a college that fits for the student,” said college and career counselor Christy Wills.

            For many, it can be difficult to know just what to do to get into one’s ideal college. Additionally, each college and university has its own preferences and standards. An art school, for example, will have different requirements than an Ivy League school.

            “We went over scholarships, Naviance, core classes, and GPA; I especially liked the NAACP and sports information,” said freshman Harry Trace.

            Parkway North offers resources for students including Naviance. The program not only allows students to look up schools, but find scholarships, create resumes, track GPA and test scores, and arrange college visits. While these are all very helpful, many new students are unaware of how to use Naviance and miss out on its full potential. By holding these information nights, counselors are able to make sure that students get the most out of the programs that the school offers.

            This school year is the first year that North has offered a college information night. “Before this year, every single one of the counselors was doing a little bit of college and life after high school stuff, now there is one counselor doing these things,” said Wills.

            This school year marks a change in the way that the counseling department works. While previously counselors were assigned to students based on last names, now each counselor is in charge of one grade level. This means that while previously each counselor concentrated on a little bit of everything, now freshmen and sophomore counselors are less focused on post-high school plans simply because students are relatively far off from graduation.

            “[The college information night] is especially for students who are the first in their family to go to college, or even for students whose parents have gone to college but are the oldest in their family,” said Wills.

            The college application and financial aid process can be a tricky path to navigate, but Parkway North’s guidance department offers several ways to help including college information nights.

By: Gianna Sparks  Centerspread Editor