Dear Parents of Northwood School Seniors:
Greetings from Lake Placid! Tonight seniors have their third night of SAT prep where they are learning strategies for scoring well on the SAT essay. They are also learning about a few more things that I’d like to tell you about.
Sincerely yours,
John Spear
Director of College Counseling
1. Teacher Recommendations
Seniors will request teacher recommendations from Northwood faculty or teachers from previous schools. We suggest that students request five such recommendations – two common application forms and three paragraph-length requests. The common application recommendations are submitted according to those guidelines. The remaining three are incorporated into the school recommendation written by the college advisor. All recommendations and letters or forms are confidential. While I (and college admission offices) prefer that all recommendations come from teachers, one recommendation from someone who knows the student outside of the classroom is okay.
Today I asked seniors to formally request these recommendations no later than Friday September 23. I gave them tips on asking for a recommendation and the appropriate forms. For those seeking recommendations outside Northwood School I gave them pre-addressed return envelopes to make sure they get back to me.
The Common Application recommendation form is online here. The other three recommendations can be a letter – no forms required.
I also gave students something they can fill out to make sure they get the best possible recommendation from their teachers: Student Reflection for a Teacher Recommendation
2. SAT and ACT Registration
When I met with seniors on September 6 I gave them instructions to register for both the SAT and ACT. I also asked them print copies of their SAT/ACT admission tickets and give them to Kathie Moore, the counseling assistant. As of this evening, only 21 of 59 seniors (just 35%) registered for at least one test and only 11 (or 19%) registered for both. I hope that everyone has registered and they simply forgot to give us a copy of the admission tickets. I wish Northwood could sign everyone up for both tests, but we can’t: students need to do it themselves. The college counseling staff is eager to help out. Please ask your son or daughter about their registration status and urge them to seek out their college counselor if they need help.
3. Submitting SAT and ACT Scores to Colleges/Universities
Northwood School does not submit ACT, SAT or SAT Subject Test scores to colleges and they are not included on the Northwood transcript. It is up to the student to research the college’s requirements and pay for the appropriate score reporting service. To send scores use the following web sites or phone numbers:
SAT and SAT Subject Tests:
http://sat.collegeboard.org/scores/send-sat-scores
or 866-756-7346
ACT:
http://www.actstudent.org/scores/send/
or 319-337-1313
4. Transcript Request Form
This evening I introduced seniors to the Northwood Transcript Request Form. Senior must fill out one transcript request form for each college they apply to. Applicants must submit the transcript request form to the college counseling office two weeks prior to the application deadline or December 12 for deadlines in the last week of December or the first week in January.
John Spear 