Greetings from Northwood School! Students arrive soon and classes start next week. There is much to do for the many seniors about to apply to college. Registering and preparing for standardized tests (SAT, SAT Subject Tests and the ACT) should be done this month, as well as meeting with your college counselor to finalize college lists and plan applications. I hope you enjoy this update from the College Counseling office.
– John Spear
Director of College Counseling
September Checklist
There are 14 major items on the September checklist for seniors. Parents, please review the checklist with your child. Read more.
http://wp.me/p1ud6c-a9
Why I don’t Like College Rankings
College Counseling professionals have long had a troubled relationship with college rankings. Whenever a parent comes to my office with a pile of the annual college rankings issues of Newsweek, US News, Forbes, etc. I know I’ve got my work cut out for me. Read more.
http://wp.me/p1ud6c-6q
Testing Calendar
The standardized testing calendar for the administration of the SAT and ACT is available here.
http://wp.me/p1ud6c-a1
Teacher Recommendations
Forty returning seniors made their lives a lot easier by asking teachers for letters of recommendation at the end of their junior year. Still, many seniors need to solicit some or all of their teacher recommendations. Here’s a quick tutorial on asking for teacher recommendations at Northwood.
Transcript Request Form
I recently introduced seniors to the Northwood Transcript Request Form. Seniors 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 13 for deadlines in the last week of December or the first week in January.
College Counseling Resources Online
Visit my web site where you’ll find hundreds of resources, all organized by topic. When you visit, check out the list of more than 15 topics on the left. Topics include: application, financial aid, athletics, standardized tests, learning differences, international students. Choose a topic and explore resources that interest you.
http://www.johnspear.me/
Follow John on Twitter
If you use the social networking site Twitter, please follow me (@JohnSpear). On Twitter I pass along college admissions advice and tips almost every day.
Follow College Counseling at Northwood on Facebook
If you use Facebook, follow us there!
John Spear 
Great information!