School Counseling

As students enter high school, continue to explore opportunities to expand your child’s knowledge and exposure to various fields of study and types of colleges and universities. Your child should continue dreaming and planning in the early years of high school. In order to best prepare and plan for college, please consider the following suggestions for your child.

• Utilize your child’s high school academic plan that was created in 8th grade to choose courses wisely.
  • Select the most appropriate and challenging academic courses
  • Incorporate electives that allow your student to explore different fields of study
• Take care to work diligently in courses. Grades on the transcript matter.
• Encourage your child to set goals. Ask them to update you on their progress and celebrate as they achieve their goals. This will continue to instill confidence in your child and will help them to prepare for college.
• Help your child create a calendar and/or time management plan that they are responsible for following. The development of time management skills will be crucial for success now, in college, and in career.
• Empower your child to take ownership of their own communication.
• Encourage participation in extracurricular activities. This is a great time to explore offerings to identify interests and engage in our school and local community.
• Read! Read! Read! Encourage your child to read as much as possible across a variety of genres. As reading becomes a habit, students are introduced to the world around them. This exposure only helps to support their dreams of both college and their life beyond academics. As a bonus, studies show that it’s one of the most effective ways to increase standardized testing scores.
• Volunteer! Find ways for your student to serve in your community and update their service hours in x2VOL (https://www.x2vol.com/login.html)
• Maintain a list of their accomplishments with dates. For example, awards received, extracurricular involvement, honors societies.
• Visit nearby colleges. If your family travels, visit colleges in those cities. The more your child is exposed to college and different campuses, the more excited they will become. As you arrange visits, think through the different types of colleges and universities to ensure there is diversity in your scheduled visits (size of school, private/public, Christian/secular, big city/small town, etc).
• After a college visit, talk to your child to discuss the experience and to note their preferences. Understanding their preferences will help tremendously as they begin to make their college list.
• Start a list of colleges that your child is interested in learning more about and/or visiting.

To partner with what you are doing at home, Orangewood will encourage your child to think deeply, challenge them academically, and come alongside your family to prepare your child for college. Here is what you can expect from our Academic and College Advising program for your ninth-grade student:

• Freshman seminars through Bible and/or English classes to include:
  • academic advising and planning
  • test preparation
  • setting up SCOIR accounts (https://www.scoir.com/)
    • Start building student resume
    • Start following colleges 
• On-campus PSAT testing
• Opportunities to learn about colleges: 
  • college fairs
  • on-campus and virtual college visits 
• Individual academic planning meeting with the Academic and College Advisor in the Spring

With one year of high school under their belt, your child should have started exploring interests and opportunities to gain exposure to college and career options. Continue this exploration to help guide decisions and planning for college. At this point, the below suggestions are increasingly important to ensure your child has the information they need to make thoughtful and deliberate choices for college and beyond.

• Utilize your child’s high school academic plan to choose courses wisely.
  • Select the most appropriate and challenging academic courses
  • Incorporate electives that allow student to explore different fields of study
• Take care to work diligently in courses. Grades on the transcript matter. 
• Encourage your child to set goals and track their own progress. Continue to ask for updates on their progress and celebrate with them. 
• Your child should be fully responsible for creating and following a calendar and/or time management system. The development of time management skills will be crucial for success now, in college, and in career. 
• Empower your child to take ownership of their  communication. 
• Your child should be involved in extracurricular activities. This continues to be a great time to explore offerings to identify interests and engage in our school and local community. 
• Read! Read! Read! It remains one of the most important ways to prepare for college. In fact, studies show that it’s one of the most effective ways to increase standardized testing scores. 
• Volunteer! Continue serving in your community and updating your service hours in x2VOL (https://www.x2vol.com/login.html)
• Maintain a list of their accomplishments with dates. For example, awards received, extracurricular involvement, honors societies. 
• Visit nearby colleges. If your family travels, visit colleges in those cities. The more your child is exposed to college and different campuses, the more excited they will become. As you arrange visits, choose a variety of colleges and universities to ensure there is diversity in your scheduled visits (size of school, private/public, Christian/secular, big city/small town, etc). 
• After a college visit, talk to your child to discuss the experience and note their preferences. Understanding their preferences will help tremendously as they begin to make their college list.  
• Continue building the list of colleges that your child is interested in and add these schools to their SCOIR account. 
• Begin to explore college programs, majors available, and potential career options based on student interests.
• Start exploring financial aid and scholarship options. 
• Start preparing for the SAT and/or ACT. 

To partner with what you are doing at home, Orangewood will encourage your child to think deeply, challenge them academically, and come alongside your family to prepare your child for college. Here is what you can expect from our Academic and College Advising program for your tenth-grade student. 

• Sophomore seminars through Bible and/or English classes to include:
  • academic advising and planning
  • test preparation
  • career exploration
  • college preferences 
• On-campus PSAT testing
• Utilize PSAT scores to inform necessary SAT preparation 
• Individual academic planning meeting with the Academic and College Advisor in the Spring
• Opportunities to learn about colleges: 
  • college fairs
  • on-campus and virtual college visits 

Junior year marks a turning point. Your child is an upperclassman and is half-way through high school. College discussions and planning will kick into high gear in your home and at school. It is such an exciting time!  By now, your child should have already explored interests and opportunities to gain exposure to college and career options and have begun to identify their interests and preferences. While in past high school years the following items were suggestions, it will be imperative for your student to do the following in order to be prepared for the college admissions process.

• Utilize your high school academic plan to choose courses wisely.
  • Select the most appropriate and challenging academic courses
  • Incorporate electives that allow your student to explore different fields of study
• Take care to work diligently in courses. Grades on the transcript matter. 
• Your child:
  • sets goals and tracks their progress. 
  • is fully responsible for creating and following a calendar and/or time management system. Their time management skills will be crucial for success now, in college, and in career. 
  • authors all their own communication. 
  • is involved in extracurricular activities. It is best for your child to participate in a diverse offering of extracurricular opportunities, such as leadership organizations, athletics, fine arts, etc. 
• Read! Read! Read! It remains one of the most important ways to prepare for college. In fact, studies show that it’s one of the most effective ways to increase standardized testing scores. 
• Volunteer! Your child should serve in your community and update their service hours in x2VOL (https://www.x2vol.com/login.html)
• Update their list of accomplishments with dates. For example, awards received, extracurricular involvement, honors societies. 
• Visit colleges. If your family travels, visit colleges in those cities. The more your child is exposed to college and different campuses, the more excited they will become. As you arrange visits, choose a variety of colleges and universities to ensure there is diversity in your scheduled visits (size of school, private/public, Christian/secular, big city/small town, etc). 
• After a college visit, talk to your child to discuss the experience and note their preferences. 
• Continue building the list of colleges that your child is interested in and add these schools to their SCOIR account. 
• Begin to explore college programs, majors available, and potential career options based on student interests. Call college admissions offices and ask questions to learn more about their programs. 
• Prepare for the SAT and/or ACT. 
• Register for:
  • ACT (https://www.act.org/) and/or 
  • SAT (https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/registration)
• Explore financial aid and scholarship options. Attend financial aid seminars, when available. 
• Pursue meaningful learning opportunities for summer, such as internships. 
• If interested, complete any early applications to colleges or universities. 

To partner with what you are doing at home, Orangewood will encourage your child to think deeply, challenge them academically, and come alongside your family to prepare your child for college. Here is what you can expect from our Academic and College Advising program for your eleventh-grade student. 

• Junior seminars through Bible and/or English classes to include:
  • academic advising and planning
  • test preparation
  • college lists
  • SAT and ACT preparation and registration
• Individual academic planning meetings with the Academic and College Advisor in the Fall and/or Spring
• Opportunities to learn about colleges: 
  • college fairs
  • on-campus and virtual college visits 
• On-campus PSAT testing for National Merit Scholarship qualification
• Advice on taking an ACT or SAT prep course, based on PSAT scores. Options include:
  • Khan Academy 
  • Tim McDermott
  • Revolution Test Prep
• Update SCOIR (https://www.scoir.com/)
  • Sign FERPA releases
  • Complete Career quizzes and assessments
  • Request teacher recommendations in the Spring
• Provide summer enrichment opportunities 
  • College Application and Essay camp
  • OCS road trip to visit multiple Florida colleges and universities
• Assist students with early applications to colleges and universities

Senior year is a big year! It’s a whirlwind of activities while balancing academics, extracurricular activities, and the college application process. We are here to help you every step of the way. Your senior should do the following things on their own to prepare.

• Choose courses wisely. 
• Challenge themselves academically.
• Take care to work diligently in courses. Grades on the transcript matter. 
• Set goals and track progress. 
• Manage their time and responsibilities. 
• Communicate without assistance. 
• Engage in extracurricular activities. 
• Read, read, read. It remains one of the most effective ways to increase standardized test scores. 
• Serve and record service hours with x2VOL (https://www.x2vol.com/login.html)
• Update list of accomplishments with dates. For example, awards received, extracurricular involvement, honors societies. 
• Visit colleges or universities
• Finalize college lists and ensure these schools are in their SCOIR account. 
• Research programs and majors at their top choice schools. 
• Register for:
  • ACT (https://www.act.org/) and/or 
  • SAT (https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/registration)
• Explore financial aid and scholarship options. Attend financial aid seminars, when available. 
• Start applying to colleges and universities. 

This is the main college application season. Orangewood will work individually with students, meeting several times throughout the year to keep them on track with applications. Students should remember to keep track of their login information and use an appropriate personal email for each account they set up during this season of college applications.

• Senior seminars in Bible and/or English classes covering applications, supporting documents, deadlines
  • Bright Futures (https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/SAPHome/SAPHome?url=home),
  • FSA ID (https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/landing),
  • FAFSA (https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa)
  • SSAR (https://ssar.selfreportedtranscript.com/Login.aspx),
• College essay writing workshop in senior English classes. 
• Individual meetings with the Academic and College Advisor to plan and proofread college applications and essays, as needed. 
• Scholarship search
  • Fastweb (https://www.fastweb.com/)
  • Chegg (https://www.chegg.com/scholarships)
  • Big Future (https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/bigfuture-scholarships)
• SCOIR updates (https://www.scoir.com/)
  • FERPA releases signed?
  • Recommendations completed?
  • Admissions status-accepted, declined, wait listed
• Volunteer and enter hours in x2VOL (https://www.x2vol.com/login.html)