The Syosset High School Guidance Department held its first College Boot Camp to guide incoming seniors and help them to get a head start in the college application process.
Approximately 175 Syosset seniors signed up to attend the College Boot Camp, which offered four sessions conducted over the course of two days in August. Counselors aided them in filling out their online Common Application for college, writing their college essays and linking their Naviance profiles to their Common Application.“The college application process is starting earlier and has become more complex than ever before,” said Syosset High School Assistant Principal Chris Ruffini, who oversees the Guidance Department. “There are so many areas that [students] need to pay close attention to when applying so we wanted to give them an opportunity to get an early start in a relaxed environment, building up to all of the other college prep programs we offer, starting in September.” The deadline for completion of the Common Application and college essays is Nov. 1.
Naviance is a career interest tool, which enables students to use data regarding their achievements and interests to develop postsecondary plans. The Guidance Department will begin meeting with all seniors in early September to aid with the application, essays and finalize their Naviance profiles. Naviance also allows the department to provide colleges with access to the school profile, student transcripts and letters of recommendations.
According to guidance counselor Jill Goldberg, the feedback from families whose children participated in the College Boot Camp has been positive. “Kids said they loved it and parents were very, very thankful,” said Goldberg, who approached Ruffini with the idea of offering the camp. “This has helped to relieve some of the anxiety of the application process. Students gave up their summer mornings and they got a lot out of this.”
The Syosset High School College Boot Camp was also featured in Newsday:
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/ranking-u-s-colleges-more-lists-than-ever-with-eye-on-value-1.14075548
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