College Counseling

• Senior Year:

  • Super Helpful!! Senior Quick Links
  • Month-by-Month Timeline: Timeline – Seniors Applying to College

• Junior Year:

  • Junior College Planning Timeline (Timeline starting in Fall of Junior Year)
  • Junior Year Action Plan (January of Jr Year through Summer before Sr Year) 

• Sophomore Year:

  • Sophomore Year Action Plan

• Freshman Year:

  • Freshman Year Action Pl

• NDA has a page on our website devoted to College Financial Aid 

Find tips on where to start and links to various Scholarship Search Tools

• College Scholarships

• “Where to Start?” Some students really feel overwhelmed at the thought of starting the process of choosing schools to visit or research.  A good place to start is to use one of the many online College Search Tools.

• While researching and visiting colleges, it is extremely important to also consider the cost of each school.
  • Talk as a family about paying for College.  Be clear about what you, the student, will be responsible for paying when it comes to college.  Parents, the more clear you can be about your plans to assist your student with college costs…the better they can determine financial ‘fits’. 

• • Determine your estimated “Net Price” of attending each school on your list. (The “Net Price” is the amount of money you would have to pay out-of-pocket to attend the school.)
    • All colleges are required to have Net Price Calculators on their websites.  These are great, great resources! Go to any college website to find their net price calculator.
    • Link: Net Price Calculators for all Kentucky Colleges and Universities  
  • Research the cost of the colleges and track this information so you can compare costs.

• Test Dates & How to Register
• Test Prep Options
• Free Online Test Prep (There is now some very good, test prep offered online for free!)
• Do I take the ACT or SAT or both?
• Few Waivers for ACT & SAT:
  • Fee-Waivers for ACT and SAT Registration Fees are available for students who meet eligibility requirements.  For more information about Fee Waivers for ACT & SAT Testing, please contact Mrs. Monohan at monohanc@ndapandas.org.

NCAA/NAIA Eligibility

• When do students make College Visits?
  • Students can start making college visits whenever they would like. 
  • We recommend that students definitely make college visits during Junior Year.  It is good to visit schools junior year and know where you want to apply by the time senior year begins.
• Do these happen only during week-days?
  • No, most colleges offer visit options on Saturdays as well.
  • Making a college visit on a school-day is very helpful though. If at all possible, we do recommend students visit schools while classes are in session. This helps them get a real feel for the school.
• How do you schedule these visits?
• • • Everything can be done through the school’s websites.
    • For example, you can google: “Visit Northern Kentucky University” and get to the right website.

• College Visit Policy at NDA
  • Students get 6 College Visit Days to use however they would choose during their Junior and Senior years.  There is a date in mid-April when College Visits are no longer excused absences due to preparing for exams.  
  • When making a College Visit, you must have the NDA College Visit Form signed by someone at the college.  
  • NDA College Visit Forms are available in the Main Office.
  • A parent/guardian must call NDA the morning of a College Visit to notify the office of the student’s absence.  
  • When students return to school after a College Visit, they turn in their form to the front office in order to have the absence excused. 
  • Questions about College Visits: Contact Mrs. Grayson at graysona@ndapandas.org.
• Resources to help make the most of College Visits
• • • 6 Steps to Making the Most Out of Campus Visits
    • Questions to Ask on a Campus Visit
    • Are you Asking the Wrong Questions on Campus Visits
    • Questions to Ask College Admission Counselors

• College Fairs can be extremely helpful to students especially around Sophomore/Junior Years. 
• These events will have anywhere from 25 – 100 colleges in attendance depending on the size of the particular fair. 
• There are events that come to our area and we will send out information about College Fairs throughout the year.  
• “Tips on Making the Most of a College Fair”: Click here to read!

• As a general rule of thumb, most in the field of College Admissions recommend that students apply to between 3-5 schools. This is just the average…some will apply to more and some to less.
• Tip: The more you can research schools of interest and narrow down your list before senior year…it can really help! These applications take time and you want to be able to do a quality job on them.  

• Link to: KEES Information
• Need help accessing your KEES Account or have questions about using KEES Money? 
  • Call: 1-800-928-8926
  • Email: kees@kheaa.com