IC Imagine Families,
Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! We hope you’ll find the College and Career Counseling Newsletter helpful throughout this school year. We strive to provide students with a comprehensive college and career counseling program and know communicating with families is an important support for our students.
If you have questions about anything in this newsletter, please feel free to email us directly:
Jason Frank (Grades 9-10) jasonfrank@icimagine.org
April Vernau (Grades 11-12) aprilvernau@icimagine.org
Class of 2024 Post-Secondary Plan Data Review:
90% enrolled in college
-62%- 4 year college
-38% - 2 year college
10% straight to employment or gap year
Long Range College & Career Counseling Program Overview:
Long Range College & Career Counseling Program Overview Continued:
Mr. Frank is responsible for the implementation of “ICI 101-201” in grades 9 & 10. Mrs. Vernau is responsible for the implementation of “ICI 301-401” in grades 11 & 12.
We conduct classroom lessons yearly, followed by individual student conferences to fully implement the “ICI 101, 201, 301, and 401” curriculum.
Parents are encouraged to attend their child’s junior conference.
Timeline for implementation:
Fall - ICI 101 & ICI 401 taking place for most of Fall semester. 401 is prioritized to begin in August to adhere to early college application deadlines; 101 is prioritized to ensure all freshmen are meeting with their new high school counselor early in the school year.
Spring - ICI 301 & ICI 201 taking place for most of Spring semester.
Senior Updates: Seniors are required to attend a “senior conference” with Mrs. Vernau this semester. Almost all seniors have already scheduled their conference! Parents are not required to attend this conference but please check in with your student to ensure they’ve scheduled it.
During the senior conference, we discussed their high school credits and transcript, remaining credits needed to graduate, and their post-secondary plans.
Students planning to apply to a 4 year college or university, are likely beginning to work on their application and essays.
Please take note of the following resources:
Every Tuesday: College Essay Help in Mrs. Ingram’s room during lunch. No appointment needed.
Every Thursday: College Application Help in Mrs. Vernau’s office during lunch. No appointment needed.
Please help your students keep up with their application deadlines. Early Action deadlines are coming soon - as early as October 15th!
Once a student submits their application, they must continue to check their email!!
They will need to submit a transcript request form to me 3-5 days in advance of their college application deadline (This is how I will know to send their official high school transcript and letter(s) of recommendation to the colleges they’ve actually applied to
IF they are submitting ACT/SAT scores, it is the student’s responsibility to send these to each college by logging into their CollegeBoard or ACT account.
IF they have taken AB Tech courses while in high school, it is the student’s responsibility to send a copy of their AB Tech transcript to each college by visiting AB Tech’s website
Students planning to attend a 2 year community college with the goal of transferring to a 4 year college later OR with the goal of learning a skilled trade/certificate for employment, should plan to apply in January 2025. In January, we will host AB Technical College on our campus for an application workshop. Their application is free and requires no essays. We will also have a follow up workshop to assist students in completing the AB Tech Scholarship Application that will be due April 1st.
ALL students applying to college (2 or 4 year) should complete the following applications:
NC Residency Determination Service (RDS)
Only have to complete this 1 time
Can be completed NOW!
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Must be completed prior to each year to are in college
Will open in December! Given the significant technical issues experienced by the delayed FAFSA, you may want to wait a few weeks after it opens to attempt the FAFSA this year.
We will be hosting a FAFSA workshop led by a financial aid expert in January. More details coming soon.
Other Important Websites for seniors:
To apply to most colleges use The Common Application: https://www.commonapp.org (Opens August 1st)
SCOIR: www.scoir.com college & career planning website used at IC Imagine (students login using Google/Clever)
CFNC: https://www.cfnc.org College Foundation of North Carolina - College & scholarship search and helpful info
Big Future College Search: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search
Community Foundation of Western NC: www.cfwnc.org local scholarship search
New & Exciting North Carolina College Updates:
On May 23, 2024, the UNC Board of Governors approved Policy 700.1.1 revising the test score requirements for admissions. Effective Fall 2025, students with a weighted GPA between 2.5 and less than 2.8 must submit SAT or ACT scores. Students with a weighted GPA of 2.8 or higher have the option to submit these scores.
NC College Connect - a simplified college application is launching! Only 5 questions, no essay or letter of recommendation required!) Eligible seniors must have a 2.8 weighted GPA or higher to use this application system and application fees still apply.
Participating public universities: Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State, UNC Greensboro, UNC Pembroke, UNC Asheville, Winston-Salem State & all 58 2 year/community colleges in NC.
Eligible NC seniors will receive a letter in the mail sometime in October with more information.
NC Independent Colleges & Universities (NCICU) is offering a similar simplified college application program, launching now! Minimal questions,no essay or letter of recommendation required. Eligible seniors must have a 2.8 weighted GPA or higher to use this application system and there are NO application fees for these colleges!
AB Tech Reminders:
Nearly 50% of our juniors and seniors are currently enrolled in an AB Tech dual enrollment course! These courses provide our students with a tuition-free opportunity to earn college credit in high school, however, they also require a commitment on the students’ part to maintain a grade of C or higher in college-level courses on top of their IC Imagine courses.
Please check in with your child if they are taking an AB Tech course and ask to view their grades regularly. Our distance learning lab instructors are available to assist your student if they are struggling to locate tutoring and facilitate conversations with their instructors. A distance learning lab instructor will email parents with a “grade concern email” after 2 consecutive weeks of grade checks resulting in a D or F in their AB Tech course.
Our Distance Learning Lab instructors are:
Leah Gillespie (Periods 3-4 & 7-8) leahgillespie@icimagine.org
Amy Surrett (Periods 1-2 & 5-6) amysurrett@icimagine.org
During IC Imagine holidays, including our upcoming fall break, AB Tech is still in session and students are still required to keep up with their coursework. During IC Imagine holidays, their point of contact should they need assistance is:
Vicki Thompson (AB Tech High School Liaison) vickihthompson@abtech.edu
Want to learn more about AB Tech Dual Enrollment?
Freshman & Sophomores interested in enrolling in AB Tech courses should begin discussing that with Mr. Frank prior to 11th grade registration taking place
Vicki Thompson is on our campus every Thursday from 9-10AM. If students would like to meet with her, they can email Mrs. Vernau to get on her calendar.
Click here to view our AB Tech/IC Imagine Dual Enrollment Quick Reference Guide
Upcoming Events:
Military Mondays are back this fall - Upper School students can visit with an Asheville Army recruiter outside during lunch on: 9/16, 10/21, and 11/18
October College Visits - open to 10th-12th graders - Students can visit with college admissions representatives during lunch in Mrs. Vernau’s office
In September, students had a chance to visit with: Clemson University, Queens University, and UNC Asheville
10/18 - UNC Greensboro
10/23 - UNC Ashevile & NC State Joint Engineering Program Director
PSAT/NMSQT will take place on October 24th - this is an OPTIONAL test for 10th and 11th graders. It can be a good option for juniors interested in taking the SAT later for college admissions purposes. This version of the PSAT allows juniors who score the top 1% nationally to be eligible to receive scholarship money at participating institutions. The cost is $20 to register and parents can do this via Infinite Campus.
The deadline to sign up is October 1st.
Please note: the Pre-ACT and ACT are mandatory, state assessments. 10th graders are required to take the Pre-ACT this November and 11th graders are required to take the ACT in March. These are free and the ACT can also be used for college admissions purposes, like the SAT.
Coffee with a Counselor! Virtual and in-person dates offered this semester.
October 10th - (7:30-8:30AM in-person) Topic: College Application Process
October 29th - (6:00-7:00PM - virtual) Topic: AB Tech Dual Enrollment
November 14th - (7:30-8:30AM in-person) Topic: Financial Aid & other helpful resources
Juniors & Seniors - Are you at or near the top of your class and planning to apply to some of the most competitive scholarships in our state? If so, you may find this webinar helpful.Click here to register.
The following programs will be represented:
Levine Scholars Program - UNC Charlotte
Park Scholars - NC State University
Cheatham-White Scholarship Program - NC A&T
Brinkley-Lane Scholars - East Carolina University
Cheatham-White Scholarship Program - NC Central University
Sophomores - Interested in applying to NC School of Science and Math? Click here to view their upcoming webinars and learn more about the application process
Here are some pictures of students enjoying time at the College Fair & a packed lunch visit with Clemson University!
