THE TIMETABLE Winter/Spring We will conduct Junior Class interviews, at which time we will explore the various factors that can influence college choice. In these meetings, we stress the tremendous variety of colleges and the fact that the search must be an individual one. We will also focus on the Student Data Sheet, which you will find enclosed. Students should carefully consider the questions on the sheet and return it to the Guidance Counselor by the registration deadline for fall classes. We are starting now so that the student has time to thoroughly complete what is often a very time-consuming task. Begun now and pursued diligently, the process need not compromise a student's academic performance during senior year. After scheduling courses for the senior year, we will conduct a follow-up interview with each junior. After the interview, we will come up with a list of fifteen to twenty institutions which will satisfy some or all of that student's requirements, and we might give our estimations of the student's chances of admission to particular colleges. When the list has been compiled, we will call the student in to discuss our suggestions, following which a copy of the list will be sent home. It is then up to each student and his/her family to research these schools as fully as possible, attempting to be realistic about the student's qualifications and needs. Each year, a Junior Parents' Night is scheduled, at which there will be time set aside for questions. We invite a college admissions director to this meeting to speak to the parents of juniors to offer insights into how a student should approach the task of choosing a college and how the college admissions procedure is viewed from the other side of the fence. We certainly hope you can join us! Summer While catalogues and brochures can be of some help, visiting colleges is highly recommended. In consideration of the possible expenditure for a college education over the next five years, the time and money spent in touring colleges seems a reasonable investment. Colleges have their welcome mats out over the summer. Plan an itinerary and call ahead for tours and interviews. It is a good idea also to say "hello" to coaches if a student's athletic prowess in any particular sport might play a part in a college's admission decision. You might also want to include some visits to college campuses in the Spring vacation itinerary, visiting the college while in session, though we caution students to avoid formal interviews until they have a solid knowledge of their own needs and what a particular college appears to offer. Fall Next fall, we will conduct another round of individual interviews in order to share the thinking that has taken place over the summer. At that time, we'll narrow the list of colleges to the ones to which each student will apply. (In past years, the average number has been five or six.) Throughout the fall, Northampton High School will be visited by representatives from over 120 college admission offices. Most of these information sessions will be held in groups, a few will be individual . These information sessions are publicized in the school bulletin. It is the student's responsibility to see those representatives when they are here and to arrange with teachers to be excused from class when necessary. Weekends, Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving vacation, and Christmas vacation can be used for further college visitations if appointments are scheduled well in advance.