Upward Bound Insider Trio Program October 2018 Greetings from the Executive Director

Academic Institute of Central Carolina Upward Bound Insider TRiO Program October 2018 Greetings from the Executive Director,

Hello, Happy Halloween! Tutoring has started and we hope everyone takes advantage of the

Deborah J. Kingsberry resources provided in order to excel in school! Executive Director Some of the great benefits of tutoring includes:

Percell W. Hobbs  Increases good study habits Program Coordinator  Offers unique and individualized learning experience  Raegan Kendrew Improves academic performance

Administrative Assistant So please do not wait until the last minute to utilize our tutoring services. We have great tutors in Math, Science, English, Spanish and History; all Diarel Riley willing to help. Come in person on Tuesday and Thursday from 3 to 6 pm, Tutor Coordinator or conveniently online Monday through Thursday also from 3 to 7 pm. We have also made changes to Academic Saturdays, which will take place every third Saturday of the month instead of the first and third Saturdays out of the month. But, because of some scheduling conflicts with East What is Upward Bound? th Meck, November’s Academic Saturday will take place on November 10 The Academic Institute of from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. Central Carolina newly funded Don’t Forget Juniors and Seniors! We are offering SAT and ACT prep during Upward Bound Programs are designed to help first Academic Saturdays. So you don’t want to miss out! generation college bound high Remember, we are here to help and further your college and career goals! school students enter as well as succeed in post-secondary Sincerely, education. Qualifying students are selected from Charlotte- Deborah Kingsberry, Executive Director Mecklenburg Schools and are ethically, economically, and academically diverse individuals. Students selected to join the program must be in 9th -11th grade and attend one of the following schools: East Mecklenburg High School Garinger High School Independence High School “NINE TENTHS OF EDUCATION IS ENCOURAGEMENT” Rocky River High School. 2

The project is designed to achieve six student objectives. Academic Institute of Central Carolina Academic Performance-Grade Point Average (GPA): 65% of participants 7506 E. Independence Blvd., served during the project year will have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better on a four-point scale at the end of the school year. Suite 127 Charlotte, NC 28227 Performance on Standardized Test: 55% of UB students served during the project year will have achieved at the proficient level on state assessments in 704.566.9036. Office reading/language arts and math. 704.536.9828 Fax Secondary School Retention and Graduation: 85% of project participants www.academicinstitute.education served during the project year will continue in school for the next academic year, at the next grade level, or will have graduated from secondary school

with a regular secondary school diploma. Important Dates Secondary School Graduation (rigorous secondary school program of October 31st – College tour study): 40% of all current and prior year UB participants, who at the time of Catawba College & entrance into the project had an expected high school graduation date in the Pfeiffer University school year, will complete a rigorous secondary school program of study and 8:30am-3:30pm graduate in that school year with a regular secondary school diploma. th November 10 – Academic Saturday 8:30am-3:30pm. Postsecondary Enrollment: 70% of all current and prior UB participants, who at the time of entrance into the project had an expected high school IMPORTANT!! graduation date in the school year, will enroll in a program of postsecondary FAFSA, Scholarships, and education by the fall term immediately following high school graduation or College applications will have received notification, by the fall term immediately following high assistance is available the school, from an institution of higher education, of acceptance but deferred entire months of October enrollment until the next academic semester (e.g. spring semester). and November. Remember, the best Financial Aid Postsecondary Completion: 40% of participants who enrolled in a program Packages are given to those of postsecondary education, by the fall term immediately following high who apply early, so please school graduation or by the next academic term (e.g., spring term) as a result don’t wait. of acceptance by deferred enrollment, will attain either an associate’s or bachelor’s degree within six years following graduation from high school. Please call the office to get on the schedule if Academic Saturdays does not work “ Learning never with your schedule. 704-536-9007. exhausts the

mind.

-Leonardo da Vinci “ 3

ACT Prep

This month we are covering the ACTs. It is crucial to start planning and gathering information now to be successful on your ACTs. Below are the dates and deadlines to be aware of when starting to prepare and take the SATs and ACTs. 2018-19 SAT Deadlines 2018-19 ACT Deadlines SAT Dates Registration Deadline ACT Dates Registration Deadline October 6, 2018 September , 2018 October 27, 2018 October 14, 2018 November 3, 2018 October 5, 2018 December 8, 2018 November 2, 2018 December 1, 2018 November 2, 2018 February 9,2019 January 11, 2019 March 9, 2018 February 8, 2019 April 13, 2019 March 8, 2019 May 4, 2018 April 5, 2019 June 8, 2019 May 3, 2019 June 1, 2019 May 3, 2019 July 13, 2019 June 14, 2019

To register, please visit act.org and create a free account. Upward Bound have fee waivers for your first test, so before you register come see us!

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4 Things You Need to Know

Before Picking an ACT Date What is STEM 1. Deadlines for college applications Education? It’s important to consider deadlines for your college applications when Science, technology, scheduling an ACT date so your scores will be delivered on time.. Be sure to engineering, and mathematics check the official deadlines for the colleges you plan on applying to. When you are commonly grouped and pick a date, make sure you give yourself enough time to prepare. I would known as STEM for short. This advise picking a date at least three months in advance if you’re totally unfamiliar acronym is meant to symbolize with the test to give yourself adequate breathing room for studying. That said, the relationship that each of don’t panic if you have to work on a compressed timeline because of application these disciplines has with the deadlines! In that case, you’ll need to spend more time preparing every week other, is a grouping for for a shorter number of weeks. initiatives in K-12 education, and serves as a designation for 2. Become familiar with ACT structure and format a group of careers that are in demand and a national focus in The next step after registration is to get familiar with the overarching structure the United States. and format of the ACT. The ACT is out of 36 points. It consists of four multiple- choice sections—English, Math, Reading, and Science, each scored out of 36 If you like to, points. The rounded average of these four section scores becomes your composite score. There’s also an optional Writing essay test, scored out of 12  Solve interesting and points. Writing is not factored into your composite score. challenging problems.  Be creative and work Here’s a chart with the order, number of questions, time, and question format with others. for each test.  Work on projects that make a difference. Number of Order Section Time Question Format  Earn a good salary and Questions enjoy job flexibility. Multiple choice, 4 1 English 75 45 minutes  Change the world. choices Multiple choice, 5 Then a STEM career is a great 2 Math 60 60 minutes choice for you! choices Multiple choice, 4 3 Reading 40 35 minutes Browse through detailed choices information on over 100 Multiple choice, 4 4 Science 40 35 minutes careers to discover what STEM choices professionals really do and what Writing 5 1 40 minutes Essay prompt it takes to prepare for these (optional) careers. Each career profile 2 hours 55 mins provides basic career (without information such as salary, job Total: 216 writing); 3 hours outlook, degree requirements, 35 mins (with etc. writing) https://www.sciencebuddies.or g/science-engineering-careers

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3. Get Oriented with the ACT’s content and question styles

The different sections of the ACT each test different knowledge and skill areas. Hence, how to prepare for ACT English will be different from how to prepare for ACT Math, and so on.

Additionally, the ACT has its own particular question styles and formats that you’ll want to become familiar with before test day. Otherwise, you could be thrown by some questions even if you know the content!

Check out ACT Academy, a free online learning tool and test practice designed to help you get the best score possible.

4. Set a target score

After you’ve gotten a sense of your initial skill baseline, set a target score for how much you want to improve. Your target score should be something you can realistically accomplish in the time frame you have. 1-2-point improvement from your baseline in a month is totally reasonable. A 6-point improvement in that time frame? Not so much. Keep in mind that you’ll have to put in more time for more point improvement.

See our rough estimates for how long it takes to get certain point improvements:

 0-1 ACT Composite Point Improvement: 10 hours  1-2 ACT Point Improvement: 20 hours  2-4 ACT Point Improvement: 40 hours  4-6 ACT Point Improvement: 80 hours  6-9 ACT Point Improvement: 150 hours+

In addition to something you can realistically accomplish, you goal score should also reflect the schools you are interested in. If possible, you want your ACT score to be within the middle 50% range of the schools you want to attend. The middle 50% describes the score range of the 25th-75th percentiles of admits to a particular institution. For example, if a school’s middle 50% is 30-34, that means 25% of admits scored below 30, 50% scored between 30 and 34, and the top 25% scored above 34.

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Also, make sure you doing your own research to fully understand the ACT for yourself!

6 Don’t forget! We are offering SAT & ACT prep class during

Academic Saturdays!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION!

1. On Wednesday, October 31st, we are taking college tours of Catawba College and Pfeiffer University, which means Road Trip! We will leave the office at 8 am and return by 5 pm. 2. Upward Bound is recruiting 9th and 10th graders from East Mecklenburg, Garinger, Independence, and Rocky River High Schools to join the program. 3. We have rescheduled the Vision to Learn event during our Academic Saturday on December 15th. Check out more details below.

Rescheduled for Saturday, December 15th, Ea st Meck High School 9 to 11am 6800 Monroe Rd (Yes, it’s really happening) Charlotte, NC 28212

Get a free eye exam during Academic Saturdays! Please RSVP at [email protected]

Download the Remind App to stay in the know of upcoming events and information! Make sure you enroll no later than Wednesday, October 31, 2018. It’s simple—Text @24ca2a to 81010. After you receive the welcome message, reply with your name. Parents, feel free to join as well!