Central Office
Section VII
College counseling
The college match and fit framework, timeline and postsecondary support.
On this page 10 topics
College & Career Counseling Framework
HPS CC-Counseling multidimensional student support model builds the awareness and skill sets students need to be prepared for, accepted to, and successfully enroll in their best fit 4-year college or university. The College & Career Counseling team believes that students who are well-informed of skills and steps required for success and adequately guided towards achieving their postsecondary goals are more likely to succeed after high school.
CC-Counseling services consist of three student touchpoint settings:
Advance students’ planning, preparation, participation, and performance in a rigorous academic program that connects to their college and career aspirations and goals.
College match & fit framework
College acceptance and enrollment are important, but college completion is the goal! Students are more likely to graduate if the college they choose to attend fits their social, academic, and financial needs. The HPS College Match & Fit framework is designed to ensure that all students are provided with resources and guidance to help them make informed post secondary choices in their college planning, application, and enrollment.
| FIT | MATCH | |
|---|---|---|
| Student’s Needs | College’s Needs | |
| How the student’s academic, financial, social, and personal preferences align to the college. | How the student’s academic profile(GPA, test scores, transcript) relates to the college’s competitiveness. | |
| The “Art” of the college search process. | The “Science” of the college search process. |
Match , most broadly, refers to the degree that a student meets a college’s needs or prerequisites. Often, it explicitly refers to institutional selectivity/entrance requirements and students’ academic ability.
Fit is the degree to which a college meets a student’s academic, social, financial, and other needs and interests. Fit may be based on a variety of these factors, including location, academic programs, class sizes, graduation and employment rate and support services. Students will encounter a variety of options that meet their needs.
Why are match & fit important?
College acceptance and enrollment are important, but college completion is the goal! Students are more likely to graduate if the college they choose to attend fits their social, academic, and financial needs. The HPS College Match & Fit framework is designed to ensure that all students are provided with resources and guidance to help them make informed post secondary choices in their college planning, application, and enrollment.
Types of college match
Match Student enrolls at a college or university whose selectivity level matches his or her academic credentials. | ||
| Undermatch | Overmatch | |
|---|---|---|
| Student’s academic credentials are higher than the average student’s academic profile and institutional standards. than the average student’s academic profile and institutional standards. | Student’s academic credentials are lower than the average student’s academic profile and institutional standards | |
| Why? - Perception that college is too expensive; lack of financial resources; lack of college knowledge; low expectations; lack of advising/ guidance; minimal college recruiting/visits. | Why? - Inaccurate representation of a student’s academic potential (inflated GPA, insufficient academic content knowledge) | |
Application: A student did not apply to a match or more selective schools (affordability concerns, self-doubt; lack of knowledge). Admittance: A student applied but was not admitted to a match or more selective school. Enrollment: A student was admitted but chose not to attend a match or more selective school. | Application: A student applied to very selective colleges based on the given academic credentials that might not truly represent his/her potential. Admittance: A student overmatches because colleges admitted him/her based on the provided academic credentials (HS transcript) Enrollment: A student enrolls into a selective college that he/ she is not academically ready for. | |
HPS college match & fit process
College match & fit process starts with developing students’ aspirations for college, teaching them how to effectively navigate through the college search process, guiding students through building their balanced college lists, and assisting students during their postsecondary decision-making and college enrollment process.
| 1. Aspire | 2. Search | 3. Choose | 4. Enroll |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grades PK-8 | Grades 9-12 | Grade 11 | Grade 12 |
| Students begin developing aspirations for college education and acareers. | Students learn how to sort through information to research colleges and identify “good fit” and a “probable match”. | Students build a balanced college list out of their “fit favorites” that includes two colleges in each major match category: Likely, Target, and Reach. | Students analyze their final postsecondary options and choose to enroll into a best Match & Fit college option. |
HPS balanced college list categories and expectations
| Likely | Target | Reach |
|---|---|---|
| Colleges where a student has a greater than 75% chance of acceptance and a high chance of graduation. | Colleges where a student has a 25-75% chance of acceptance and a high chance of graduation. | Colleges where a student has less than a 25% chance of acceptance and a high chance of graduation. |
College Planning (End of Junior Year/Beginning of Senior Year) | ||
| At Least 2 | At Least 2 | At Least 2 |
College Applications (Senior Year - by the priority application timeline) | ||
| At Least 2 | At Least 2 | At Least 2 |
College match & fit timeline
| Junior Year | Junior Year | Summer |
|---|---|---|
| March - May | March - May | June - August |
| Students build thier intitial Match & Fit college lists (2 Likely, 2 Target, 2 Reach) | CC-Counselors review students’ college lists, provide feedback and suggestions with the initial approval. | Students do independent research on colleges they chose for their final college lists. |
| Senior Year | Senior Year | Senior Year |
| September - November | September - November | June-August |
| Students refine their final college lists based on their possible changes of interests, academic profiles, or personal/ financial circumstances. | Counselors provide feedback for the final approval of the college list. | Students apply to at least 3 colleges from their Match & Fit college lists. |
Schoolinks - match & fit platform
HPS will use Schoolinks to provide students with an in-depth college search and analysis opportunity to find their best fit colleges, and build their balanced college lists using the automatic college match feature of the platform.
College match & fit - schoolinks tasks
| 9th & 10th Grade | 11th Grade | 12th Grade |
| Exploration | Favoriting & Goal Setting | Building a Final List | Applying & Deciding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explore Colleges | Favorite Colleges Set Goal College | Student - Create a Balanced Final List Counselor - Approve Student’s Final College List | Submit College Application Record College Application Results Record College Decision |
Postsecondary & career success
College Connect Program: The transition from high school to a postsecondary institution is an important milestone. This period can be marked with enthusiasm as well as self-doubt, stress, and uncertainty. College connect program aims to build a sustainable college bound school culture that promotes the importance of higher education by linking Harmony students with Harmony alumni.
College and Career counselors and alumni college coaches/leaders use activity guides and quarterly seminar resources to help prepare students and families for the first year after high school, including what to expect and how to navigate common challenges and increase their college retention and completion.
Summer Melt refers to the difference between the number of college-intending high school graduates and the number of students who actually enroll in any post-secondary educational program the fall following graduation.
Harmony Public Schools implements following research based strategies recommended by Harvard University to prevent Summer Melt issues across all high school campuses.
- Adminstering senior exit surveys to learn final college plans of seniors
- Organizing Summer Melt Intervention support by college counselors or alumni coaches for seniors over the summer
- Sending reminders through social media and text messaging
- Connecting Harmony seniors with Harmony alumni via engagement opportunities
- Following college specific checklists for successful matriculation
Grow Your Own Teacher: In support of the HPS mission and vision, the HPS Board of Directors has established the GYOT Progra, which identifies and supports students and graduates of the HPS program, assisting them in attaining an undergraduate degree and obtaining a Texas teaching certificate, and then returning them to HPS in an instructional capacity that uses their experience and success in the HPS program to deliver high quality instruction to HPS students. The maximum financial assistance provided under the GYOT Program is $5,000 per academic year, and the maximum amount of financial assistance available to a participant in the GYOT Program is $20,000 toward completion of an undergraduate degree.
Alumni Coaching Program: Experienced HPS alumni college coaches with 60+ credits in colleges and universities are providing one on one coaching services and monthly success workshops to our college freshman and sophomores at their universities. Our coaches can earn up to $8,000 annual payment for their coaching services.
HPS alumni college coaches help the new comers with:
- College enrollment/retention support
- Ongoing college success coaching
- FAFSA/TASFA renewal support
- Scholarship, internship and job opportunities
- Networking with other fellows
- Rewards to their college success efforts
- Access to thousands of Harmony alumni perks