Nov. 10 FAFSA & Financial Aid

Mershon Dye, University of Michigan Financial Aid office, outlined the process of filling out the FAFSA forms and types of financial aid. Her power point presentation is attached.

Dec. 15, MME/ACT/SAT Testing

Ashley Anderson, NSBE ACT Pro Chair, shared sample questions and information about the ACT test and NSBE's TORCH program. She emphasized that the ACT requires thinking and reasoning skills beyond subject knowledge. Most of the math problems are embedded in word problems and many of the science questions require students to read graphs and charts to gather information to thoughtfully construct the answer. Just as one practices to prepare for a sports or music event, it is helpful to practice answering questions to prepare for the MME/ACT. Two free online resources are: http://www.number2.com/ and http://www.actstudent.org/ . Additional resources are available at the Ypsilanti Public Library-ask the reference librarian for help finding them.

What does an engineer do?

On September 22, 2009, the attending parents and students discussed the many fields of engineering, engineering research and the importance of math and science classes as preparation for studying engineering. Participants also discussed the importance of increasing the number of parents attending the PLC meetings.

Two sites useful to learning about engineering are: http://egfi-k-12.org and www.tryengineering.org.

April 15, 2009 Campus Visit

Students and parents view a demonstration
in the Structural Engineering Lab.

Brandon Lucas demonstrates a fabrication to the parents and students during a visit to the Nanofabrication Lab.

PLC Members Explore Tranferring from a Community College to UM College of Engineering

Katrina Williams, UM COE Admissions, spoke about transferring from a community college to the UM College of Engineering.

Members of the PLC identified: financial reasons, not sure what you want to study, the need to improve your preparation as reasons why a student might attend a community college then transfer.

Katrina stressed that students plan for that transfer, which means that they are in contact with the institution to which they want to transfer and the community college they are attending.

Some factors students should consider:

1. They will need four semesters of Calculus including differential equations during the last semester.
2. They will need a calculus based physics class, a chemistry class as well as English.
3. They should check with both institutions to see that the classes will transfer.
4. They need to check if there is an articulation agreement or a partnership between the institutions.
5. Besides meeting the math and science prerequisites to transfer; they should take classes that will fit into the general requirement areas such as English.
6. Keep in mind the residency requirements of the institution to which they are planning on transferring.
7. They will need a minimum of a 3.0 in the classes they wish to transfer.

Pathways to College

The Wednesday, March 18, 2009 Meeting from 7:00pm to 8:30pm in YHS Media Center will feature Katrina Williams, Admissions UM College of Engineering. Katrina will highlight paths to follow to transfer from a community college or other college into the UM COE.

February 11, 2009 Testing

Sherita Gary, Chair of UM National Society of Black Engineering Students, presented information about their ACT Preparation /College Development Workshops. She offered the following ACT Test Taking Tips:

1. Pace yourself! (1min per question)
2. Write all over the test
3. Guess if you are not sure (one letter technique)
4. Process of elimination
5. Answer the questions at the beginning of the test...usually the easiest
6. For math questions: lowest value = first answer...highest value = last answer
7. Zone out all distractions
8. Be mindful of time (five minute warnings, two minute warnings)
9. Use the skip and then return technique on difficult questions
10. Take as many practice tests as possible
11. The Reading, English and Science are testing comprehension abilities more than knowledge

ACT vs. SAT

She explained that the American College Test (ACT) is broken down into 5 sections: Math, Science Reasoning, English, Reading and Writing. It has a scaled score out of 36 and is used in Midwest states and a few Southern states. Michigan 11th graders take the ACT as part of the Michigan Merit Exam. On the other hand, the Scholastic Aptitude Test has 3 sections: Math, Critical Reading and Writing. It has a scaled sore out of 2400(800 per section) and is used in East and West coast states. It is important to check with the colleges of your choice to find out which test is accepted.

On-line resources for practice ACT tests and more

The Michigan Electronic Library

http://mel.org/

Click on Tests on left hand side. You do need to have a valid Michigan driver's license to use this site-a parent's can be used.

Ypsilanti Public Library

www.ypsilibrary.org/resources

Click on the databases at the left and then click on outside the library databases. You will need to have a valid Ypsilanti Public Library card. Click on Learning Express library and follow the directions to get to ACT practice tests. You can access these practice tests from home or computers at the library.

Ypsilanti Public Library has ACT practice guides in paper for also. You can find them at any branch.

INEEDAPencil.com

INeedAPencil.com is an innovative online SAT preparation program with a mission to significantly raise your SAT scores through the use of interesting learning content, proven testing methods and helpful student tools. After registration, begin by taking a practice test. You can log-in and work from any computer anywhere, anytime.