12th Grade Counseling Services Overview
College application deadlines can sneak up quickly at the start of the senior year. Be sure to add your deadlines to your calendar and thoroughly research all application requirements. It is to your benefit to do this well ahead of any deadlines. Careful organization is an essential skill for the senior year. It is important for senior students to regularly check their email; this is the primary way that colleges will communicate with applicants.
Throughout the fall the College and Career Center (CCC) will host several workshops helping students with their UC and CSU applications. Keep an eye out for college rep visits and any evening presentations. Please refer to Naviance to see the schedule and sign up to attend.
It is highly recommended that all seniors:
Counselors evaluate senior transcripts and mail home prior to the start of school in the Fall with feedback on each student's progress toward graduation and college eligibility.
Fall Senior Presentation - TBD
Financial Aid Evening Presentation
The counseling department will host an evening presentation for students and parent/guardians on the financial aid application process, types of financial aid, scholarships and deadlines. We will invite a guest speaker with extensive knowledge and experience to present on this topic.
Counselor Letter of Recommendation
For general admission, UC's and CSU's do not require a letter of recommendation. Occasionally, some of the more competitive programs within these universities (e.g. UCLA Undergraduate Nursing Program) require a letter of recommendation. Please carefully review any requirements for programs of interest.
A counselor letter of recommendation is generally required for private schools on the Common Application and typically required as well for private schools that do not use the Common Application. Please check with each of your schools to see if a letter is required. For the Common Application, your counselor recommendation is included as part of the Secondary School Report. The Secondary School Report gives colleges information regarding the educational context that the student is coming out of. Official transcripts are also submitted with this report.
Counselors will submit letters of recommendation directly to the school to which you’re applying via Naviance. Due to the high volume of requests that counselors receive, students are required to give counselors at minimum two weeks notice to write a letter. Students will need to provide counselors with a copy of their brag sheet, a list of schools that they are applying to, deadlines, and pay the $2 transcript request fee with the Activities Office.
Students will need to match their Common Application account to their Naviance account. Please see the documents on this page for instructions on how to match your Common Application account to Naviance and the brag sheet.
Teacher Letter of Recommendation
In general, each teacher may have their own requirements for how to request a letter of recommendation. As some teachers receive a high number of requests from students, it is wise to ask teachers well ahead of time. Typically colleges expect the letter of recommendation to be from a teacher who the student had during their junior or senior year. Some schools are very specific in this requirement, some are more lenient. It is the student's responsibility to review this requirement with each college of interest.
Local Scholarship Program
All seniors may apply to Torrance High's Local Scholarship Program to be considered for scholarships. This program offers opportunities for Trade School, Community College, and Four Year Universities . Please see the "College & Career Center" tab (above) for the application. Application will be available in the fall. If you have questions, please contact Mrs. Mendoza in the College and Career Center in A106 at mendoza.jenna@tusd.org.
NHS Tutoring: National Honors Society students are available in the Library after-school to tutor in any subject. To coordinate tutoring please contact Ms. Rashid at rashid.nazia@tusd.org.
Faculty Tutoring Program: THS offers free faculty tutoring during the week one hour prior to school and one hour after school in English, Mathematics and Sciences. Please see the faculty tutoring schedule which will be available after 1st quarter.
Khan Academy : Free online tutoring academy. Expert-created content and resources for every subject and level which include math, science, history, art history, economic and more. They offer free practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom.
