Counseling Services

01

PERSONAL
COUNSELING

02

CAREER
COUNSELING

03

COLLEGE
COUNSELING

04

COURSE
PLANNING

SCHOLARSHIPS
ACT PREP
DUAL ENROLLMENT
SCHEDULING
CONTACT

Counseling Services

Personal Counseling

Personal counseling involves any matter that is important to the student. Often matters of concern include relationships with friends, siblings, parents, and teachers. Personal counseling matters are confidential, unless abuse or a physically harmful situation is apparent.

How can students sign up to talk with Mr. Byma? Students can schedule a time with Mr. Byma through email ( jbyma@unitychristian.net) Parents can also feel free to call the counselor at any time to discuss an issue or schedule a personal meeting.



College Counseling

When do students start college counseling? Mr. Byma will discuss college preparations with entire grades at least once a semester, beginning already with Freshmen year. Students will also visit with Mr. Byma in individual meetings to discuss more specific plans and needs.

Students will complete different interest surveys and profilers to help them better understand themselves and learn what types of colleges, majors, and careers would be good fits for them. Rising Junior & Senior Parent Night In the spring, Mr. Byma will host an informative presentation for sophomores, juniors, and their parents, informing them about the different opportunities that exist, including a large number of classes available for college credit. These courses include online classes, dual enrollment courses here in our building, or courses on the college campus of either Dordt College or Northwestern. The meeting will also include important dates and deadlines. Financial Aid Night In the fall, Unity hosts a Financial Aid Night presentation from Dordt College's Director of Financial Aid. This informative meeting provides helpful information concerning financial aid and the FAFSA, and it is meant to be able to be used by all seniors, regardless of where they plan on attending college after high school.



Career Counseling

When do students start college counseling? Mr. Byma will discuss college preparations with entire grades at least once a semester, beginning already with Freshmen year. Students will complete different interest surveys and profilers to help them better understand themselves and learn what types of careers would be good fits for them. During sophomore year, students will attend the local Your Future @ Work career day. This event focuses on career possibilities that are available for our students locally. During junior year, students will attend Northwest Iowa Community College's Junior Career Day. This event gives the students a broad glimpse into many different types of careers that they might be interested in.



Course Planning

In the spring, Mr. Byma will speak to classes by grade, present the course options available to them, answer questions about courses, and give them the registration information they need to sign up for classes for the following school year. Visit the Course Options page of the website to see which courses are available for Unity students. Dual Enrollment opportunities also exist for juniors and seniors. These courses give the students the opportunity to earn college credit while they are enrolled at Unity Christian. Three types of college courses are available: - Online Classes - Courses on campus, at NCC or Dordt or Northwestern - Concurrent Enrollment Courses here at Unity Students will apply to the college of their choice and select a course that is offered at a time that works with the student's Unity schedule. Students must have a cumulative 3.0 GPA to apply.



Click a topic to expand

ACT
Prep

In addition to the online information listed here, Unity Christian offers a ACT Prep course in the spring.

This 5 week course covers each section in detail, including practice tests for each section and for the entire test.

ACT Registration

 

Register for the ACT at www.actstudent.org

 

Test dates for 2017-2018.

 

Practice Tests

 

All Juniors will take a complete practice ACT in October.

 

The Preparing for the ACT Booklet includes full-length practice tests, including writing; information about the optional writing test; strategies to prepare for the test; and what to expect on test day. Individual copies available for all students in the counseling office.

 

Questions are available for free at actstudent.org/sampletest

Each question includes an answer and full explanation.

 

ACT Test Prep

 

Here is a good interactive website for practice testing and studying:

https://www.prepfactory.com/u/Da7A

 

Here are some great places to begin studying for the ACT.

 

ACT's own suggestions (some of these you'd have to pay for):

http://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/test-preparation.html

 

 

Some great guides from prepscholar.com:

 

Science  -  English  -  Math  -  Reading

 

 

This resource is for the SAT, but could still provide some valuable insight and practice:

https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/sat

 

 

When you decide to sign up to take the actual ACT test, here is a helpful guide for registering:

http://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration.html

 

 

Other Possible Sites for Prep

 

Numbers2.com

Is a free website on online test prep materials for ACT & SAT.

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Varsity Tutors

Is another free resource with online testing tools, including practice tests, flashcards and question of the day.
https://www.varsitytutors.com/varsity-tutors-act-book-first-edition.pdf

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PrepMe

Is a personalized online prep course starting at about $300

1-877-PREPME-4

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Method Test Prep

Offers online test preparation and includes a free two-week trial

1-877-871-PREP

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Tutor Me

https://act.tutorme.com/courses/ACT

 

Scholarships

The following scholarships are possibilities. You may pick and choose which you would like to apply for. Many have specific requirements that not all students would meet or qualify for. Look for scholarships that fit your specifications.

 

This list of scholarships is by no means comprehensive. There are thousands more possibilities out there for those who want to put in the time and effort.

​

Here’s a link to an ICAN page that contains different Scholarship search sites.


(Sites like College Board or FastWeb are nice because you fill out your information, then they eliminate scholarships that you wouldn’t qualify for anyway.)

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Another search tool.

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From Iowa.gov:

state-grants-scholarships

 

private-scholarships

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ICAN has also created their own list of scholarships.

 

Dual Enrollment

Dual Enrollment opportunities also exist for juniors and seniors. These courses give the students the opportunity to earn college credit while they are enrolled at Unity Christian.

 

Three types of college courses are available:

     - Online Classes

     - Courses on campus, at NCC or Dordt or Northwestern

     - Concurrent Enrollment Courses here at Unity

​

Students will apply to the college of their choice and select a course that is offered at a time that works with the student's Unity schedule. Students must have a cumulative 3.0 GPA to apply.