College and Career Planning
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CVCS is committed to helping students reach their college and career goals. This starts early with the selection of challenging classes taught in a supportive environment where students can truly challenge themselves.
The Chris and Megan Fereday Family College and Career Readiness Program includes two dedicated staff members who solely focus on concurrent coursework and college preparation. These staff members meet with families to support them in the college selection process, concurrent registration, Post-secondary Enrollment Options, scholarship application, and more.A great academic foundation is a critical first step in the college planning process. As a next step, it is important for students to get to know themselves, their goals, and their interests. Required yearly Guidance classes, Naviance Family Connection, and job shadows & internships through Workplace Learning Connection will all help students with this.
CVCS works with students and families individually to align a student’s strengths and interests with programs and colleges that fit. While college preparation is part of the entire guidance curriculum, it is our goal to understand each student’s individual needs.
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College Courses
We have college credit courses available for our students from St.Louis University, Hawkeye Community College, UNI, and Mount Mercy. Some courses may have a fee associated with them and others are free. Courses are offered in different modalities including online, in-person at the college, or taught in person at Columbus.
Our students also have the unique opportunity to get college credit in the trade industry through the Waterloo Career Center. For some courses, students need to be proficient in their ISASP in order to be eligible. We work with each student individually to effectively help them with their post secondary planning.
During the 2021-2022 school year, Columbus Catholic High School students accumulated 567 college credits with a cumulative GPA of 3.58 - a B+ average on a collegiate GPA scale.
If a student is interested in taking college courses please speak to the College and Career Program Director, Tyann Wolfensperger at [email protected].
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Questions About College Planning?
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Tyann Wolfenspergertwolfenspergercvcatholic.orgCollege and Career Program Director
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Visiting a College Campus?
A college visit can help you decide what a college and student life is like on campus. This checklist can help you determine if a college is right for you.
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Will your Columbus college credit courses transfer to a state school in Iowa?
Use the course equivalency guides linked below to learn more about which of your students' college courses transfer to these specific schools. If you have specific questions about which college courses transfer to your students' college or university, please contact the colleges admissions office for more information. You may also find additional information about specific course transfers by accessing the school's online course catalog.
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ACT
The ACT or American College Test is a standardized college admissions test. It is required by many but not all colleges. This test can be taken at any time during high school, but the optimal time would be during a student's junior year. It is offered seven times during the year on national test dates.
To register for the ACT you will need:- A 30 minutes window to complete the online questionaire.
- A credit card or other form of payment. The cost is $60 for a ACT exam and $85 for the ACT exam with writing. Visit college websites to determine if the writing exam is required for a student admission application prior to registering.
- A headshot on a plain background will be required to register. This can be taken with a cell phone and uploaded to the ACT website at registration.
- Our high school code is 164492 for registering.
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ACT Prep Classes
Mr. Will offers an ACT prep course to all Columbus students interested in getting extra help before an exam. Classes will be scheduled by Mr. Will and communicated to students via email about start and end dates. All classes are free to Columbus students. See Mr. Will for additional questions regarding his ACT prep classes. In addition, UNI-CUE offers area ACT prep classes at their site in Waterloo. These classes are also free. To register and learn more, click the UNI-CUE ACT Test Prep Classes link provided.
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PSAT/SAT
The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT 10) is the pre-SAT test that is given once a year to high achieving Sophomore students in the spring in preparation for the PSAT their junior year.
The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) is taken in the fall of junior year as a qualifying test for national recognition and in preparation for the SAT.
The SAT may be taken in the spring of junior year and is generally used by east and west coast colleges and universities as part of their admission requirements.
The PSAT score is used to determine National Merit Scholars. Sophomores are welcome to take the PSAT test for practice purposes, but the score used for National Merit designation is from junior year.
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College Reps!We would love to have you visit Columbus Catholic High School! Find us on RepVisits.
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Juniors and Seniors - Sign up to meet with college representatives at Columbus.
We have many colleges/universities that visit our school in-person or virtually in the fall. Students interested in meeting with admissions representatives should sign up through Naviance Student. The visits will be in the College & Career Planning Room. Visits typically last 30 minutes.
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