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12th grade
What you can do to guide and advise your senior.
Senior
Meeting Handout
1.
Continue to monitor your son or daughter’s academic progress.
Seniors
sometimes feel that their senior grades are not important.
They need to know that many colleges request a seven semester, or
mid-year, transcript. At
the end of the year, high schools will also forward a copy of the final
transcript (which includes all senior grades) to the college the student
requests at checkout time.
2.
Have your son or daughter sign up for the first ACT, SAT I and/or
SAT II, if necessary.
Take
a look at your son or daughter’s previous scores and determine if
he/she needs to retake any of these.
(The highly competitive colleges will be looking for ACT scores
of 30+ and SAT scores of 1300+. The
moderately competitive colleges will be looking for ACT scores in the
25+ range and SAT scores in the 1100 range.
Most state universities will look for ACT scores of 20-23 and SAT
scores around 1000 for the majority of the programs.)
Remember that if you son or daughter is hoping to be accepted
into a competitive college or program, or is he/she is applying for
scholarships, the higher the scores, the better.
Call you son or daughter’s counselor or the college admissions
office if you have questions as to whether or not your son or daughter
should retake a test or take the SAT II.
3.
Obtain and complete college applications in the fall.
The
high school guidance office has applications for many of the colleges or
you can apply online using ColoradoMentor or you can call or write to
the college and request applications for admissions, scholarships and
financial aid.
Tip:
Make sure that your applications are completed and mailed well
before deadlines.
All
applications will require a high school transcript and most will have
one or more sections for the high school counselor to complete.
As a parent, you can do the following to assist the counselor:
A.
Make certain that the student portion of the application is
completed neatly, thoroughly, and accurately, before it is given to the
counselor.
Tip:
Before you son or daughter starts to complete an application,
make a copy and have him/her use it to make a rough draft. Double-check the rough draft to make sure the information is
accurate and the essays are well written (if needed). Type the information onto the official application (if not
online). Remember to make a
copy for your files, noting the date it was submitted.
B.
See that the application is given to the counselor at least three
weeks before the deadline. Counselors
have many responsibilities and will have numerous applications to
complete between October and February.
Understand that it takes time and thought to complete an
application correctly and/or write a letter of recommendation.
C.
If the application requires the counselor to write a
recommendation, he/she would probably welcome written information and
anecdotes with regards to your son or daughter’s strengths, interests,
talents, leadership skills and educational plans.
(The guidance office has a sheet that addresses these areas.)
You should also have your son or daughter give the counselor a
printout or copy of his/her “Activities and Awards” file/list.
In addition to counselor recommendations, many colleges and
scholarship applications also require teacher recommendations. If a student needs a teacher recommendation, he/she should put
the request in writing and include information on what is needed, when
it is needed, and instructions on where to submit it when it has been
competed. If the teacher is
to mail it, the teacher should be provided with an addressed, stamped
envelope. (A thank you note
to any teacher or counselor who has written a recommendation would be
appropriate and very much appreciated.)
Tip: It is important that your son or daughter apply to at least
one “safe” college. That
is a college to which he/she will definitely be accepted and one that
you can definitely afford.
Tip: Many colleges will
notify you to let you know they have received the application.
If you do not hear from the college, you may want to call the
admissions office to make sure they have received the application and
that they have all the information they need.
4.
Apply for financial aid.
Information on Financial Aid:
Students and parents should not assume that they cannot
afford a particular college or university.
Financial aid often makes it possible for students to attend
colleges they would have thought too expensive.
There are basically four categories of financial aid:
1.
Grants
– money that is given to the student, usually because of financial
need.
2.
Loans
–
money that must be paid back with interest.
3.
College
Work Study
– money that the student earns through a campus job.
4.
Scholarships
– money that is awarded because a student is outstanding in some area.
Most
students will find that financial aid generally comes in the form of a
“package”. A package is
a combination of grants, scholarships, loans and work-study.
Packages are awarded through the financial aid office and will
vary from college to college.
To obtain Financial Aid, follow these steps:
1.
In
the fall of your son or daughter’s senior year, complete the
individual financial aid (and scholarship) application forms for each
college to which your son or daughter is applying.
2.
Obtain
a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) from your high school
guidance office in mid-December and have all of your tax information
organized early.
The FAFSA is a
federal form which asks for information on income and assets.
Approximately 3-10 weeks after you have mailed (or applied
online) you will receive an SAR (student aid report) which will inform
you or your EFC (estimated family contribution).
This is the amount they have determined you can afford to pay for
your son or daughter’s education that year.
If the cost of the college is more than your EFC, you have
financial need and should be eligible for financial aid.
Contact the college’s financial aid office for further
information and assistance.
3.
In
addition to the FAFSA, some colleges also require the submission of the
CSS/Financial Aid Profile. The
Financial Aid Profile is a need analysis and there is a processing fee. Contact your high school guidance office for information and
forms.
4.
Attend
any financial aid nights and/or meetings that may be offered in your
area. Cañon City High
School usually offers a Financial Aid workshop in January.
5.
Complete
the FAFSA as soon after January 1 as possible.
Even if you know that you will not qualify for any need-based aid
because of your income, you should still complete the FAFSA.
Colleges and organizations often want it verified that students
are not eligible for need-based aid before they award non-need based
aid. You may complete the
FAFSA online.
Tip: Before
you send the FAFSA, make a copy.
Applying for
Scholarships: You
have probably heard people say that there are “millions of scholarship
dollars unclaimed each year”. You
have probably also talked to parents who have told you that their son or
daughter was an outstanding student and could not get a scholarship.
Both are true.
The fact is, there are thousands of scholarships; however, most of these scholarships
have a very specific eligibility criteria (e.g., a student must go to a
particular college, be in the top 5% of his/her class and have an ACT or
at least 28, or a student must belong to a particular ethnic group,
race, religion, have overcome a great obstacle, have great leadership
skills, a specific major, etc.).
When it comes to academic scholarships, students
generally must have an outstanding GPA (3.5 or better), high test scores
(27+ ACT or 1200+ SAT), excellent recommendations, and be involved in
extracurricular and/or community activities.
To receive an athletic or talent scholarship, a student must truly
be outstanding.
Even though it is not easy to obtain academic or
talent scholarships, students and parents who are willing to invest the
time and energy may find that their efforts pay off handsomely.
When locating and applying for scholarships, keep the following
in mind:
1.
Start
early. Begin looking into possibilities
during your son or daughter’s junior year.
Be ready to locate and complete applications early in the senior
year.
2.
Finding
and applying for scholarships takes time, energy and persistence.
3.
The
college the student plans to attend usually awards the larger
scholarships. Contact the college financial aid office.
4.
Private
colleges are often more generous in awarding scholarships, thus making
private schools competitive in price with public schools.
5.
Apply
for local scholarships. (Please
refer to the end of this section for more detailed information about
local scholarships).
6.
Be
aware of deadlines. Scholarship
applications become available throughout a student’s senior year and
sometimes are due only weeks after being publicized.
7.
Network.
Tell everyone (including the high school counselor) that you are
looking for scholarships. Check for scholarship opportunities with your place of
employment, your church, any organizations to which you belong, etc.
Also look for scholarship opportunities in your local newspaper.
8.
Look
for websites, books and computer programs with scholarship
opportunities. Your high
school guidance office and/or library will have books that list numerous
scholarship opportunities.
9.
Applying
for scholarships can be frustrating.
You may not get a response when you write to an address taken
from a scholarship book or computer search.
If you do get a response, you may find that the deadline has
passed or that there is no longer funding for the scholarship.
10.
Be
organized. Make sure
teachers and counselors are given plenty of time to prepare letters of
recommendations and transcripts. Be
aware of deadlines!!
Tip: Make
copies of everything.
Local
Scholarship Information
The
Cañon City High School Guidance staff makes every effort to ensure that
scholarship information is made available to students and parents.
College and individually funded scholarships come accessible
throughout the year. The majority of these scholarships apply to
seniors. However, throughout the course of a school year, we will have
scholarship and academic information that applies to all grade levels.
The
guidance office compiles a list of scholarships, including important
information, criteria and due dates, and publishes a monthly scholarship
list. This list is then
posted on the bulletin board outside the Guidance Office, sent by mail
to those students furnishing the guidance office stamped, self-addressed
envelopes or sent via email to families providing the office their email
addresses. This list is published and posted/sent the first week of each
month. This list should be
reviewed each month. This
should be done in a timely manner to avoid missing important deadlines.
If a student is eligible for a scholarship(s), he/she then picks
up the scholarship application form in the Guidance office and completes
the application. In most
cases, the student can mail the application.
Occasionally, the student’s counselor will have to “fill
in” a portion of the application.
If the counselor has to complete parts of the application, the
counselor will mail the form from the high school.
Again, remember if any letters of recommendations are needed, the
student should furnish the counselor and/or teachers a resume’ or
completed student profile sheet (available in the Guidance Office) to
assist in the letter writing process.
Cañon
City High School has several scholarships provided by local
organizations and individuals. These scholarships are very competitive!
A senior meeting will be held in March and important information
about the scholarships and date(s) due back will be discussed.
These scholarships are divided into two groups.
One group consists of scholarship that the donating groups or
individuals select the recipient. Each
scholarship has its own application form.
A student must fill out a separate scholarship application for
each scholarship in which they are applying.
This list may have different deadlines.
Please pay attention to the deadline information on each
scholarship.
Committee
members of school personnel select the other scholarship recipients.
This group of scholarships has one application and one deadline.
Please be aware of all deadlines, as scholarship applications
that are received late will not be considered.
Please
read the insert about scholarships and last years list of scholarships.
(To
be inserted here)
Other
Valuable Information
College
Admissions Criteria
A college will use some, if not all, of the information listed
below when determining whether or not to accept an applicant. For example, one college may place a great deal of importance
on test scores while another college may not.
1. Grade Point
Average (GPA)
5. Recommendations
2. Class Rank
6. Activities/awards
3. Strength of
subjects
7. Personal essays
4. ACT and/or SAT
scores
8. Interviews
College
Recommended Courses
Four-year colleges recommend students complete certain courses
while in high school. These
generally include:
4 years of English
3 years of math, including Algebra I (IA and IB), Geometry and
Algebra II
3 years of science, including two lab classes
2-3 years of the same foreign language
3 years of social studies
1 year of fine arts
although not needed for admission but very
beneficial, an advanced computer class.
Students admitted into college without all of these courses may
need to take remedial and/or additional courses at college.
A high school student who plans to attend a four-year college
should therefore try to complete all of the above-recommended courses.
Be aware, however, that many colleges would consider the above
courses as “minimum requirements”.
As a general rule, college bound students should take as much
college preparatory math, science, English, foreign language and social
studies as they can handle academically and as will fit into their high
school schedules.
NCAA
requirements
Before an athlete can play a sport or receive an athletic
scholarship at a Division I or II college, he/she must meet the specific
academic criteria as set forth by the NCAA.
Because the NCAA has such
specific requirements and because these requirements can be confusing,
it is very important that athletes meet with their counselor to obtain
information on all of the NCAA requirements. At this time athletes also need to make sure that their
four-year plans include courses that will satisfy NCAA requirements.
Two-year
Community Colleges and Technical Schools
Although only 20% of today’s careers require a four-year
college degree, about 90% require education or training beyond high
school. A four-year college education is not for everyone.
In fact, students can often best prepare for many of today’s
high growth career fields by attending a community college or technical
school.
All students should take as many academic courses in high school
as possible. Students
attending a community college or technical school, however, will not be
required to complete all of the recommended college preparatory courses
in high school. These
students generally will not be required to take the ACT or SAT of
admission either.
Students who prefer to study courses that relate directly to
their career goals and/or students who enjoy a more hands-on approach to
education should consider a community college or technical school as a
post-secondary option.
Students may also begin their education at a two-year college and
later transfer to a four-year college or university to complete their
bachelor’s degree, provided they take courses that will transfer.
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