|
Seniors meeting the GPA criteria for
RANKING and wishing to be considered for honor distinctions must
complete the ACT by the December test date of their graduating
year. Fee Waivers are available for students unable to pay for
the test.
Selective Service Registration. Under
federal law, virtually all men must register with selective
service within 30 days of their 18th birthday.
However, the selective service system now accepts early
submission of registration information by 17-year-old men.
They can submit information to selective service at age 17 years
and 3 months old and be automatically registered when they turn
18. The agency holds their registration information and
automatically enters their data into the system when they turn
18. Register on-line at
www.sss.gov.
GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS—Wanted:
Actors, Creative Writers, Dancers, Instrumentalists, Vocalists
and Visual Artists. We are searching for 80 sophomores
who are interested in looking for an incredible, cost-free,
three-week immersion in the arts at Davis & Elkins College. The
tentative dates are July 1-21. Applications should be available
at
www.wvgovschools.org sometime in November. Applications
will not be due until early January.
JUNIORS--The West Virginia Governor’s
Honors Academy will be held at West Virginia University.
The tentative dates are July 8-28. Applications should be
available with detailed information online at
www.wvgovschools.org by mid-to-late December.
Applications are due to Mrs. Bird by January 31. A
committee will rank the students from Scott High who apply. All
applications will then be sent to Dr. Beck. A county committee
will nominate students from Boone County to the state
committee. The state committee will make the final selections.
SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDY ABROAD—Four
U.S. Department of State Programs Offer Scholarships For
American High School Students to Study Abroad.
The National Security Language
Initiative for Youth offers merit-based scholarships to U.S.
high-school aged students for overseas study of seven critical
foreign languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Korean,
Persian (Tajik), Russian and Turkish. The NSLI-Y program is
designed to immerse participants in the cultural life of the
host country, giving them invaluable formal and informal
language practice and sparking a lifetime interest in foreign
languages and cultures. Applications for summer 2012 and
academic year 2012-2013 programs are due November 3, 2011.
Visit
www.nsliforyouth.org for more information.
The Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and
Study (YES) Abroad Program offers scholarships to American
high school students to spend a semester of an academic year in
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Mali, Morocco, Oman, Thailand, and Turkey. This post 9/11
program focuses on increasing understanding between people in
the U.S. and countries with significant Muslim populations. The
application deadline is January 11, 2012. Visit the YES
Program’s website for more information.
The Congress-Budnestag Youth Exchange
Program was established in 1983 to celebrate German-American
friendship based on common values of democracy. Secondary
school students live with host families, attend local schools,
and participate in community life in Germany. Young
professionals (undergraduates) and high-school graduates of
vocational studies ages 18-24 study and participate in practical
training. Scholarships are now available for academic year
2012-13. Prior German language skills are not required. For
more information visit USAGermanyScholarship.org.
The American Youth Leadership Program
offers opportunities for American high students and educators to
travel abroad on a three- to four-week-long exchange program to
gain first-hand knowledge of foreign cultures and to collaborate
on solving global issues. Several different organizations
implement this program, and each has organized an academic and
experiential educational exchange focused on dialogue and
debate, leadership development, and community service.
Recruitment areas and application deadlines vary, so please
check the American Youth Leadership Program website for
more information.
COLLEGE SEARCH MADE SIMPLE—College
mail overloads? There’s a better way to find the perfect
college. Get student reviews of 3000 colleges. Discover your
admission chances at any college. Find $11 billion in merit
scholarships. New College Profiles and Reviews on Cappex
include videos and student reviews as well as tuition, financial
aid, and detailed majors for more than 3000 colleges. The
enhanced college matching lets students know about college
opportunities that fit them best. The new Visual College
Admission Scattergrams help students understand their chances of
getting in. Get started at
www.cappex.com today!
The ASVAB test will be given to all
sophomores on November 18, 2011 beginning promptly at 8AM. The
ASVAB test is a Multi-Aptitude Test Battery. It helps the
student identify his/her different abilities. This test is
free. Representatives of the military will be administering the
test. Juniors or Seniors planning to take the ASVAB test are to
sign up with Mrs. Bird by Monday, November 8.
*******A Senior Orientation meeting
for parents will be held in the Media Center at 6PM on
December 1. Representatives from the WV Clearinghouse will be
speaking. Refreshments will be served. A booklet for parents
in regard to Financial Aid will be given to those who
attend. Earlier that day, all seniors will be called to one of
our computer rooms to be put through the process of applying for
the Promise Scholarship and learning how to apply for their PIN
number(s) for the FAFSA.
The following information came from a
Financial Aid Conference attended at the University of
Charleston with Judy Kee Smith and Janet Ruge.
Don’t get stung!!!!!!! Many sites on
the internet are related to the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), but only one
www.fafsa.ed.gov. is the official site.
Be wary of organizations that charge a fee
to submit your application or to find you money for school. In
general, the help you pay for can be obtained for free from your
school or from the U. S. Department of Education. You may also
get help from The financial aid administrator at your college,
The FAFSA’s on-line help at
www.fafsa.gov and The Federal Student Aid Information Center
at 1-800-433-3243. If you are asked for your credit card
information while filling out the FAFSA on-line, you are not at
the official government site. Remember, the FAFSA site address
has .gov in it!
If you or your family has unusual
circumstances (such as loss of employment), complete the FAFSA
to the extent you can, then submit the application and consult
the financial aid office at the college you plan to attend.
REDUCE YOUR RISK WHEN APPLYING FOR AID
1. Apply for federal student aid by filling
out the FAFSA a
www.fafsa.gov.
2. After completing the FAFSA on-line, exit
the application and close the browser; any cookies created
during your session will be deleted automatically.
3. Keep your Federal Student Aid PIN in a
secure place. Get your PIN at the FAFSA site.
4. Don’t tell anyone your PIN, even if that
person is helping you fill out the FAFSA.
5. Review your financial aid award
documents and keep track of the amounts applied for and awarded.
6. Never give personal information over the
phone or Internet unless you made the contact. If you have
questions about a solicitation or about your student loan
account, call 1-800-4-FED-AID.
7. Federal Student Aid securely stores your
information on the National Student Loan Data System. However,
if you complete or even request a student loan application from
a lender, you may be granting the lender permission to access
your file. Before providing personal information to an
organization, review its privacy policy.
8. Shred receipts and documents with
personal information if they are no longer needed.
Immediately report all lost or stolen
identification (credit card, driver’s license, etc.) to the
issuer (and to the police, if appropriate).
FEDERAL RESOURCES
www.studentaid.ed.gov It provides a wealth of knowledge,
including information about applying for college and financial
aid, information about financial aid, scholarship and career
searches, and links to other Web sites.
www.students.gov In addition to college and career
resources, it provides information about the military, campus
life, study resources, and information about the U.S.
government.
www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov By using FAFSA4caster, students and
families will receive an early estimate of eligibility for
federal student aid. This web site provides students with an
opportunity to increase their knowledge of the financial aid
process; become familiar with the various types of federal
student aid that are available; and investigate other sources of
aid, such as grants and scholarships.
When students are ready to apply for aid,
they can easily transition from FAFSA4caster to FAFSA on the
Web. Much of the information that students enter in the
FAFSA4caster will populate the FAFSA on the Web application,
making the experience of applying for federal student aid much
easier.
www.fafsa.ed.gov This is the Web site where students
complete and submit the FAFSA on the Web. Students and families
may also print the FAFSA on the Web Worksheet from the site.
After submitting the FAFSA, students may use this site to check
the status of their application, view processing results, and
submit corrections.
www.pin.ed.gov On this site, students and parents may apply
for a Federal Student Aid Personal Identification Number, or FSA
PIN. A FSA PIN allows students and parents to sign the FAFSA
electronically. A FSA PIN will also allow students to access
application information after they submit the FAFSA, sign and
access other financial aid documents such as loan promissory
notes, and access loan information after they leave college.
THE WEST VIRGINIA HIGHER EDUCATION GRANT—is
available to degree-seeking residents of WV. The following
criteria are used to determine student eligibility: 1. U.S.
citizenship, 2. WV residency for at least twelve months prior to
date of application, 3. High-school graduate or General
Education Development (GED) diploma, 4. Demonstrate an
established level of financial need, 5. Demonstrate academic
promise, 6. Enroll at a participating institution in WV or
Pennsylvania as a full-time undergraduate student, 7. Have not
previously earned a bachelor’s degree. Apply online at
www.fafsa.ed.gov. The award amount each year varies based
on a number of factors including the financial need of
applicants and available funding. For more information, as well
as a list of all participating institutions, please review the
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s website at
www.hepc.wvnet.edu or contact the division of Financial Aid
& Outreach Services by calling 1-888-825-5707 or 1-304-558-4614.
March 1, 2011: The Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be received by the federal
student aid processing center on or before March 1, 2012, and
they must meet the conditions for processing. The FAFSA will be
available online January 1, 2012 at
www.fafsa.ed.gov. Apply free for Federal and State Student
Grants, Work-Study, and Loans using this form. If you have
questions about this application, or for more information on
eligibility requirements and the U.S. Department of Education’s
Student Aid Programs, visit the web site at
www.studentaid.ed.gov. After you complete this
application, make a copy for your records. Remember to apply
early for your pin number(s) if you are going to apply for the
FAFSA online at
www.pin.ed.gov. Both the student and the student must have
a pin number.
FASTWEB’S
ADVICE ON THE SAR & EFC: STUDENT AID REPORT & EXPECTED FAMILY
CONTRIBUTION
STUDENT AID REPORT (SAR)—After
completing your Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA), you should receive your SAR in 1-3 days if you
filed electronically or 2-3 weeks if you filed a paper version.
Check immediately for EFC (on upper right of pg 1) and
for any mistakes or errors (pages 5-8). The SAR is a
summary of the information you entered on the FAFSA. The SAR
also notifies you of your EFC and if you are eligible for a Pell
Grant. It is the form that tells you how much student aid you
are eligible to receive from the federal government, and how
much your family will be expected to pay. Immediately check for
any mistakes or errors. Any colleges you listed on your FAFSA
will also receive a copy of your SAR. Notify your prospective
colleges’ financial aid office immediately to make corrections.
A delay could mean less aid. Call 1-800-4-fed-aid if you do not
receive your SAR in 3-4 weeks. Once your prospective colleges
review your SAR and verify your eligibility, they will each
construct an aid package and send an award letter. You do not
need to accept all of the aid that’s offered to you; accept only
the aid you want.
WHAT IF I FIND MISTAKES ON MY SAR?—On
the web using your pin: go to
www.fafsa.ed.gov and under “FAFSA follow up,” click “make
corrections to a processed FAFSA”: You will be able to check
off the items you want to change and make corrections
accordingly. On paper: flip to the last few pages of the SAR
and find your original FAFSA info. Make necessary changes in
the spaces provided. Only fill in the areas that need to be
changed and/or corrected. Once finished, you must mail it in.
EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION (EFC)
–is the amount your family will be expected to pay based on your
situation. It should be on page 1 of your SAR. The U.S.
Department of Education uses the Federal Methodology (FM) to
calculate your aid eligibility. The FM takes into account:
your family’s income, the number of family members (in college
or not), net value of assets and your enrollment status, among
other factors. If there is an asterisk next to your EFC, it
means you have been selected for verification and must provide
documents to your prospective college(s) to verify the
information submitted on the FAFSA. About 1 in 3 is selected.
If there is no asterisk, you have not been selected. If your
college asks for verifying documents, send them as soon as
possible to avoid a delay in the aid process.
Early Decision (ED) vs. Early Action
(EA).
Early Decision is binding. If accepted,
you must attend that school and withdraw any applications sent
to other schools. You won’t be able to compare financial aid
offers.
Early Action is not binding. If accepted,
you may compare admissions and financial aid offers from other
schools and wait to commit to the college until later in the
year.
Some schools now offer Single-Choice Early
Action. This option is similar to Early Action, except that you
agree to not apply early to other colleges (though you may apply
regular decision).
Many ED or EA deadlines occur in the fall.
Verify with the college whether you are allowed to apply early
action to other schools. Ask your prospective school for more
information.
THE WEST VIRGINIA HIGHER EDUCATION
POLICY COMMISSION—has recently completed the following
enhancements to their website,
www.hepc.wvnet.edu. 1. A newsletter, Education Connection,
has been developed for high school juniors and seniors.
Students will be provided timely post-secondary and financial
aid information through the newsletter. 2. The COMPASS
publication, “Finding Your Future Through Education”, contains
extensive information about post-secondary educational and
financial aid programs. The COMPASS publication is now
available in an electronic format on this website. 3. A
graphic has been created to encourage financial aid questions
from students and parents on this website that includes an
e-mail “click” to submit a question. This graphic is under the
“For Students” link on the website. All types of financial aid
questions may be submitted, not just those related to the state
financial aid programs.
ACT
SUGGESTS THE FOLLOWING STEPS FOR APPLYING FOR FINANCIAL AID
–
- Apply for admission as well as
financial aid. It is wise to apply as early as you
can. Many colleges require an application both for
admission and for financial aid.
- Submit required financial aid forms.
File the FAFSA form for federal money and state aid.
Contact your counselor to obtain a FAFSA form or go to
www.fafsa.ed.gov. To sign your FAFSA electronically,
you (and your parent, if you are a dependent student) need a
U.S. Department of Education Pin. If you do not have one,
apply now at
www.pin.ed.gov. It takes several days to get your pin
number(s). You should also check with each college to
determine if there are additional forms the college requires
you to file. Go to
www.cfwv.com to file for the Promise Scholarship.
- Apply for scholarships and grants.
Colleges offer aid to students. The FAFSA form is an
automatic application for aid (for example, a Federal Pell
Grant). Apply for all scholarships for which you qualify.
- Keep track of progress. Keep a
calendar.
THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA—is
announcing The Jefferson Scholars Foundation. Jefferson
Scholarships---full scholarships to the University---are granted
to individuals on the basis of merit alone; financial need is
not a consideration in the selection process. The Foundation
pays directly to each recipient a stipend sufficient to cover
the full cost of attending the University. The award is
distributed to the Scholars in smaller increments each semester,
covering the cost of tuition, room and board, and living
expenses. One student in the senior class who best exemplifies
excellence in the Jeffersonian ideals of leadership, scholarship
and citizenship may be nominated. Students interested in being
nominated are to see Mrs. Bird by October 18.
THE GREATER KANAWHA VALLEY FOUNDATION
---has 55
scholarships and is available on-line only. The application
will be available at
www.tgkvf.org on November 1. Students must read the
Five Steps to Prepare and Apply before starting the
application. They must create a password to complete the
application in multiple sessions, if necessary. They must save
their work or it will be lost and they will have to re-enter all
information. Deadline: January 15, 2012.
THE AMERICAN LEGION HIGH SCHOOL
ORATORICAL SCHOLARSHIP –The Speech Contest is open to
ALL students 9th through 12th grades. The
2012 Oratorical Scholarship Program is available in electronic
format via e-mail at
wvlegion@suddenlinkmail.com.
MARSHALL UNIVERSITY—Study ART
& DESIGN, MUSIC OR THEATRE at Marshall University COLLEGE of
FINE ARTS. The website is:
www.MARSHALL.EDU/COFA.
UNIVERSITY OF CHARLESTON-MAROON
& GOLD DAYS are October 22 & 23. To register for one of these
events, visit
www.ucwv.edu/MGDay. —Meet with professors, visit with
current UC students, take a personalized tour of campus, learn
about scholarship opportunities, and join us for a tailgate as
UC battles Concord University during our homecoming game! Can’t
come to a Maroon & Gold Day? Sign up online, call for a
personal visit with an admissions representative or come to
other events, like Starbucks Saturdays. We look forward to your
visit to our campus. 1.800.995.4682 or
www.ucwv.edu/admissions.
SUSAN G. KOMEN COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP—These
awards aid college students facing significant financial burdens
due to the loss of a parent (or guardian) to breast cancer or
their own breast cancer diagnosis at age 25 or younger. The
scholarship awards $10000 per year (for up to four years) to a
student to attend a state university in pursuit of a
bachelor’s degree. Komen scholarship recipients are
selected based on scholastic achievement, community service,
financial need and demonstrated leadership potential.
Scholarship recipients serve as Komen Collegiate Ambassadors and
must volunteer their time to breast cancer awareness activities
for at least 20 hours per semester. For more information and to
apply for this scholarship, please visit
www.komen.org/scholarship. Deadline: November 15.
|
