November 1st

Congratulations!  For so many of the seniors today represented a significnat milestone.  As you hit "submit" on your college applications, I know there were mixed emotions - relief that the essay revisions were complete, hope for the possibility of being admitted, nervousness about the possibility of being rejected, and excitement that you had accomplished something that is a typical senior task.

I know many of you still have additional applications to work on over the next few months, but for tonight, take a deep breath and be proud of your hard work.

For juniors and younger students, just a reminder that the deadline to register for the December ACT and SAT is tomorrow.  So if you are planning to take either of those tests, please make sure you get signed up right away.

Lots of Reminders

Happy Halloween!  This is such a critical time for all of you so I have lots of reminders for students of all grades...

For seniors... As you are preparing to submit your applications, I have had lots of people asking if they have done everything necessary.  So, as a general reminder, here are the steps you will want to double check that you have completed for EVERY college to which you are applying.

1. Complete all parts of your application.  (For many colleges this is going to be on Common App and so that means you have filled out the Common App section and the questions sections for each individual college.)

2. Fill out the blue Transcript Release card for each school that you are applying. You can find this card in Mrs. McDaniel's office (you do not need to wait to try to see me). There is a $1.00 transcript fee unless you are applying to a school that utilizes Common App or SendEDU as we can submit transcripts to those two systems for free.

Another side note related to the transcript release cards- if you are applying to schools with deadlines of December 15th - January 10th we ask that you complete your transcript release card no later than December 10th.

3. Send your test scores - You need to make sure that you have submitted your ACT or SAT test results directly from the testing agency to each college where you are applying. You complete this step directly with the testing companies. If you are not sure if your test was sent, please log on to their site and double check.

4. If your college requires a teacher or counselor recommendation I really hope you have already arranged for someone to write them. Again, you should be giving your recommender at least 30 days notice to write a letter.  Also, double check that your teachers have submitted their letters.  (Everyone who has asked me to write a letter on their behalf will see that all rec letters have been uploaded to Common App.)  If you notice that one of your teachers has not yet submitted their letter, you can still submit your application to the college, but also stop by and double check the status of your letter with your teacher to make sure they have not forgotten about writing on your behalf and to verify that they have received your Common App request to submit the letter for you.

5. Double check your entire application, pay your application fee and submit the application.

It truly is not meant to be overly difficult, but it does require a great deal of organization and follow through on your part. With 323 seniors in this year's graduating class it is important to remember that you have to stay on top of things because deadlines are real and you do not want to lose the opportunity to apply to a school or to earn a scholarship just because you had not taken care of all of the steps required.

Caps and Gowns - Seniors, you already received information about ordering your caps and gowns and this can be done online, but you can also place your orders in person tomorrow or Friday during your lunch period.

For Freshman, Sophomores and Juniors...  The Pre-ACT - a practice test to prepare you for the ACT is coming up next Tuesday, November 6th.  I strongly encourage all of you to take this practice test opportunity as ALL of you will eventually be taking the ACT during the winter of your junior year and you want to be as prepared for the college admissions test as possible to take advantage of that free test opportunity.  The cost for the Pre-ACT is $12 and we have extended the deadline through Friday as long as there are still enough tests available for you to participate.  Register in the Counseling Center with one of the secretaries.

For everyone out Trick-or-Canning tonight, thanks for your service to the community by seeking donations for the food pantry.  I love that you can make it a fun and meaingful evening of helping others.  

I hope all of you had a safe and enjoyable Halloween.

Net Price Calculator

Yesterday I talked about financial aid related to merit and need based aid.  But for all of you who are not seniors and are wondering how to consider which colleges might be a good fit financially, it is important to know about the option of taking advantage of the Net Price Calculator.

Every college features a net price calculator on their website. This requirement is in an effort to help provide students and parents with the information needed to make more informed decisions and choices about what they can expect to pay for a college education at each school. Now, I will forewarn you that not every net price calculator is the same and some are more detailed than others. Why does this matter? Well, if it is very specific and takes all of the different factors into consideration that the financial aid office will be looking at when creating your financial aid package, then you are likely to get a better picture of what your estimated aid might be, but if it is a more simplistic calculator then there could be more variance when compared to your actual aid package.  Plus, of course, the accuracy of the information that you submit will determine the accuracy of the information that you receive back.

Without a doubt, college is very expensive and so trying to figure out the best ways to be able to finance your education is an important factor to consider in your college search and selection process. I hope that this tool will be useful to you as you investigate schools.

Merit vs Need Based Aid

Paying for College is expensive! There is no question that higher education costs add up quickly.

There are two broad categories of financial aid – Merit Based aid and Need Based aid.

Merit Based aid is what you think of when you think “Scholarships.” These are usually awarded to students based on academic achievements, leadership, athletics, special talents such as art or music, volunteerism, or other personal qualities that set you apart. These scholarships do not consider financial need. A significant portion of all merit-based aid comes directly from the college/ university. Some schools may require additional scholarship applications, essays, interviews, and many colleges will have earlier deadlines to be considered for their scholarships. It can be helpful to know that a lot of times the smaller, private colleges will have more money available for scholarships in order to help make attending their school competitive with the lower costs of the public colleges. Please also remember that there are scholarship offerings listed in PrepHQ. It is important to keep an eye out for unique scholarships that might apply to your personal situation. Last year I had a student who was able to qualify for an Italian heritage scholarship. Perhaps one of your grandparents won a purple heart or maybe you have time to write an essay for one of the other scholarship competitions… no matter what the situation, if you find a scholarship that you meet the criteria for go ahead and apply – you might be pleasantly surprised at the result and if you don’t, the answer is definitely a “no.”

Need Based aid is what you will sometimes hear people refer to as “Financial Aid” even though both Merit Based and Need Based aid technically fall under that one category. There are a variety of different Need Based aid programs which will require you to fill out the FAFSA in order to be considered for them. Grants are considered gift assistance – they give you money and you do not have to pay it back. Loans which can come from a wide variety of sources – the federal government, the college, and private banks is money that you are required to pay back. Work Study programs are on campus job opportunities that the government helps find that allows you to earn money for college through working on campus. The big difference between Merit Based and Need Based aid is that Need Based aid is that the type and amount of Need Based aid you will receive depends upon the amount of financial need you have.

And, yes, just to add to the confusion – there are some scholarships that will consider financial need as a criterion. They are still awarding the scholarship based upon some specific aspect of who you are it is just allowing them to narrow down the potential applicant pool.

One last important reminder - NEVER pay to be considered for a scholarship! That is a scam. Don't waste your money!

Seniors, hopefully you are making progress on filling out your FAFSA.  Don't forget that you need to submit it prior to your first college's priority deadline.  If you have any questions you can always call the financial aid offices of the schools where you are applying as they are true experts in the field. I am also happy to try to help in any way that I can.

Also, on a separate note, do NOT forget to request your transcript RIGHT AWAY if you are trying to hit a November 1st deadline!

Demonstrated Interest

Colleges keep track of every contact and interaction students have with them.  For colleges, they typically refer to this as your demonstrated interest.  They want to know that you are genuinely interested in their college and that applying to their school is something you have investigated and feel like it would be a good fit. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean that you should call a school multiple times a week - that would definitely get on their nerves, but they want students who are truly interested. You can show that by meeting with their admissions representatives when they come to WKHS (visits are still happening this fall) or by attending their community gathers sponsored in the Columbus area, participating in "optional" interviews and essays, and most notably visiting their campus.

Just because you have clearly demonstrated your interest in a college will not be what gets you accepted to their school, but since colleges are always trying to predict who it is that will ultimately attend their university out of those they accept, it works to your advantage to be sure that the college will be a good fit - not only because it demonstrates your interest, but also - and more importantly - because it will enable you to be confident that this is a school which fits your needs and goals in what you were hoping for in a college campus community and in your collegiate home. 

Want to learn more about demonstrated interest?  Check out this article.

College Admissions Interview

Some colleges require all prospective students to participate in an interview with an admissions counselor or an alumni representative as a component of the application process. If you are applying to a school which requires an interview – don’t panic!

It is important to relax and be yourself. This is your opportunity to shine. Display your personality and allow your interests and passions to be expressed.

In addition to answering their questions, don’t be afraid to ask any questions you have about the school. Be sure to complete some research ahead of time so that you are not asking questions you easily could have found by visiting their website.

If there is anything about yourself that you want to be sure that the admissions representatives understand – unique circumstances, experiences, or special traits that they might not ask about don’t hesitate to offer up this information. This is your one opportunity to actually discuss these areas with a real person. By bringing up these topics, it may spur them to ask additional questions that you will be able to answer.

And, hopefully it goes without saying, but remember that first impressions are important – so be polite, smile, dress appropriately and arrive on time for your interview!

Be Here Now

There are so many things which demand your attention that being present to "be here now" can be a challenge.  Even right now, as you are reading this blog post, chances are you have other emails awaiting your attention, notifications popping up about social media posts, reminders, or messages you're receiving.  Life doesn't seem to slow down.

Yet we each have the same 24 hours in our days.  How we choose to spend that time is our decision.  But with each choice comes consequences.  Some of those consequences are positive (I study for a test and I get a good grade) and some of the consequences are negative (I didn't study for the test and I got a bad grade).  But here is the interesting thing I have noticed... it is all too common for students (and adults for that matter) to fake it.  We fake studying.  We fake working on a paper (or recommendation letter if I am turning the mirror back on myself).  We fake being fine.  We fake paying attention.  We fake a lot, but why?  Is it because you are fooling yourself or someone else?  Is it because you want to impress someone for how much time you spent studying? (Even if the reality was you weren't really studying because you were spending most of your time finding music, responding to messages, or daydreaming.)

So stop.  Be all in.  This is your life - your one chance to do things fully, completely and as meaningfully as possible.

You can get more studying done in 30 minutes where you are intensely focused than you can over 3 hours of a half-focused study session.  Be present with your friends or family when you are spending time together - put your phone away and actually listen.  If you're not in the mood to write your paper, find a different approach to get yourself into the mindset to be fully focused on the task at hand rather than sitting in one place for hours on end growing more frustrated by how long it is taking you to complete the assignment.

For yourself, for your future, and for your overall well-being, please be present and be all in with your time and your commitments.