Reminders...

Happy Halloween!  Here are some important reminders for you as we head into the new week...

- Monday, November 1st, is a common early application deadline for many colleges.  You have until 11:59pm to submit your applications, but do NOT wait until the last second.  Inevitably there could be computer glitches and errors due to lots of people trying to submit at the last possible moment.

- Remember, you MUST request your transcript through the transcript request form in addition to inviting me on Common App to submit your school forms.  The transcript request form is on the Counselor Website - www.wkhscounselors.com - hover over the college/ career tab and then it is the bottom option.  You MUST do this before the end of the school day for me to be able to upload your transcript on Monday.

- You can submit your application before your teacher or counselor pieces are uploaded.  

- In some non-college news, don't forget that you get Tuesday, November 2nd off.  I can assure you that your teachers are jealous that you can enjoy the bonus day off while we work.  ;-)

- Friday is the deadline for registering for AP exams at regular price.

- Friday is also the next parent Lunch & Learn session at noon over zoom to review how to get the most use out of the Counselor Website.

I hope you have had an enjoyable and productive weekend.  

FAFSA: It's for you!

Did you know that each year about $80 million goes to waste because people don't fill out the FAFSA. That's right, $80 million throughout the United States just sits there because student's didn't bother to fill out the FAFSA. So, what is the FAFSA? FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This is the form you will fill out to get federal financial aid for college and post-secondary training. It may also help you qualify for financial aid from the state of Ohio and at the college of your choice. The form is free, but it could save you thousands of dollars. Please do not pay to fill out the FAFSA. There are many sites that are misleading and will ask you to submit a payment to fill it out. NEVER pay to fill out the FAFSA. The legitimate site for filling out the FAFSA form is: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa  

So how does the FAFSA work? By filling out the FAFSA, you will find out what you qualify for. You may qualify for grants, which you don't need to repay. If you qualify for loans, federal loans have lower interest rates and you don't start repaying them until you graduate. When filling out the FAFSA, you will need to have certain information available such as, your social security number, your parent's social security number, your drivers license (if you have one), federal tax returns and information on cash and savings. The form takes a little while to fill out but you can work on it for a little while, save it and then go back at a later time to complete it.

There are some common misconceptions about the FAFSA, so I would like to clear up a couple of them. Yes you can apply for FAFSA if you are going to school for a trade. Every year there are many Ohio students who complete the FAFSA and get funding for career training. Yes you should complete the FAFSA even if you haven't been accepted yet. There is a great website that just became available and it is an initiative of the Ohio Department of Education, it is called "FAFSA Is For You". Just click here to take you to the site.

Net Price Calculator

When you 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 and to guide you as you are making decisions about if it is in your best interest to apply Early Decision or not.

Holiday Help

As we look ahead to the holiday season I wanted to make sure that you (or perhaps one of your friends) would be aware of some of the resources that could be available to help you.

School connected resources:

- One of the local churches, Worthington Presbyterian Church, is providing WKHS with all of the food for Thanksgiving meals so that we can distribute them to some of our families in need.  If you need help with a Thanksgiving meal, please contact me ASAP so that I can try to arrange for a meal for you.

- Community Cares Backpack Program: a group of dedicated, compassionate, and incredibly thoughtful Worthington mom's do a variety of things to help our school community through the Activity Club.  One of those programs is to provide bags of food that students can take home with them over the weekend to add a little extra to their family's food supplies.  Every other week we receive several bags that we can distribute.  If this resource is something that would be helpful for you, please let me know so that I can add you onto the list for future backpacks.  

- WKHS Community Cares Closet:     The Activity Club also stocks a closet of toiletries and other items that any WKHS family in need can access.  There are a wide range of items available for you to take home with you including shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, soap, feminine hygeine products, lotion, deodorant, shaving cream, and more.  The closet is located in the Counseling Center and I am happy to show you where it is so that you can take whatever supplies you need.  Please note that if there are specific items you were searching for that might be out of stock when you stop by the community mom's are constantly refilling the closet and if you let me know what item you were hoping to access, I can make sure that they know it is currently out of stock and let you know once it has been added again.

Community Food Resources:

- Worthington Resource Pantry: www.worthingtonresourcepantry.org   614-985-1766     Located at 6700 Huntley Rd., Columbus, OH 43229, the Worthington Resource Pantry provides families in our community with food and other resources of support.  

-  Dublin Food Pantry: www.dublinfoodpantry.org     If you live in the 43016 zip code you could also utilize the Dublin Food Pantry.

-  Kroger Community Pantry:
     The Kroger Community Pantry is run in partnership with Mid-Ohio Food Bank.  The Kroger Community Pantry is located at 3960 Brookham Dr., Grove City.  Please check their website https://www.midohiofoodbank.org/get-help/ or call 614-317-9487 for information about hours and services.

-  Regular Monthly Meals:
     You may already know this because we have this resource is available year-round and is featured on the WKHS Counselor website, but several local churches provide meals to anyone in the community needing assistance.  This page highlights where and when these meals are available to families in need. 

I am fully aware that all needs are not just related to food/ toiletries.  Here are a few resources if you have additional needs.

-  Charity Newsies   http://www.charitynewsies.com/getting-help/
     Charity Newsies is an organization that provides clothing to students in need.  A parent/ legal guardian needs to arrange for the clothing to be provided, but they can provide a complete set of clothing needs for each student that qualifies and needs it.

-  Salvation Army:  Food and Toys
     Perhaps you have seen the red kettles that appear each year - these donations are used to help provide food and gifts for families in need.  Information about their Christmas assistance program is available here: http://co.salvationarmy.org/CentralOhio/christmas-assistance  Specific details about required documentation are available on the Salvation Army's website. If you have questions, you can contact them at 614-358-2622.  Here is the flyer for 2021.

-  Hands On Central Ohio: http://handsoncentralohio.org    By phone: 211
     Hands on Central Ohio is an organization dedicated to connecting those in need with resources.  

-  2 Hands:  Specific Needs

     This online resource helps connect Ohio families in need with those who are willing and able to help.  Families indicate their specific needs on the website and then others volunteer to help meet those needs.  Information about this resource is available at: http://www.2hands.org/online-christmas-help/in-ohio.php

As always, please stop by and talk to me if you are having problems this holiday season.  If you need food, clothing or just want to talk about some struggles you are having, my door is open for you.

Transcript Request Form

Seniors, as you get ready to submit your applications, don't forget that you will need to request your transcript for every college where you are applying.  You will do this using the Google Form on the WKHS Counselor Website. 

As you make progress with your applications, you can request your transcript at any point.  Sometimes students think that you have to wait until you have applied to request your transcript and that is not true.  In fact, as long as you have determined that you are definitely applying to a college, then it is fine to go ahead and request your transcript.  When you are applying through Common App, I will upload your transcript and it will be sent to your college automatically when you submit the rest of your application.  If you are applying through a non-Common App college then it will be sent electronically through a separate transcript program when you submit the request to us.

I know there are still a handful of my students who have invited me on Common App, but haven't submitted their transcript request form so if you aren't sure, please double check on your own Common App account because I am current on all of my Common App paperwork.

PSAT Reminders

Don't forget - tomorrow is the day when many Kilbourne sophomores and juniors, as well as many other students around the country, will take the PSAT.  

If you are one of the students who will be taking the PSAT, you will report directly to the gymnasiums when you arrive to school on Tuesday morning.  Check in begins at 7:15am and you will need to bring your student id with you in order to check in.  Please plan on leaving your book bag and your cell phone (turned off) in your locker.  (If you bring your cell phone or smart watch with you, you will have to turn it into the staff during the test and you will be able to pick it up again after the test concludes.)

You will also need to bring number 2 pencils (no mechanical pencils allowed), a calculator, an eraser, and I would recommend a normal watch.  (Obviously, you cannot use your phones, a smart watch, or anything similar for timing.)  The test will begin promptly at 7:45 and you will finish testing during 4th period.

You will be able to have water and a snack under your table for easy access during breaks, but you cannot eat or drink at all during the test.  As you know, the temperature in the building varies greatly.  So because we don't know what to expect in the gym, I strongly encourage that you dress in layers so that you can add a sweatshirt or take it off depending on how hot or cold you might be during testing.

As a reminder for all of the other students - I will be helping to administer the PSAT tomorrow, so I will not be available to meet with you.  Sorry.

Parent Lunch & Learn

The WKHS Counselors will be hosting the 2nd quarter Lunch and Learn Series for parents on Friday, November 5th.  This session will provide information on How to get the most out of the resources available on the Counselor Website.  

As a reminder, the lunch and learns are brief presentations on a particular topic over zoom during lunch time so that parents/ guardians can join and listen in from home or work while eating their lunch.  The goal is that the presentation will take about 15 minutes and then that will give about 15 minutes for any other questions that families might have that we could address as a whole group.  We are excited about this opportunity to leverage technology and to meet families where they are so that you can get the most up to date information that we can share with you.

We will be hosting the 2nd quarter session at noon on Friday, November 5th.  The zoom link will be emailed to all parents and we will also post it on the Counselor Website on Friday morning.

We have worked so hard on the website to make it a useful resource for our students and parents, so I hope you will make plans to join us online over zoom so we can help you learn about all of the resources you can find on our site!