SENIOR INFORMATION SHEET 2009-2010
Dear Seniors and Parents,
The
guidance department at
www.paris95.k12.il.us/phs/guide.index.html
Senior Appointments
Mr. Thomas will see students with last names starting with A through L. Mrs. Skelton will see students with last names starting with M through Z. During the appointment, we will check on requirements and credits for high school graduation. At this time, we will outline in a folder, for students to use later, work experiences, high school activities, community activities, and honors or awards achieved during high school. We will discuss the student's plans for after high school. Any materials or information the student will need to put his/her plans in motion, the counselors will help them find.
Career Search/Resume Writer
If a student is undecided on a career choice, we have the Career Crusing free of charge. You need to see Ms. Hill in the PCHS library to set up a time to take this assessment. Once you get the results of your interest inventory you may build your portfolio using the link located on the Guidance web site. You may search the careers that are linked to your interests, find schools that provide training, financial aid information, and prepare a resume to apply for your first job.
College/ Technical School/Military Information
If you want more information about
different colleges, trade school, or specialty schools, we have many good
resources in the guidance office and library.
The Index of Majors will allow you to look up a field of study and find
out which colleges in the
College Applications
We
have several
If you apply on line, most colleges will require you to print out a form to bring to guidance. We must complete this part in order for your application to be considered for acceptance.
College Athletics
Students planning to participate in sports at a division 1 or division 2 college need to apply to the NCAA Clearinghouse to establish eligibility to participate as a freshman in college. Apply on line at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net. Then select Prospective Student-Athletes. You may pay the fee with a credit card. If you wish to pay by check or money order, print out the forms and mail in the fee. To print out the forms go to www.ncaa.org, select Parent/Prospect from the Custom Home Pages pull-down menu, and click on Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete. Bring the transcript request form to guidance to be processed.
College Campus Visits
Seniors
are encouraged to visit the campuses of the colleges to which they are
interested in applying to help determine their final selection. The guidance counselors will be happy to
arrange individual visits for you to go as a family. We will set up appointments for you to see
an admissions counselor, tour the campus, see the housing facilities, check on
campus security, and talk with the financial aid office. Many colleges will also allow you to sit in
on some of the classes in the field of study you wish to pursue and talk with
the department head. The High School
will excuse a student two (2) days for prearranged college visits. The College Day form is available from your
counselor in the high school guidance office.
One week's notice is necessary for approval and time to clear the visit
with the college. If you do not go
through the guidance office, such absences will be considered unexcused. Many days that the high school is not in
session, the colleges are in session.
This would allow you to visit and not use up a college day. See the guidance bulletin board for college
open house days. These are special days
set up by the colleges just for prospective students to visit the campus while
classes are in session. Also several
colleges will require students to come to campus in the spring to take a
placement test or for early bird registration.
This may require you to miss school, so saving a college day for this
would be wise. THERE WILL BE NO COLLEGE
DAYS IN THE MONTH OF MAY EXCEPT TO TAKE PLACEMENT TESTING OR REGISTRATION.
College/Career Day
October
7th we will be taking seniors who wish to attend the college fair at
Financial Aide Night
There will be a representative from
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
In order to fill out this form, the student and parent must have figured their 2009 income tax return and collected other financial information. There are step-by-step instructions of how to fill out these forms. The counselors will be able to assist you in finding answers to questions you may have in trying to complete the form. Once the form is filled out, you may choose to send it electronically over the computer on the Internet following the information on your form. Or, you may wish to mail the form in the envelope provided. Remember to make copies of every thing before mailing.
We suggest that you figure the 2009 income tax as soon as you have access to the necessary information. Many colleges want the federal aid report back to them by March 1 in order to award any scholarships from their college for the next school year.
There
is a link to apply for the FAFSA on line on the Guidance webpage. It has a listing of all the information you
need to collect to be able to file. It
allows you to get a PIN number that you will continue to use throughout college
to get information regarding your financial aid status. Please put this number in a safe place to
refer to in the future. Applying on line
speeds up the application process. Also
if you are considering any
Local Scholarship Information
Local scholarships are made available through our guidance office. Most applications are filled out and mailed by you. The scholarships will be posted by deadline dates in front of the guidance office on the bulletin board. We encourage parents and students to check this information regularly. We also try to keep an updated description of scholarships in each senior English class and on our guidance webpage. Sometimes if the scholarship is specific to a certain grade point, college, or major, the counselors try to contact the students we know would be eligible to apply. The applications are under the bulletin boards for students to pick up themselves. Please take only the applications for which you would be able to apply. Check the eligibility requirements listed for that scholarship on the bulletin board.
Pay attention to the deadline dates set by Guidance. It is also important to follow the instructions and use your best printing or typing which ever the instructions tell you. Fill out the information completely. If the question is not applicable, write NA in the blank. Most scholarships will want information about student's academic record, the activities the student has been involved in during high school, work experiences, letters of reference from a teacher or community member, what the student's plans are for next year, and after completing their training. Sometimes an essay will be required. We encourage you to go ahead and collect this information and organize it on the computer or in a notebook for scholarships. This will prepare you to rapidly complete several applications at a time and meet deadlines easily.
Scholarship Search
College Zone is a free service provided by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, an organization provided by the Illinois Board of Education. It is connected with a national scholarship search data bases.
You may access these searches through a link at the College Zone webpage. Locate the words Student/Parent 8-12 grade. Then click on the word financing, then scholarships. About half way down the page is a list of 6 different searches you may use to find scholarship information. Select the search you wish to use. You will answer questions about yourself and give your e-mail address. A report of all matches in the data base is prepared and sent back to you. Have plenty of paper in the printer. If you do not have e-mail, see a guidance counselor for assistance. Students would then have the responsibility to get the applications and apply for the scholarships that came back on the list they received from the search.
There is also a link for fast web scholarship search. It is also free. However, sponsors will e-mail you with advertisements if you choose to use this one. Several students have used this site last year and liked it. So we linked it for you.
Please be consumer wise to financial aid businesses seeking to provide information and finding you financial aid for college for hundreds of dollars. Some services charge you for information you could get yourself free through our guidance office. The money you could save could be applied directly to your college costs. If you are concerned about possible fraud we have a name and address for reporting this to the FTC for investigation.
College Aid Calculator
The College Zone web site has the College Aid Calculator. It is the perfect tool for students and parents to estimate what their expected family contribution, Federal Pell grant, and Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant amounts will be. The Calculator can be accessed through the Students 9th - 12th Grade Zone, under "Financing" and then "Financial Aid". The Link to the Calculator can then be found in the right-hand menu. If you do not have Internet access at home, students and parents may use the High School Library or Guidance computers to access this information. Please call for an appointment if you would need assistance running these programs.
Utilizing Your High School Counselors
We can set up an appointment for you to see the college financial aid advisor. The advisor can outline the options your family has for funding once the student aid report is sent to the college. He can also review your special circumstances if they change dramatically after the FAFSA is filed. An example may be a parent is laid off at work for a long period of time or is injured and can not work. The college financial aid advisor has the capability to make adjustments for these circumstances.
We, Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Skelton, realize we do not know all the answers to your questions. However, we are willing to take the time to help you find out what you need to know to make a wise choice for your future. We are looking forward to working with you.