SENIOR BULLETIN #5
Scholarship and College Information
January, 2013
THE END OF FIRST SEMESTER
· If you have dropped a class for second semester, you must notify all of the schools to which you have applied so they know there is a change in the original information on your application. Remember: the university or college that you finally commit to will require a final transcript, and if the final transcript does not have a class they were expecting to see, they may rescind the offer of admission.
· Colleges also notice a drop-off in performance so you need to maintain the types of grades you have earned in the past. If you earned a D or an F in any class, you obviously need to notify the schools to which you have applied so they aren’t surprised by what they see on the final transcript. You never want to surprise a school with a D or F, and if you don’t tell them, they may rescind the offer of admission when they discover the poor grade. If you have always earned A’s and B’s, you want to keep it that way. This is a very competitive time to be applying to college, and drifting down to C’s is the type of thing that might make a school reconsider its offer of admission.
· Midyear Reports are due for several private colleges. Your GLC’s will announce the mid-year school report process in early January. Please keep in mind that UC and CSU campuses do NOT have a mid-year report. It is not necessary to send your grades to a UC or CSU unless you have received a request from a specific UC or CSU campus to do so.
· Different names on official documents will cause all sorts of problems for you. The name on your DBHS transcript, the name on your college applications, and the name for your SAT/ACT accounts all need to match. If you have legal names in one place and nicknames in another, colleges will be confused and that’s never good. See your GLC as soon as possible if you have any questions.
MT. SAN ANTONIO COLLEGE
· Information regarding community college workshops for applications and assessment tests will be made available in mid-January. Don’t panic. The process to attend a community college is still ahead of us! Stay tuned.
FINANCIAL AID
· FAFSA is open! Go online as soon as possible to fill out your Free Application for Federal Student Aid at www.fafsa.ed.gov. While it is true they want financial information from 2012, don’t wait until your parents’ tax return is ready. Use the information from their 2011 tax return and make educated guesses for 2012. It usually doesn’t vary by that much, and you can adjust the numbers later, but it’s best to get your FAFSA filled out as early as possible.
· The financial aid package each school offers you will vary, as discussed in the last bulletin, so you need to know the different types of aid available.
o Grants – This is basically a gift from the school, money you don’t have to pay back, which makes it the best available obviously.
o Work Study – This usually comes in the form of an on campus job. I still remember the good ol’ days of driving the campus shuttle.
o Loans – These are usually through private banks but at a relatively low rate. The government sometimes pays interest on the loan while the student is in school, and payments usually don’t begin until 6 months after the student graduates. WARNING: These loans will be in the student’s name and will be his or her responsibility, not their parents, when they graduate. Be careful about taking a loan, especially through a private company, and incurring more debt than you can handle upon graduation. TIME magazine recently referenced a student who graduated from NYU with $169,934 worth of debt that will equal $350,000 with the interest added in over the next 26 years – that’s no way to get started.
· Cal Grant GPA Verification Forms are now available in the Guidance Office. The Cal Grant is “free money” to help you pay tuition and school fees for schools in California. Fill out the form and return it to Mrs. Taylor as soon as possible and she will return it to you for you to mail. Cal Grant GPA Verification Forms are due to Mrs. Taylor by Wednesday, February 27th, 2013, and no forms will be accepted after that date. Please do not wait until the last days to submit! Deadline for postmark on the form you mail in is March 2nd, 2013. If you are offered a Cal Grant, you’ll receive an email from the California Student Aid Commission, which estimates your Cal Grant award.
SCHOLARSHIPS
· Best Buy Scholarship – Students in grades 9-12 with solid grades plus community service or work experience are eligible to apply for one of 1,100 $1000 scholarships. Apply online at http://pr.bby.com/community-relations/programs/best-buy-scholarship-program/ by February 15, 2013.
· A.W. Bodine-Sunkist Memorial Scholarship – This scholarship is in memory of a former Sunkist Director and agricultural leader and seeks to provide funds for students from agricultural backgrounds. The student or someone in the student’s immediate family must have derived the majority of his income from agriculture. The award varies but averages $2000 per academic year. Pick up an application in Mr. Desmond’s office or download at www.sunkist.com. Application must be received no later than April 30th, 2013.
· Playing with Purpose Award – This is a scholarship for sophomore, junior, or senior Christian athletes. $16,000 worth of scholarships is available. Apply at www.playingwithpurpose.org by February 1st, 2013.
· William S. Davila Scholarship – This scholarship is for students working in the food industry or whose parents are working in the food industry (defined as retail supermarkets or manufacturers of food products, NOT fast food or regular restaurants). Awards range from $1000-$2500. Applications are available at www.sms.scholarshipamerica.org/davila and applications must be postmarked by January 20th, 2013.
· Chinese American Education Scholarship – This scholarship is for seniors of “ethnic Chinese heritage” who attend high school in Southern California and have good grades, leadership, and extracurricular involvement. Candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents who have “provided services to the Chinese and/or other Asian American Communities.” There will be five $500 scholarships awarded. Pick up an application from Mr. Desmond’s office. Entries must be postmarked by February 1st, 2013.
· Tzu Chi Scholarship – This is a $1000 scholarship for “financially needy seniors” with a 3.0 minimum GPA who “are interested in service careers and plan on attending a university, community college, or trade school.” Applicants must provide proof of income, two letters of recommendation, a typed autobiography, and a one-page essay about Tzu Chi. Pick up an application from Mr. Desmond’s office. Applications must be postmarked by March 9th, 2013.
· Miss any scholarships from the last Senior Bulletin? Go to the Guidance Office – all past scholarships will remain on display until their deadlines have passed.
· Don’t forget that you can research scholarships on your own!
o www.collegenet.com/mac