SENIOR BULLETIN #7
Scholarship and College Information
March, 2013
ADMISSION DECISIONS
· Acceptance letters are wonderful, but they don’t define you. It’s so great to have a school recognize all of your hard work and tell you that they want you to be a part of their campus community. It’s also tremendously disappointing when a school does not accept you, but remember that there are an incredible number of factors going into their decision and you’ll never really know why you did or didn’t get into a particular university. Instead of looking at admission decisions as a judgment of who you are, you would be better off reflecting on the things that really define you – how you cherish your friends, how you value your family, how you pursue your passions, how you treat those less fortunate than you, how you strive to do the right thing.
· Choose the school that is right for you. Hopefully you’re going to receive more than one acceptance letter, and that means you’ll have to start spending some serious time thinking about which school will work out best for you. Don’t give in to the temptation to just pick the school that has the most prestige or name recognition unless that truly is the best fit for you. In the short term, you and your parents will have the thrill of saying you’re going there, but bear in mind that you’ll be spending at least four years of life in this place. Consider factors like the size of the student body, average class size, weather, majors and the surrounding community when deciding if a school is the one for you. Remember, there is still time to visit schools and there is no substitute for walking around a campus and speaking with students and observing classes to help you see if it’s the right school for you.
· You had your chance to drop classes. If you’re doing poorly in a class and you chose not to drop it when you had the opportunity, then it’s time to live up to your choice and do as well as possible. Remember – schools have the right to rescind an offer of admission because of D’s or F’s or even a lower overall performance. You don’t want to receive a letter from UC stating: “Regretfully, I must withdraw our offer of admission because you did not meet the conditions of admission. In particular, you failed to successfully complete your senior year with satisfactory grades.”
· The UC Campuses have not stated for certain whether they will or will not use waitlists for their freshman application pools this year. You may get waitlist offers from several campuses, and if you do, you may accept them all. BUT… be sure to “opt in” by the April 15th deadline by following the instructions that will accompany your waitlist offer. Even if you opt in to waitlists, you should definitely submit a Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) to the campus you would attend if the waitlist didn’t work out. You won’t know if you’re called up from a waitlist until after the SIR is due, so if you don’t commit to a school beforehand and the waitlist doesn’t work out, you could end up without a school to attend. That’s what we call a big bummer.
· Appeals to a UC should only occur if there is an error or “compelling new information” that will dramatically alter your application. If you didn’t get into the UC of your choice, don’t appeal just because you hope they’ll like your application better when they read it in April than they did when they read it in December. Overturning an admission decision is “extremely rare.”
FINANCIAL AID
· If your family’s financial situation has changed (e.g. – a parent has lost a job, your parents have declared bankruptcy), notify the financial aid offices of the schools to which you have applied immediately. It could alter the financial aid packages they will offer you.
SCHOLARSHIPS
· Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Scholarship – This is a scholarship for “senior girls of African-American descent, who plan to attend an accredited college or university.” Several scholarships will be awarded in varying amounts, and students need at least a 3.0 GPA, an essay, and two letters of recommendation. Pick up applications in Mr. Desmond’s office. The complete application package must be mailed or delivered in person to: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Epsilon Eta Omega Chapter, ATTN: Andrena G. Dancer, Esq., 400 N. Mountain Avenue, Suite 229, Upland, CA 91786-5193. Application packages must be received by April 4th, 2013.
· Walnut Valley Educational Foundation Scholarship – That’s Walnut Valley as in OUR district so you know this one isn’t going to some dude in Bakersfield – apply! They award three $1000 scholarships (Visual and Performing Arts, Industrial Technology, and Teen Citizen) to DBHS students and a fourth is available for someone with “demonstrated active participation, tutoring, or mentorship in the educational field.” You can pick up an application in Mr. Desmond’s office – applications must be received by MAIL by April 15,2013.
· Class of 2012 Ginger Auten and Phyllis Irving Scholarship – Man, if you thought that last scholarship was Diamond Bar-focused, how about this one? One of the people whose name is on the scholarship is walking around our campus every day! A $500 award will be given to two DBHS seniors with a minimum 3.0 GPA and the best applications (unofficial transcript, two 250 word essays, four short answer questions). You can pick up an application in Mr. Desmond’s office – applications and scanned transcripts must be submitted to [email protected] by April 12, 2013.
· Diamond Bar Woman’s Club Scholarship – This $500 scholarship is open to graduating seniors (male or female) from Diamond Ranch High School or Diamond Bar High School who demonstrate a sincere desire to further their education. Applicants must have a 2.5 GPA and letters of recommendation from both school and off-campus, and they must provide an autobiography with an emphasis on community service. A personal interview might be required. Pick up an application in Mr. Desmond’s office. Applications must be postmarked no later than April 5, 2013.
· Diamond Bar Woman’s Club Special Needs Scholarship – This $500 scholarship has all the same application requirements as the other DB Woman’s Club scholarship listed above, but this one is specifically for students in special education. Pick up an application in Mr. Desmond’s office. Applications must be postmarked no later than April 5, 2013.
· San Gabriel Valley District of Women’s Clubs Scholarship - $500 scholarships will be awarded. Applicants must be graduating seniors with a 3.0 GPA, who are active participants in one or more community organizations. Pick up an application in Mr. Desmond’s office. Only two applicants per school, which means you must submit the application package to Mr. Desmond by March 22, 2013 to be considered for one of our school’s applicants.
· Children of Law Enforcement and Fire Service Personnel Scholarship – This scholarship offers $40,000 in funds to children of active duty law enforcement and fire service personnel in California who are graduating in 2013. There are 11 regional awards, one state, and four national awards, and this program rewards students who have excelled academically and are active in community service and extracurricular activities. Each applicant must submit an essay about how their parent or guardian helps secure their community. Pick up an application in Mr. Desmond’s office. Applications must be postmarked by March 30,2013.
· Taiwanese-American Citizens League Scholarship – The Los Angeles chapter of this organization is offering multiple $600 awards in LA County. This scholarship is open to all seniors regardless of race, national origin, citizenship, or financial needs. They are looking for well-rounded college bound seniors who have demonstrated leadership skills, extracurricular activity involvement, community service, and academic achievement. A few copies are available in Mr. Desmond’s office, or the entire application package can be downloaded from http://www.tacl.org/programs/tacl-scholarship. Application must be postmarked by April 3, 2013.