SENIOR BULLETIN #5
Scholarship and College Information
January, 2014
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.
· To tell the UC about a drop or a grade below C, you must notify — by mail — the UC Application Center. Your letter must include your name, UC Application ID number and your signature and will be shared with all the campuses you applied to. Mail to:
UC Application Center
P.O. Box 1432
Bakersfield, CA 93302
· Midyear Reports are due for several private colleges. Your GLC’s are fully aware that midyear reports are due as soon as possible, and they will process those reports as soon as possible. While some universities have already told students that they want midyear reports, they do also understand that those reports can only be sent after 7th semester grades have been finalized and your application will not be delayed at all. 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 campus to do so. If a UC or CSU does request a 7th semester transcript, wait until January 17th, 2014 to send a transcript through Parchment via our website at http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=167814&type=d&pREC_ID=345011 .
· 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.
· If a university to which you have applied tells you to create an account with their portal or system, uh…. create an account with their portal or system! I recently talked to three intelligent seniors, and every single one of them had not signed up for the portal accounts as instructed by universities. This is how schools plan on communicating with you as far as application problems, updates, financial aid information, and miscellaneous announcements. If you don’t sign up, who knows what you’ll be missing!
COMMUNITY COLLEGE
· A Mt. SAC representative will be visiting English classes on January 21st and 23rd with all sorts of information about their registration process. After that, Mt. SAC will host application workshops February 3rd and 4th in Computer Lab 572. Students will also have the opportunity to go on a field trip to Mt. SAC on Thursday, February 20th. Students interested in all of these Mt. SAC opportunities should meet with Mrs. Carson in the Career Center to make sure she has you signed up.
· East San Gabriel Regional Occupation Program is a good option for anyone A) interested in technical training for a career or B) trying to get more of their general education classes out of the way. Several of their classes transfer to the community college so if you’re having trouble getting all of your breadth requirements taken care of at Mt. SAC or Fullerton College, this might be another option. Look at www.esgvrop.org for more information. You can also check out this article in which ESGVROP was named the #1 community college value in the nation - http://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-10-community-colleges-190928710.html.
FINANCIAL AID
· FAFSA is open as of January 1st! 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 2013, don’t wait until your parents’ tax return is ready. Use the information from their 2012 tax return and make educated guesses for 2013. 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. Reminder: The F in FAFSA stands for free, and if you’re ever on a website that asks for money, you’re in the wrong place.
· 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 26th, 2014, 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, 2014. If you are offered a Cal Grant, you’ll receive an email from the California Student Aid Commission, which estimates your Cal Grant award.
· Cash for College Financial Aid Fair takes place on Saturday, February 8th, 2014. They offer free assistance with the FAFSA, scholarship workshops, and Mt. SAC admission and enrollment information. Space is limited and registration opens 1/8/14 at www.mtsac.edu.
SCHOLARSHIPS
· 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, 2014.
· Playing with Purpose Award – This is a scholarship for sophomore, junior, or senior Christian athletes with a minimum C grade average and a varsity letter in at least one sport. The four finalists receive a $2000 scholarship and there are smaller awards for others. Apply at www.playingwithpurpose.org by February 1st, 2014.
· Broadcasting Your Aspirations – This scholarship is sponsored by DirecTV, and as they say, “Who says watching TV doesn’t pay off?” Applicants write “a 500-1000 word blog post about some way television has influenced your post-graduate career aspirations” for a chance at a $2500 scholarship. For details, visit http://www.getdirecttv.org/tv-scholarship/. Deadline is April 1st, 2014.
· Financial Aid for Minorities – There’s a good, thorough listing of several scholarships aimed at minority students on this website: http://www.onlineschools.org/financial-aid/minority/. Some have been listed in the Senior Bulletin before, but there are some new ones there as well and it’s worth a look.
· PG&E Employee Resource Groups – There are several different scholarships offered by this group, and these scholarships are available for all college-bound students within the PG&E service area. For more information, go to http://www.pge.com/about/community/scholarships/. Deadline is February 16th, 2014.
· 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