Homeroom: Nov. 20th

College Application Process

&

Financial Aid

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Announcements:

• Yearbook: Senior quote and portrait due
• Heads up!: Email every Friday with HS news, athletics and link to student resource page
• Schedules will be released tomorrow. To make a schedule repair, FILL OUT THE FORM, which is due by Dec. 19th.
• Add/drop period will run Jan. 7 - 17th, after that to drop a class will be transcribed as a WF.
• Can’t register for an Aims class via CEC if you didn’t take an online Aims class this semester.
• Graduation survey will be emailed after break. Please submit by 12/6

ACT scores/AP Scores and DC transcripts

ACT: To send your ACT score to a college - go to your MyACT account and pay to have score sent.

AP: Wait till you are done taking your AP tests in May if possible to send scores once. To send your AP score - go to your College Board account and pay to have scores sent.

DC credit: Request transcript from DC college (CCU, Aims, etc.) by going to college’s website and searching “request transcript”. Make sure to send the transcript to the college you are applying to.

CONGRATULATIONS!

You are doing a great job applying for college!!!

Apply - Admit - Consider - Commit

Apply by Jan 1st. : the common regular decision deadline

Use Common App if possible

Update your “colleges I am applying to” section of Naviance.

• ALL colleges you are applying to, even if they are not Common App schools
• Remove colleges you are not applying to
• Indicate type of application and if you have submitted the app

Your transcript and other required docs are sent via Naviance to the colleges you apply to

Apply - Admit - Consider - Commit

Admitted: Acceptances are coming in depending on application type.

• Rolling admissions - continual
• Early action - Dec - Jan
• Regular Decision - late Feb - early April

Admitted is not the same as committed. College decision day is May 1st.

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Apply - Admit - Consider - Commit

Once you have been admitted (accepted) to a college:

• Check your email daily!
• Create your student account using the SID - Student ID number - they send you
• Access your student portal for that college
• Check your portal!! This is where you will receive information and instructions regarding next steps, housing and enrollment deposits, and financial aid awards
• Use an organizational system

Apply - Admit - Consider - Commit

The time between being admitted and committing to a college is when you take as much information as possible from every college you have been admitted to and consider which one is the best match for you.

You are a consumer being marketed to! You are going to feel pressure to enroll!

• Housing deposit
• Enrollment deposit - this is committing
• Admitted student events

Be aware of deadlines but don’t panic!

$$ Let’s talk about the money $$

COA: Cost of Attendance

• Tuition
• Fees
• Housing and Food
• Books/course materials
• Transportation
• Personal Miscellaneous

Rarely pay full sticker price BUT do not be overconfident on aid award.

Merit vs. Need vs. Other aid

• Merit Aid: Based on what you earn through GPA and test scores
• Need Aid: Based on your family’s financial situation
• Other Aid: Race, talent, major, life event, service, etc.

Many scholarships open NOW and end in Feb.

Automatic Merit Scholarships awarded through admissions application

Additional college specific scholarships

Need to apply

• One, common scholarship application via student portal
• Invitation to apply
• Individual applications
• CSS profile - through College Board
• ROTC

Use information system to keep track of scholarship requirements and deadlines.

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Scholarships

Local, State, National: Have to find, research and apply.

• COF: Colorado Opportunity Fund
• Bright Futures: Weld County Residents
• WUE: Western Undergraduate Exchange program
• CO Promise

Private Scholarships

• Parent Employer
• Local businesses (banks, PVRea, doctors, etc.)
• Service organizations (rotary, elks, lions, etc.)

Scholarship search sites:

• Going Merry
• Bold.org
• Scholarships.com
• FastWeb
• Big Futures (College Board)

Request transcripts through Transcript Request Form. Use teacher letters of rec that have already been requested. These need to be uploaded by the teacher either through a portal or an email address.

FAFSA is OPEN!!

FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid is one of the most important steps to secure financial aid regardless of income.

Colleges use the FAFSA form to determine how much financial aid you are eligible to receive which could include:

• Grants
• Loans
• Work study funds
• Scholarships

Key Steps and Information

You and your parents/guardians are contributors

1. Create your FAFSA account online
1. This is a required first step to receive your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID. This is your digital signature for accessing FAFSA.
2. Complete and submit your FAFSA as soon as possible.
• I recommend that you do this with your parents as you are a dependent student.

Key Steps and Information

You and your parents will need access to:

• Social security numbers
• Tax returns for 2023
• Current balances of cash, savings, and checking accounts
• Net worth of investments, businesses and farms
• Records of child support received (if applicable)
• List the colleges you are applying to. (You must list at least one college to receive your information.)

Key Steps and Information

After you complete your required section of the FAFSA form online, you’ll acknowledge the terms and conditions of the form and electronically sign your section. You can then submit your section of the FAFSA form. HOWEVER, your FAFSA form won’t be considered complete until all required contributors provide their information on the FAFSA form, give their consent and approval to transfer federal tax information into the form, and provide their signatures.

After you and your parent (and/or any other required contributor) sign and submit the FAFSA form, the form will be considered complete and will be submitted for processing.

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Key Steps and Information

Once you submit the FAFSA form, you’ll see a confirmation page that displays your completion date, data release number, and next steps. You’ll also see your estimated Student Aid Index (SAI: a number used by college and career/trade schools to determine your eligibility for federal student aid), estimated Federal Pell Grant eligibility, and information about other federal student aid for which you may be eligible. This confirmation page is emailed automatically to you for your records.

Once successfully submitted, you should receive a FAFSA submission summary within 7 days.

• Check your form status if you haven’t received your submission summary.
• Review your submission summary and correct any errors

Apply - Admit - Consider - Commit

Receiving your Financial Aid Award Letters from colleges depends on:

• When you applied and your application status
• When you were admitted
• When you submit your FAFSA
• How many FAFSA forms the college receives

Expect to hear between Feb. and May

Apply - Admit - Consider - Commit

Prayerfully consider:

• True COA
• Program of study
• Place
• People

Before committing to a college