Senior Parent Information Session

Senior Parent Information Session

So far this year: • Through group advisement, we have given each senior a folder with information about the college application process –if you haven’t seen it yet, please look at it! Especially the FAQ pages! • They also gave us an email address that we will use at least once a month with important information for ALL Seniors. They may have given yours also. • Through individual advisement, we will start seeing students via senior conferences, to discuss their after high school plans • During that meeting, we also give them a college “to do list” if applying to 4-year colleges Ms. Eveland: Last Names A-E Ms. Dusch: Last Names F-Li Ms. Habjanic: Last Names Lo-R Ms. Navel: Last Names S-Z

What to do after high school? Joining the military Going to a 2-year community college Going straight to work Going to a 4-year college/university

Joining the Military • We have contacts from each branch who come to the school • Have your students listen to announcements or they can make an appointment with a recruiter

Approximately 30% of our seniors each year start out in a Community College Community College • Community college is a great option for students who want a 2-year degree or want to save money by going there for 1-2 years (complete their basic courses) and then transfer to a 4-year university • Requirement: High School Diploma • Approximately $76 per credit hour • If they are interested in transferring to a four -year University, be sure to talk to the community college about the “college transfer program” • Students can also receive an Associate’s Degree: Degree Seeking: Medical Assistant, Dental Hygiene, Culinary, Automotive, Heating and Refrigeration, Welding, etc.

Approximately 60% of our seniors each year go to a 4 year College/University Four Year Colleges • What does your child need to know to apply to colleges? • What college is right for them? • Applications • Transcripts • Letters of Recommendation • Essays • SAT/ACT Scores • Senior Athletes • What do you need to know about paying for college? • Financial aid • Scholarships

What college is right for your child? • Hopefully, they have visited some college campuses • Do they want close to home or far away? • Do they want small town or big city? • Do they want public or private? • Do they know what major they are planning on? • Have they considered going in as “undecided”? Have they talked to the college about what this means? • Hopefully, they have researched the GPA and SAT/ACT requirements • The “best fit” is a realistic one • We always also encourage a “safety school” and a “reach school” • www.cfnc.org and www.collegeboard.org have a lot of resources to help narrow down the search

What college is right for your child? • The minimum GPA required for a public NC college/university is a 2.5 • After researching and visiting colleges, your child will hopefully have an idea of what colleges are realistic for them • Things to consider when picking the “right” college fit: • Academics: Do they have what you are interested in? • Campus Culture: How does it feel when on the campus? • Financial Aid/Cost of College: What kind of aid package will they give you? • Career Development: What do they offer to help your career?

Where do our students go to college? Students should: think about not only where can they get in, but where will they be happy?

How many college applications? • We recommend applying to 3-5 colleges, if the student can afford the college application fees • If your child is on free/reduced lunch and received a fee waiver for the SAT, they can have up to 4 college application fee waivers • This year, collegeboard will send college application fee waivers to those students who had an SAT fee waiver last year.

Senior transcripts are not ready yet, but should be available next week. We will make an announcement when ready. Paper Transcripts • Must fill out the Transcript Request Form (online, in their folder, or in the guidance office) • One filled out per college • If a student is under 18, you have to sign; if they are 18 or over, they need to sign the request form • Give Ms. Ryan 48 hours to process • Student will pick up from the Guidance office– you put postage on the envelope and mail it • CCS Policy: First 3 are FREE and after that $5 each

Electronic Transcripts • Students can send transcripts electronically to North Carolina Colleges if they prefer through www.cfnc.org for FREE (most students already have an account) • Be sure your child checks their “application hub” on CFNC to see if the transcript has been processed. Remember: the college still has to then go out and receive it • Common App and SENDedu are also ways some colleges may ask for transcripts to be sent electronically (they count as 1 of the 3 for free) • The student has to input their counselor’s email address and SENDedu or Common App notifies us they need a transcript. There is no need to request a transcript through Ms. Ryan for a school on CommonApp or SENDedu. Your counselor will send it.

College Applications • Students can apply to colleges online through a variety of ways: • Preferred method by some colleges: the college’s own website (Future 49er for UNCC) • www.cfnc.org for any and all colleges in North Carolina – fill out application once and then it self populates for additional colleges • Be sure to complete any supplemental forms for each college • The Common Application-Chapel Hill, UNC Wilmington, NC State, UNCC, etc. (www.commonapp.org)

Letters of recommendation • Some colleges require them, some are optional, and some do not look at them • Give the teacher or counselor 2 weeks to write a good letter • Fill out the letter of recommendation request form and make copies of it (PDF on student services website or in their folder) • If using cfnc.org or common app, be sure to look at “supplemental forms” for each college • It will be sent in electronically or given back in a sealed envelope (student waives their right to see it) • You put postage on it and mail it

Writing a good essay • Some schools require them and some don’t • Most importantly, be sure your student gets someone to PROOFREAD the essays • Writing a good essay includes: • Not writing a “generic” answer – it should reflect the student! • Tailor the essay to the school’s mission – you need to show that you will fit in at that college • Spell correctly! Don’t count on spell check alone • They should tell their story (this is how colleges start to see your personality)

SAT/ACT Scores • All juniors took the ACT last year at least once • Hopefully, students also took the SAT—they would have signed up through www.collegeboard.org • It’s not too late if they still want to take the SAT or ACT • Our transcripts do not have ACT/SAT scores listed • Students must go to www.collegeboard.org and/or www.actstudent.org and tell them which colleges should receive scores -- when registering for the test you get to send your scores to 4 colleges for free – after the test, it costs a fee of approximately $13 per college • Most colleges look at the best score in each category (even if students took it multiple times)

SAT vs. ACT (which one to send?)

Senior Athletes • If your senior wants to play a sport at college, they need to be registered with the NCAA clearinghouse • There are GPA and SAT/ACT requirements for Division I and II schools – know your requirements • NCAA looks at only “core classes” including English, Math, Science, Social Studies and World Languages • This website also contains an informational video about the requirements for Division I and II schools There is a fee to join the clearinghouse. Let us know if your student needs a fee waiver (if they are free/reduced lunch).

NC Residency Determination Service

NC residency • Most common mistakes: • Students not giving correct social security number, driver’s license number, parent info, or financial info • So BE CAREFUL! Be sure to proofread because you don’t want an “out of state” designation by accident – it will delay the application process • Students can go back in to RDS to make corrections (seek reconsideration when you realize you made a mistake) • Seeking an appeal is not that you made a mistake but that you want them to reconsider their answer • The process should take no more than 45 minutes to complete • You have 25 days if you start the process but don’t finalize it

“To Do List” • Complete online college applications • Including writing/proofreading essays (if applicable) • Including Residency Determination Service • Send in transcripts either by paper or electronically • Send ACT or SAT scores to all colleges that you are applying to • Ask teachers/counselor for letters of recommendation • Sometimes schools/scholarships will want a “community recommender” – consider the student’s boss, church youth group leader, etc. • Be registered with NCAA (if trying to play a sport in college)

How are you going to pay for college?

Financial Aid • Financial Aid comes from the Federal Government in the following forms: • Grants: Funds that usually do not have to be repaid. An example would be the Pell Grant • Student Loans: Funds that do have to be repaid. Some of these are subsidized by the Government (they pay the interest while the student is in college) • Work Study: these are government funded jobs on college campus

Financial Aid • Direct Costs: • Tuition • Books • Room/Board • Meals • Required Fees • Indirect Costs: • Transportation to and from home • Personal Computer • Loan Fees

Financial Aid • Any student who wants to see if they could receive financial aid must fill out the FAFSA • We would like to be 100% completed for our senior class

FAFSA –Free Application for Federal Student Aid –www.fafsa.ed.gov • (notice it is not FAFSA.com!) • This year, you can fill out the FAFSA starting in October (will use 2018 tax information) • Go ahead and get an ID number (keep it forever!) • Issued to an individual and is a “signature” for Federal Student Aid purposes • Faster than using paper signature • ID is valid for years • Parent’s ID may be used for multiple children • Each student must have own ID • Obtain ID from https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm • Results available online in 48 hours and to the institutions you list on the FAFSA

FAFSA Helpful Tips • IRS Data retrieval tool is very helpful (USE IT) • You are more likely to get audited if you DON’T use the tool • Purple part of the form is the parent’s section (the student’s section is in another color) • Household size-make sure you include the student going to college! • If student has two homes due to a divorce situation: use the income of the parent (and step-parent) who the student lives with at least 50% of the time • Check “YES” to work study, loans, etc. to see what you can get • You will have a chance to accept/decline what is offered

FAFSA helpful tips • The Department of Education requires that all (male) students seeking Federal financial aid be registered for Selective Service, as this is a general requirement for all male citizens within the United States between the ages of 18 and 25. • Even if 17, your male student should choose selective service, and at 18 they will be automatically registered.

Biggest mistakes made on FAFSA • One parent is head of household (you can’t both be). • Students who think they are “independent” and don’t put parent information down • Parents refusing to give information – it will make it so your child gets no financial aid (it does not mean the student is independent) • It’s important to have a personal email address listed on FAFSA, not the high school’s email address (because the student will graduate and still need to get on FAFSA)

Special Circumstances after the FAFSA is filled out • Significant change in your family… • Unemployment of a parent • Death in the family • Change in parents’ marital status • Medical expenses not covered by insurance • Student cannot obtain parent information Notify the financial aid office at your college of any special circumstances. Be prepared to provide documentation of any change, including the financial impact of the change.

EFC formula is based on: • Parent Income • Student Income • Value of Assets • Number in household • Number in college • Age of oldest parent What is an EFC? • EFC---ExpectedFamily Contribution • EFC is the end result after submitting a FAFSA • It is the determination of the amount per year a student’s family can pay toward their child’s college education • The higher the EFC, the lower the chance a student will receive “free” money from the government

Student Aid report • You will receive a SAR (Student Aid Report) • If you provided a valid e-mail address on your FAFSA, you will receive an e-mail with instructions on how to access an online copy of your SAR • The schools you list will receive the SAR one day after processing, but a school has to go out and retrieve it • If there is an * by the EFC-it means you have been flagged to be verified • Verification means there is a mistake on the FAFSA and the school needs more information • If you make a correction, the school will get it 3-5 days later

Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loans • Subsidized Loans are available to undergraduate students with financial need and they do NOT accrue interest while the student is in school. • Unsubsidized Loans are available, even without a financial need, and they DO accrue interest while the student is in school.

Additional Information for need based financial aid • College Foundation of North Carolina • www.cfnc.org • Federal Department of Education • http://studentaid.gov/ • Student Financial Aid for North Carolinians • www.cfnc.org/fabook • The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid • www.finaid.org

CSS Profile • Check to see if the school you will be attending requires an additional application. Hundreds of schools require students to complete the CSS PROFILE, an online application that is more extensive than the FAFSA. Your school will let you know if the form is required when you apply for aid. • Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, and Davidson are just some colleges that require the PROFILE

Scholarships • Merit Based: given primarily based on grades, SAT scores, rank, GPA, etc. • Need Based: scholarships that consider a family’s financial need for money to pay for college • Criteria Based: given based on criteria such as a desire to study Nursing or Accounting (a specific major). They usually have a merit component • We send to the students, via email, a listing of scholarships for that month and the next at the beginning of each month (Senior Notes) The best scholarships are straight from the colleges themselves. Check college websites for deadlines!

Scholarship Scams • “The scholarship is guaranteed or your money back.” No one can guarantee your scholarship before it is awarded. • “Come to our seminar and we’ll show you how to get more financial aid.” This is a sales pitch. Don’t pay for information that you can get elsewhere for free. • “The scholarship requires a small fee.” Never pay a fee to get a scholarship. • “You are a finalist” for an award you never applied for. If you did not apply, it is not a legitimate offer. • “You can’t get this information anywhere else.” Everyone has access to the same information.

Upcoming Events • October 9th from 6 to 8:00 pm • Cabarrus County Schools is hosting an annual College Fair at the Cabarrus Arena • Come prepared to speak to college admissions officers • Get on their mailing lists • There will be two county wide Financial Aid Nights: • October 2– 6:30 at Concord Middle School • Jan. TBD – 6:30 Location and date to be determined • October 21-25 • College Application Week – certain colleges will waive their application fee if you apply during this week • Computer labs will be available for students to participate – listen to announcements for more information • FAFSA Day October 26 9am to noon at Cabarrus College of Health Science • For more information, call the financial aid office. Monday - Friday 8-5 or email valerie.richard@carolinashealthcare.org

Do you have any questions?

Senior Parent Information Session