COUNSELOR’S CORNER
A service of Wylie Preparatory Academy’s High School Counseling Office September 30, 2015
Upcoming Dates and Activities *October 6, 2015 at 7 pm - College Planning Meeting with 11th Grade Parents in the Study. *October 7th, 2015—Grade level lunch with the 11th graders. “Chance favors a *October 14th, 2015— PSAT (all 10th and 11th graders, prepared mind!” pre-registered 9th graders). Practice materials should be coming home with your students soon for those students who would like information and practice before the PSAT. - Abraham Lincoln *October 21st, 2015—John Brown University will be on campus. Please let Mrs. Beem know if you wish to have a one-on-one time with the representative. *November 3rd, 2015— Financial Aid Seminar put on by Texas Tech. 6:30-8:00 pm at Wylie High School in the auditorium. *November 4th, 2015—Texas Tech will be on campus around 9 a.m. Please let Mrs. Beem know if you would like one-on-one time with the representative. *November 12th, 2015 - Christian College Booths in conjunction with the Biblical Worldview Institute that the students will attend at Prestonwood.
In This Issue
Important Dates
DBU CLI
Student Loan/ Financial Aid
YouScience
Spirit of Community Award
Please visit the Counselor’s Corner office in building 15 if we can help you in any way. Dallas Baptist University Christian Leadership Institute On September 16th, we took a great group of kids to the Christian Leadership Institute presented at Dallas Baptist University. Our day started with joining the DBU students in worship. We then spent the day working on team building skills in group exercises, learning leadership skills and dialoging about how to bring those tools back to our campus. What an amazing group of kids we have on our campus. On any given high school campus you may have a handful of kids who get leadership. On our campus our kids are getting leadership. It was a great day. Many thanks to Mrs. Meeks and Mrs. Rhodes for helping out with the event.
College Representatives on Campus
We had a great response of parents and students to meet with the Balyor Representative on September 21st. Scheduling a time to meet with the representative gives you a great chance to ask any questions you may have and actually get an answer. If you have gone through college admissions before, you know how frustrating it can be not to find someone to answer your questions. As you see a school you are interested in, I suggest you sit with your student and develop the questions you have for the representative. If you child is in a Study Hall while the representative is on campus, they can come meet with you and the representative. I can not pull the kids from their upper level core classes to take time to meet, but you are welcome to schedule a time and get your questions answered. Upcoming college representative visits:
*John Brown University—October 21, 2015 at 9 a.m. - *Texas Tech—November 4th, 2015 at 9 a.m. Student Loan and Scholarship Information
FAFSA-Most college financial aid, of any type, requires the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and many colleges and states require your FAFSA information to award their own grants and scholarships.
Various types of college financial aid:
Need-based financial aid, such as government funded Pell Grants, which you don’t have to repay.
Merit aid, such as grants and scholarships from colleges which you don’t have to repay.
State-sponsored financial aid
Students loans, such as Perkins and Stafford Loans, and PLUS Loans for parent borrowers
Work-study programs (a job on campus while you attend)
If you are interested in any of the above, you should definitely fill out the FAFSA.
Use the FAFSA4caster to estimate your eligibility for federal student aid.
Simply go to https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm?execution=e1s1
The FAFSA is available every year starting January 1st. You should start the application as early as possible during your senior years. The FAFSA takes time and many colleges and states have their own varying deadlines, some as early as February 15. Check your state’s deadline at https://fafsa.ed.gov/ .
Some private colleges also require the CSS Profile, found at https://www.collegeboard.org/ , which is a separate financial aid form.
Websites
https://fafsa.ed.gov/
http://www.fastweb.com/
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/
https://www.salliemae.com/
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0082-scholarship-and-financial-aid-scams
http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/ JBU Texas Fly In– October 25th & 26th. If you have ever wanted to visit John Brown University, now is the time. For the past several years, JBU has flown students from Dal- las to JBU to tour cam- pus, visit classes and experience JBU. Their Texas Fly In this year is October 25-26. Students will leave from Dallas Love Field on Sunday afternoon and will return on Monday evening. If you are interested in join- ing, call 1-877-JBU- INGO or get more information at www.jbu.edu/visit/ texas_fly_in .
Cost is $100 per student for airfare, meals and The YouScience Aptitude Assess- housing. Space is limited, so consider sign- ment. A Special Price for Wylie ing up today. Prep this year. God created us all with a specific God given plan and design. Looking for a way to start a conversation with your 10th-12th grader about their God given design (aptitudes) and interest? This year, YouScience is allowing our Wylie Preparatory students a discounted price of $20 ($50 normally). Take the assessment and let Mrs. Beem walk you and your student through your results. The assessment will line your child's aptitudes up with careers, majors, salaries, demands and many many more insights on your child. Let Mrs. Beem teach you how to utilize the results to print reports that highlight your students strong points for resumes, interviews, portfolios, etc. For more information on the YouScience assess- ment visit www.youscience.com . To receive the special price you must go through Mrs. Beem, who will sign you up and send you an invitation to take the on-line 90 minute assessment. Spirit of Community Award Program– Application Deadline: November 3, 2015
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were created in 1995 to recognize students in middle and high school grades who have made meaningful contributions to their communities through volunteer service. These prestigious awards, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) are presented annually on the local, state and national level.
How does the program work?
1. Students grades 5-12 complete applications online at http://spirit.purdential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit by November 3, 2015, and then submit them to their principal. Applicants and their parents also must complete the application form’s signature page.
2. Each participating school or organization review the application of its students and selects one middle level Local Honor for every 1,000 students in grades 5-8, and/or one high school Local Honoree for every 1,000 students in grades 9-12.
3. Principals or organization heads certify applications of their selected Local Honorees online by November 10, 2015.
4. The top middle level and high school youth volunteer in each state and the District of Columbia are named State Honorees in February, and two to 10 runners up in each state are named Distinguished Finalist.
Ten of the State Honorees are named America’s top 10 youth volunteers of the year by a distinguished national selection committee at a special ceremony in Washington D.C.in May.
The Magic of Storytelling: How to Write a Successful College Essay 6:30 - 8 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015 Target Audience: Parents and Students Grades 9-12 Preston Ridge Campus Conference Center 9700 Wade Blvd., Frisco According to the 3,500 colleges and universities in the U.S., "The single most challenging aspect of the college application process is writing the college essay." Learn the secrets behind writing a meaningful and memorable personal essay that connects with the admissions committee while distin- guishing yourself from the 3.2 million students applying to college each year, from one of 25 college counselors on The Princeton Review National College Counselor Advisory Board. Join us for one of the most popular workshops of the year! Please note: Seating is limited. While there is no fee to attend, registration is required. Please go to www.collin.edu/destinationcollege to register. For questions, please call 972.377.1772. If you do not receive a confirmation email upon registering, please call to ensure your reservation was received. Hurry ~ spaces fill quickly!