Everything you wanted to know (this week) about College Admissions & Financial Aid* *The IB12 students submitted questions to their school counselor, Mrs. Keating, via a Quia survey. The students submitted questions related to College Admissions, College Applications, Financial Aid, Scholarships or anything else they wanted to discuss in the IB12 Seminar. IB12 Seminar Friday, September 27, 2013

Recommendations & Secondary School Reports Can I ask an administrator to write a rec? - SURE! Does it matter which teacher I choose to write a rec? - RTD! HOW TO GET A GREAT LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION: in/your-high-school-record/how-to-get-a- great-letter-of-recommendation

Recommendations & Secondary School Reports How do I know the teachers finished their letters of recommendation? How do you know the college has all of the necessary application materials … Online Portal Mailed/ ed Notification Student follow-up … Manners Matter!

Recommendations & Secondary School Reports Should we go through the Common App to request Recommendations? Sure! For Teacher Recs No! For the Counselor Rec, School Report & Official Transcript Is it best to ask for the transcript and college rec now without the immediate plan on applying to a college? How long does it take to get a counselor rec and SSReport? It takes 10 school days to process the Transcript Request & all supplemental materials. By this point, students should have made a final decision on where they are applying to and plan accordingly for application deadlines.

Scholarships Do I have to apply for scholarships or are they granted? How do I know that I am eligible for a full-ride scholarship? There are 2 kinds of scholarships these questions are referring to – Some scholarships are specific to a school, others are money awarded to the student to use at any school he or she attends. READ the Admissions AND Financial Aid sites. The process of awarding scholarships is individual to each school. SOME will have a separate application and process for scholarship monies, SOME will simply use your application for admission and the SAR from the FAFSA.

Scholarships How do I start applying scholarships? When is the best time to start applying? - You can start NOW to identify, read, and apply for scholarships. Are there any IB-specific scholarships? IBO and Minnetonka site ( ics/ib/Documents/IB_Scholarships.pdf ) ics/ib/Documents/IB_Scholarships.pdf

Scholarships Where can I look for the different scholarships? What are the most popular ways to find scholarships? Best Scholarship Sites: – GRASP Advisor – Mrs. Nelson, Wednesdays 8am- 4pm. 30-minute appointment, parent can come. -Tucker Scholarship Newsletter – IB12 Seminar – Three major scholarship sites that have proven to be legitimate over the years: – Fastweb: – College Board: – Scholarships.com:

The BIG SECRET To Getting a Scholarship READ the directions FOLLOW the directions when applying MEET the deadlines Pay ATTENTION to DETAIL

FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid When do I start creating my FAFSA? The FAFSA cannot be submitted until after January 1 or the year you are entering college. So, if you will attend college in the Fall 2014, the earliest you can submit your FAFSA is January 2, You can complete the FAFSA4caster to see what your EFC may be an what types of federal aid you may be eligible for. You can complete the FAFSA on the Web Worksheet now to help you prepare for the FAFSA filing in January:

FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid Would it still be advisable to apply to out of state colleges regardless of the cost? Yes! Compare Aid Packages Opportunities Book, pg. 13

Compare Aid Packages In-State Public School Private School University of Richmond Cost of Attendance$20,000$43,000$50,630 -Grants/Scholarships$2,000$15,000$36,630 =Amount you must pay/borrow/earn $18,000$28,000$14,000

Essays What’s the secret to writing a great essay? – TIME What’s the point of the essay? What’s the secret to writing a great application essay? What are colleges looking for in the essay? – To tell the college something about you that they don’t already know from the application – College admissions is not an If-Then statement – Something UNIQUE but AUTHENTIC about you – (*watch the short videos from Stuart Schmill, MIT and Mike Sexton, Santa Clara University)

Read the Directions Do I have to send my SAT and/or ACT Scores? Is it better to send SAT scores through the school with the transcript or through the CollegeBoard? What if my SAT Scores come out later than the early decision deadline? You do not have a choice to not send with transcript. Read the application directions and make sure you send them what they want and in the way they ask you to!

Read the Directions What teacher should I choose to write my recommendation? Read the directions. The school may give you guidelines for how many and who. It may be specific to a school OR specific to a program.

OTHER Should I apply Early Decision or wait until the normal deadline? 101/the-facts-about-applying-early-is-it-right-for-you What is the range of financial income that parents should be in order to still be eligible for financial aid? – See the “Navigating Financial Aid” section of the Opportunities book (pg ). – Try the FAFSA4caster!

OTHER When is the best time to see Mrs. Keating? – ANY TIME! – Write a yellow slip for meeting/discussion – You may use for a quick question What can we do this semester to improve our chances of getting accepted to our desired schools and receiving scholarships? – Keep up the hard-work! Fight Senioritis! BE GOOD! – “You have to play to win” = “You have to apply to a scholarship in order to get the money!!”

OTHER Diploma Seals – Pg. 21 of the Planning Guide for Students and Parents

THEMES Read the directions Meet deadlines Manners matter Do your homework!