1. HCS College & Career Updates
Cedric Delbridge
School Counseling Services Coordinator
Leigh Ann Brown, Sheri Crigger, & Nancy Wolfe
District College Counselors
October 4, 2018

2. HCS District College Counselors
Leigh Ann Brown – Huntsville & Jemison
Sheri Crigger – Grissom & Lee
Nancy Wolfe – ACE, Columbia, & New Century
Available to assist both students and parents with
College planning
College applications
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Registration for ACT/SAT, NCAA, etc.
Collaboration with College Representatives and School Counselors
Participate in a variety of professional development events to stay current with ever-changing college information.

3. Summer College Crash Course
June and July Sessions for rising seniors across the district
Students rotated through brief sessions on many topics
Summer Parent Session – Financial Planning for College
Parent College Crash Course planned for November

4. Images from The College Crash Course Summer 2018

5. College & Career Week Recap
College & Career Week - August 27 – 31
Activities were conducted at elementary, middle and high schools throughout the week
Talk It Over
Door Decorating by Faculty & Staff
Wear your colors Wednesday
College & Career Fair at UAH
Over 75 colleges were represented
Thanks to the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce for coordinating business partners
Smarty Pants Scholarship opportunity!

6. Parent Outreach
Monthly meetings are conducted on various topics to walk parents through the college planning process.
August – Applying to College
September – Financial Aid
October – Scholarships
November – Parent Crash Course
Coming in spring – GPA/Test Scores, College Planning, Selective College Planning
Sessions are recorded with ETV.
In early September, we partnered with GATE to co-host a session about vertical planning for gifted and talented students. A follow-up meeting is planned in the spring.

7. Parent Involvement and Feedback
We are always seeking input from parents and stakeholders to guide our planning for future sessions.
Each session targets a particular grade level, but parents of all grade levels are invited and encouraged to attend.

8. Sample of Parent Comments about Parent Outreach Sessions:
“Appreciate HCS having personnel serve in the college prep counseling area.  Valuable resource”
“This team is such a blessing to Huntsville City Schools.  This is my 2nd time around (2017 and 2019).  I appreciate these meetings so much!  Do not stop having them – This team should be applauded for the sincere concern they have to inform all of us – students and parents, with vital college information.  Thank you!”
“I just wanted to say thank you for having the college meeting last Thursday evening at Lee/New Century.  It was so helpful and informative.  Up until that evening, I was feeling very overwhelmed with everything I knew had to be done. After the meeting, I felt like I could breathe. ”

9. Parent Comments about Parent Outreach Sessions Continued:
“Thank you so much for all you’ve done to make college processes easier to understand!” “Very helpful and knowledgeable” “Great start to understanding timelines even though my son is a sophomore” “Very informative! Gave me a lot of insight.” “I wish we had started when student was a freshman or sophomore” “…I am just beginning to walk down this path with my high schooler. All of this information is helpful! College applications have changed so much since I went to college. ” “Great information! This session should be a requirement!” “I am a junior and this helped me a lot for next year.” “Thank you for having these outreach programs at varying times and days.”

10. College Matriculation
All HCS high schools have chosen to participate in the Alabama College Application Campaign Week.
October 29 – November 2
Goal is for all 12th grade student
to apply to at least one college
Many colleges will offer free applications this week
Events planned at each high school
College choice is a very individual decision. Collectively, our students from the Class of 2018 have chosen to attend 160 different colleges and universities:
2-year schools
4-year schools including many selective colleges such as Duke, Howard, MIT, Morehouse, New York University, Notre Dame, US Air Force Academy, US Naval Academy, Vanderbilt, and more

11. Scholarships for the Class of 2018
Our students worked very hard to earn a record number of scholarship dollars totaling $54,174,277.

12. PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test)
The PSAT will be given in all HCS High Schools on Wednesday, October 24
All 11th grade students will take the test; for 10th grade, it is an optional test
Benefits of taking the test
Good preparation for college entrance exams based on content, time management, etc.
Qualifying test for National Merit recognition and the National Hispanic Recognition Program
Some programs ask for score information

13. FAFSA Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Application opens October 1 for current seniors
Utilizes tax return information from 2017
Students should submit the FAFSA as close to the opening as possible.
All HCS high schools have chosen to participate in the “Cash for College Campaign” promoted by the ALSDE. The goal is to encourage all families to submit the FAFSA. The state provides information on completion through the FAFSA Dashboard.
We are available to assist families as they begin this process and will be planning help session events district-wide.