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· The College Application Timeline: · Early Fall (Sept. – Nov.) To know more about the college transition process:http://http://gettingthemthere.com/ · Get to know admissions criteria for schools of interest · Complete recommendation request forms (available in Guidance Office)—make multiple copies · Seek teachers/counselors/coaches/employers/community members to write letters of recommendation. Give them at least 1-2 weeks to write a good one! · Take SAT or ACT or retake to improve your scores · Attend College Fairs: Feb. 6 & 7th at Pittsburgh Convention Center o http://www.nacacnet.org/college-fairs/SpringNCF/Pages/default.aspx · Attend Financial Aid Night at Greensburg Salem High School November 8th from 6:30-8:30PM · Know the deadline for schools; applying for admission to schools that have Rolling Admission can occur anytime but the sooner the better—after time passes, slots can become filled and admission standards can increase. · Allow the Guidance Department at least two weeks before an Application Deadline to submit necessary documents. · Winter (January-March) · Check Guidance Office, Daily Bulletin, and Guidance website for scholarship information. Sources of Financial Aid are local organizations, Websites (be careful, don’t ever pay for financial aid information), schools you to which you are applying, places your parents work or organizations to which they belong. · Complete the FAFSA beginning January 1—the sooner the better since the amount of state and federal aid is limited. Since many of the questions on the FAFSA relate to the parent’s and student’s income tax return, those returns should be completed (not necessarily filed). · Spring (March-May) · Continue to apply for financial aid · Make a decision on the college of your choice · Speak to your school of choice about financial aid. (It is Ok to compare financial aid offers from other schools as a way of increasing the financial aid offer from your school of choice ) · · Guidance Office Suggestions Mail-in applications: · Must provide postage to Guidance to mail your transcript/applications. · Stamped & addressed envelope · Application (if using paper not online version) and application fees · Letters of recommendation and/or essays Online applications: (After you completed your online portion) · Notify your counselor by completing transcript request form · Give all materials to counselor you want sent with your transcript (essays, fees, recommendations). *Exception is Penn State—counselor forms are completed on-line and transcripts are faxed. Applying for the SAT or ACT tests · Register for the SAT at http://www.collegeboard.org and the ACT at www.actstudent.org · In addition to having your scores sent to your colleges of interest, you must choose to have scores sent to Greensburg Salem HS to have them placed on your transcript. GS code is 391575. · Pay attention to deadlines (late fees apply!) and location of exam. · SAT/SAT II/ACT scores must be mailed by your counselor with your application— · SAT II (Subject Tests) are offered at the same times as the SAT (except not offered March testing date). · Fee waivers are available for families who qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch Programs. · SAT Test Dates: October 6 Deadline: September 7 November 3 Deadline: October 4 December 1 Deadline: November 1 January 26 Deadline: December 28 March 9 Deadline: February 8 May 4 Deadline : April 5 June 1 Deadline: May 2 · ACT Test Dates: (Not offered at GSHS) October 27 Deadline: September 21 December 8 Deadline: November 2 February 9 Deadline: January 11 April 13 Deadline: March 8 June 8 Deadline: May 3 Difference between the SAT & ACT: · SAT evaluates your aptitude and problem solving abilities. The essay portion is required. There is a slight penalty for wrong answers on the multiple choice section. Focuses heavily on vocabulary. On each subtest you can earn a maximum score of 800—there are 3 subtests therefore the total maximum score is 2400. · ACT is a content specific subject test covering English, Math, · The College Scholarship Process IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR FEDERAL OR STATE FINANCIAL AID YOU MUST COMPLETE A FAFSA APPLICATION!!! Online FAFSA: You need to acquire a pin number at www.pin.ed.gov -- you cannot complete an online FAFSA without a pin number—this pin number can be acquired at any time. Online FAFSA’s will be available to complete in January—the web address is www.fafsa.ed.gov -- remember you need a pin number. Completing the FAFSA will determine your eligibility for Federal and State aid as well as aid given by individual educational institutions (colleges, universities, trade and technical schools). CSS Financial Aid Profile: Some select schools may require the CSS in place of or in addition to FAFSA. The need for this form would be noted in the school’s profile as well as contacting the school’s financial aid office. The CSS can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.collegeboard.org Local Scholarships begin in January· About 80 scholarships are available to all seniors at the high school and have a wide variety of requirements. · Follow us on the web-sign up to receive Guidance Department E-Alerts for most updated information! · Listen for announcements concerning local scholarships or stop in the guidance office. The scholarship material is located in the magazine rack in front of Ms. Klipa’s office. The high school will host Financial Aid Night. Post cards with details about the event will be mailed home. This year the program will be held at Greensburg Salem High School on November 8th from 6:30 to 8:30PM. · Choosing a College or Trade/Technical School · Visit prospective campuses—set up a tour through the school’s admissions office. Students may have 2 excused absences to visit colleges per year. You must have the college visit request form signed prior to your college visit. Forms are available in the Guidance Office · Colleges & trade/technical schools visit our school—dates and times of these visits are listed in the daily bulletin—to attend these sessions, you need to sign up in the guidance office. · Helpful Resources to Explore Potential Schools and Careers: · Career Cruising: www.careercruising.com Username: gshs Password: lions This program is available to all Greensburg Salem students and can be used to: research careers, take an interest inventory, access information about universities, 2-year colleges and trade and technical schools. This program can also provide a direct link to different school’s websites. · My College Options: www.Mycollegeoptions.com (register as a new user and then continue to build your profile) Provides the opportunity to create a personal online college and career planning profile. Match individual profile to 5500 accredited post-secondary institutions in the US. Access valuable information about paying for post-secondary education, types of institutions, career exploration, process of applying, and much, much more. · College Confidential: http://www.collegeconfidential.com/ Here you'll find hundreds of pages of articles about choosing a college, getting into the college you want, how to pay for it, and much more. · ATTENTION ATHLETES!!! NCAA Eligibility Center In order to compete in athletics during your freshmen year in college, you must attain minimum SAT/ACT scores and GPA. For Division I schools, this minimum is determined by a sliding scale of SAT/ACT scores to GPA—see your counselor or access the website for more information. For Division II schools the minimums are: SAT 820 or ACT 68, GPA 2.00. The NCAA requires students playing Division I or II schools to have earned: 16 core courses. This includes 4 Years of English; 2 Math; 2 Natural/Physical Sciences; 1 additional English/Math/Science; 2 Social Studies; 4 additional courses in any previously listed areas or Foreign Language. You can register with the
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