Senior Survival Guidelines

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Senior Survival Guidelines
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• Dear Senior,
• CONGRATULATIONS!! What an accomplishment to be a
  senior!!
• This year will be one of your busiest years ever
  -- admissions testing, admissions applications,
  scholarships, financial aid, etc. . . . all
  involve completing seemingly endless forms,
  answering the same questions over and over,
  writing essays, meeting deadlines!! So. . . .
  get busy. . . .get organized. . . get going!!!
• General information about the various required
  admissions tests is included within this booklet.
  Either an SAT or ACT is generally required for
  application for admission. The THEA (formerly
  TASP) is required prior to actually enrolling for
  college hours. Some students are exempt from the
  THEA based on their score on the TAAS, SAT or ACT
  (exemption score requirements are listed in the
  THEA bulletin), or GPA. Registration information
  is available in the counseling office.
• Many, many, many scholarships are available.
  Potential sources of scholarship funds include
  employers (yours, parents, grandparents), place
  of worship, cultural heritage, extracurricular
  activities, etc . .... A scholarship bulletin is
  published about 10 times per year, with the first
  arriving approximately the second week in
  September. These bulletins are distributed
  through the English classes, or may be picked up
  in the counseling office. Very specific
  instructions are included detailing how to get an
  application or information on the scholarship in
  which you are interested. Watch the dates posted
  for scholarships -- these are not suggestions,
  they are deadlines.

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www. A New Way to Apply for Admissions, Money,
and More.com

• Using the Texas Common Application for Admission
  to a Texas College or University
• The common application for admission to Texas
  public universities has changed. The application
  booklet will contain information about deadlines
  and application fees, as well as instructions for
  each item of the application. The Code Book
  contains all of the codes necessary to complete
  the application. Check the website
• www.applytexas.org
• Traditional Methods of Finding Scholarship Cash
  Being Replaced by the Internet Finding money to
  attend college could be as easy as clicking a
  mouse . . . or as difficult as searching 1.5
  million documents with related words. Probably
  the best tool to help students with searching for
  the right college, applying for admission and
  seeking scholarship monies is the Internet.
  Literally, thousands of sites are available to
  help research colleges, but some of these
  Internet sites require memberships that cost.
  Before paying for a membership, or paying someone
  to locate websites for you to use, check out
  these sites. All are free some may require
  free memberships -- they may be sending you
  junk mail and junk e-mail, but still the
  searching is free. (All of the sites below are
  active links to the sites mentioned.)

fastweb.com finaid.org horatioalger.org plato.org
studentservices.com scholaraid.com scholarships.co
m tgslc.com thecb.state.tx.us
acq.osd.mil adventuresineducation.org cashe.org co
llege.net collegeboard.org collegefund.org college
ispossible.org ed.gov embark.com
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Looking for MONEY for College??

• www.CollegeforTexans.com -- links to State of
  Texas grant programs
• www.ed.gov -- click on Student Financial Aid to
  access several links for financial programs
• www.fafsa.ed.gov -- to access an electronic
  application for submission of Free Application
  for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) -- this form is
  required for many colleges to award some of the
  scholarships, grants, and loans (do not go to
  fafsa.com -- it is not free)
• www.theoldschool.org -- links to many different
  aspects of financing college
• www.collegequest.com -- links for college
  searches, financial aid information, and career
  information
• www.ezresearch.com/education/index.html -- many
  links to college information, application
  information, financial aid information

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Ten Most Common Errors on the Application for
Admission

• 1. Applicants fail to meet the deadline. Apply
  early! All materials must arrive before or on
  the posted deadline. As competition increases
  and open spots decrease, submitting all
  application materials in a timely manner becomes
  imperative in order to be considered for
  admissions.
• 2. SAT/ ACT scores are not sent directly from
  the testing agency. Often applicants assume that
  the scores recorded on their high school
  transcript are official. Test scores must be
  sent directly from the testing agency in order to
  be considered by admission advisers.
• 3. Unofficial transcripts are mailed with the
  application. High school transcripts must be
  sent directly from the high school to be
  considered official.
• 4. Official transcripts are not sent until after
  the deadline. Often students wait until after
  the end of their first or second senior semester
  to request their transcript be sent to the
  university to which they are applying. It is
  best to send the most recent transcript as soon
  as possible in order for the application to be
  considered complete. The final transcript, which
  for freshmen includes the final rank, may be sent
  at a later date.
• 5. Transcripts are sent without a designated
  rank. If a change has been made to the
  transcript, the rank is deleted until the next
  official ranking period (at the end of each
  semester and at the end of the fifth six weeks
  for seniors only). If the rank has been deleted,
  the counselor will write a letter indicating
  where the student would rank based on the GPA.
• 6. Freshmen who rank in the top ten percent of
  their class do not complete the application and
  submit all required documents. Even if a student
  ranks in the top ten percent, all application
  materials must be submitted in order to be
  considered for admission. This includes any
  required essays.
• 7. Questions on the application are left blank.
  All questions must be answered unless clearly
  marked as optional.
• 8. Failure to hit submit when transmitting
  electronically. Remember to SUBMIT the
  application after all of the questions have been
  answered.
• 9. Students use acronyms when describing
  extracurricular activities. The full name and a
  brief description helps clarify for admissions
  staff.
• 10. Students mark the wrong college code on
  their SAT/ACT tests. Be sure to double check
  that the codes are correct to ensure the correct
  college receives scores.

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• The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) is
  administered through the College Board
  (www.collegeboard.com). The test is given on
  select Saturdays in October, November, December,
  January, March, May, and June. Registration
  information is located in the counseling office.
  Students are encouraged to read Taking the SAT I
  Reasoning Test several times prior to their
  actual test date. A practice test is available
  in the counseling office.

SAT
The ACT (American College Testing Program) is
administered through the ACT Assessment Program
(www.act.org). The test is given on select
Saturdays in September, October, December,
February, April, and June. Registration packages
are located in the counseling office. Students
are encouraged to read Preparing for the ACT
Assessment several times prior to their actual
test date. A practice test is available with the
registration package.
ACT
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AP

• Advanced Placement (AP) Tests are given during
  early May each school year. Generally, students
  who have completed an AP level class in a
  specific area take the test, with some students
  choosing to take upwards of four AP tests in each
  their junior and senior year. Students register
  for each AP exam through their AP classes. A fee
  is charged for each test.

The Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) is
administered through The Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board (www.thea.nesinc.com). Taking
all subsections of the THEA is required of
students prior to enrolling in any Texas public
college. Some students may be exempted from the
THEA through certain scores on TAKS, SAT or ACT,
or through a specified GPA. Registration
information is available in the counseling
offices, as well as at area public colleges and
universities.
THEA
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F.A.Q.'s

• Frequently Asked Questions

Transcripts
Financial Aid
Testing
Scholarships
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• Q How do I get a copy of my transcript?
• A You may request an official transcript by
  completing a form found in the counseling office.
  Two days are required for printing the
  transcript, and two dollars are charged for each
  transcript.
• Q How do I get a copy of my official transcript
  mailed to a college?
• A Colleges require that the transcript be mailed
  directly from the school to them. In order to
  send a transcript, you must complete a transcript
  request form. Also, attach a stamped, addressed
  envelope with the request. The sealed and
  stamped envelope with transcript will be returned
  to you for mailing.
• Q How do I register for the SAT? ACT? TASP?
• A Registration packages for all three tests are
  located in the counseling office. The bookshelf
  located in front of Mrs. Koreneks desk houses
  the registration booklets and practice booklets,
  as does the bookshelf in Mrs. Trents office.
• Q What is the school code?
• A The school code for Martin High School is
  440236. This number is a unique identifying
  number for all colleges and universities, as well
  as for testing entities (SAT, ACT, THEA, AP).

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• Q How do I get a recommendation from my
  counselor?
• A At least two weeks ahead of time, give your
  counselor a senior information/activity sheet,
  official transcript, any required forms from the
  college, and an addressed envelope with two
  stamps affixed. Without two weeks notice, a
  recommendation may not be possible.
• Q How do I find my GPA and rank in class?
• A A GPA/rank request form may be completed in
  the counseling office. The day after you
  complete the request, the completed slip will be
  sealed and returned to you in either your first
  period or fifth period class, whichever class is
  the next day.
• Q How do I get scholarship information?
• A The scholarship bulletin is published about 10
  times per year. These are distributed through
  the English IV classes. If you have English
  off-campus or have already taken that class, you
  may pick up a copy of the bulletin in the
  counseling office.
• Q Are the scholarship companies that charge for
  finding scholarships legit?
• A NO!! You do not need to pay for scholarship
  information. You need to invest time and effort
  in searching the web, contacting your college,
  and checking the scholarship bulletin.

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• Q How do I apply for financial aid?
• A Federal financial aid will require that a
  FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
  be completed and submitted for processing for aid
  approval. A financial aid information session
  will be presented in early November with a
  follow-up hands-on workshop in January.
• Q Do I need to complete a FAFSA even if I know
  that I wont qualify as financially needy?
• A Completing a FAFSA is strongly recommended
  because it enables the college to look for a
  variety of financial assistance avenues,
  including low interest government backed loans.

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Finding Scholarships
that you didn't even know existed

• With college costs soaring, students (and their
  families) need to be creative in finding ways to
  tap into scholarship monies. The author of a new
  book, How to Go to College Almost for Free
  (Harper Collins), states that there is a common
  link among all scholarship winners they apply .
  . . again and again. . . and scholarships
  arent only for geniuses. Merit doesnt just
  mean grades. It can mean someone who
  demonstrates ability in other areas.