Senior Presentation 15-16 Jodi Sternhagen 9-12 School Counselor - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Senior Presentation 15-16 Jodi Sternhagen 9-12 School Counselor

Scholarships – Getting Organized  Create a list that includes  Honors/Awards  Activities  Volunteer work  Track hours  Sometimes signatures are required  Paid work experiences  May want to make a copy of the application before filling it out

Scholarships – Getting Organized  Activities – What Activities to Emphasize  related to the application theme  founded  hold an office or have a responsibility  made a contribution or received an award.  leadership  Attach extra sheets if possible  Try not to leave any blank spaces in forms  Keep copies – will use again

Scholarships – Getting Organized  Community Service Categories  School based – tutoring, help with events  Community based – 4H, church  Self initiated – start a program  Community Service Factors  Time  Impact  Responsibility

Scholarships – Recommendations  Choose someone who knows your work habits and abilities  Ask if the person if willing  Give your created list of activities, etc. to the recommender Encourage the writer to use personal stories   Give the recommender adequate time (2 weeks) to complete the recommendation  Check to see if the recommendation needs to be sealed for confidentiality or sent directly.

Scholarships – Recommendations  Give them an addressed, stamped envelope with the postmark deadline noted  Check back in a week to see if there are any questions or if more info. is needed to complete the recommendation  Get more recommendations than you need so you can choose the best recommendation  Ask the person writing the recommendation if you can reuse the recommendation

Scholarships – Recommendations  Recommendations online  When submitting electronic scholarship recommendations (including USD), please note that some of the requests sometimes end up in the junk files of the person who is supposed to be writing the recommendation.  Let the recommender know to expect the request and to look for it (check junk mail).

Writing Essays – What to Emphasize  You – tell them about the person behind the GPA, test scores, activities  Captivate the reader, create mystery, be genuine, be thoughtful, show you are well rounded, be interesting but beware of trying to be too witty  Write to your audience  Address the topic and purpose  Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation

Writing Essays – Important Points  Choosing a topic  Don’t choose a grandiose topic such as “How I will eliminate AIDS”  Don’t write a travelogue  Don’t write how you recovered from a sports-related injury  Write about a passion  Just start writing!

Writing Essays – Getting Started  Show - Don’t tell  Make an outline or a mind-map  See samples essays

Writing Essays – Getting Feedback and Revising  Ask for feedback from parents, teachers, friends  Revise for content, interest, clarity, conciseness, usage and style, and correctness – grammar, punctuation, mechanics  Leave time for rewriting  Read the essay aloud to find problems

Scholarships – General Information  Play the numbers game – the more you apply. the better the chance of winning  Internet and local searches  Reuse parts of previous applications and essays  Word process all applications, pdf files open in Word or use www.pdftoword.com  Apply early

Scholarships – General Information  Online Scholarships  Students create accounts  Type essays in word, then copy/paste into app  Check carefully before submit  Mailed Scholarships  Submit early  Due date may be received by or postmark deadline  Always double check postage!!

College Admissions and College Scholarships  Apply by December 1 st so you will be eligible for the college’s scholarships  Please apply to both in-state and out-of-state schools. Usually, in-state schools offer students more scholarship money.  Have a Back-up Plan  Choose your school in April after students receive FAFSA and scholarship offers

College Admissions and Scholarships  SD 4 year school online application https://apply.sdbor.edu/login.cfm  Minnesota State Colleges & Universities www.mnscu.edu  The Common Application https://www.commonapp.org  Tech schools have own online apps

Scholarships - Scams  You shouldn’t pay for scholarships  Free materials are available from Great Lakes (formerly EAC), college financial aid offices, the internet, and the financial aid database on SDMyLife  Consultant companies – offer guaranteed scholarships (may go out of business or guarantee the Federal Stafford Loan which all students get)

Protect Your Identity  Identity theft is when someone uses your personal information to obtain credit or borrow money.  Avoid it by protecting your personal information such as  Social Security Number  Driver’s License Number  Passwords  Personal Identification Numbers

Protect Your Identity  Check your credit report once a year.  www.equifax.com  Report anything suspicious.  1-800-MIS-USED  Be careful about what is posted online  Employers/admissions personnel/scholarship committees google students – Facebook profiles

Online Scholarship Sources Scholarship Search and Financial Sites  http://www.sdmylife.com/  www.fastweb.com  www.scholarships.com  https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/  www.zinch.com  www.cappex.com  Great Lakes (EAC) https://www.mygreatlakes.org/  SLFC http://www.slfc.com  SDMyLife http://www.sdmylife.com/

Other Important Information  Reciprocity with Minnesota – available in April  WUE - Western Undergraduate Exchange – 150% of tuition with certain states www.wiche.edu/sep/wue  NCAA Clearinghouse or NAIA eligibility – www.eligibilitycenter.org or www.playnaia.org  CLEP Tests – www.collegeboard.com/clep  SD Dual Credit Courses – online (handout)  Financial Aid – Dec. 7 th at 5:30 pm  www.fafsa.ed.gov www.pin.ed.gov

ACT Test Information  ACT test – www.actstudent.org  Many schools award scholarships based on ACT scores or use the ACT as a screening tool.  Remember that the higher the ACT, the higher the scholarship dollars awarded  The ACT is available in December  New information on ACT and Remediation

ACT Information  If students do not have a subtest score of an 18 in English and a 20 in Math, remedial courses may be needed (SD 4 year schools). SDSU has Math Index  The state has an online program through the Virtual School, the Accuplacer/MyFoundations Lab, which allows students to catch up (fees refunded if you finish)  Please see me afterwards if you have questions or want registration information

Scholarships  Applications for local, state, and national scholarships  College Applications and Scholarships also available today.  NSU – no separate application for Wolf PAC (21 ACT). Must apply before March 1.  Several on-line – USD, SE Tech, PC, SDSM&T, SDSU

Interviews  Final selection for large scholarships will often involve an interview. Interviews range from small groups of 3 interviewers to larger groups of 10.  SDMyLife offers interview information. I have books in the School Counseling Office and some lists of commonly asked questions.  Dress professionally for interviews and practice

College Web Sites  Augustana www.augie.edu  Black Hills State University www.bhsu.edu  Dakota State University www.admission.dsu.edu  Lake Area Technical Institute www.lakeareatech.edu  Mitchell Technical Institute www.mitchelltech.edu  Northern State University www.northern.edu  Presentation College www.presentation.edu  SD School of Mines www.GoToMines.com  South Dakota State University www.sdstate.edu  Southeast Technical Institute www.southeasttech.edu  University of Sioux Falls www.usiouxfalls.edu  University of SD www.usd.edu

SD Scholarships  Hatterscheidt  Colleges send this scholarship application to eligible students. Financial need is a consideration but sometimes schools do not get many applications. Information about NSU’s Hatterischeidt is found at: http://www.northern.edu in 2015

SD Scholarships  Dakota Corp Scholarship – ACT 26, GPA 2.8, Requires students to stay in SD and work in a critical need area. Due Feb. 1 Pays full tuition and applicable fees (not a full-ride). Usually around 25 scholarships are awarded (usually 200 applicants) - competitive . Application at: http://www.sdbor.edu/dakotacorps/welcome.htm

SD Scholarships  SD Critical Teaching Needs Scholarship  Teach K-12 Special Ed  Teach high school math or science  Teach high school career and technical education  Final 2 years of postsecondary education  Work for 5 years in SD in critical teaching need occupation http://www.sdbor.edu/students/documents/CriticalTeachingNeedsS  cholarshipApplication2014.pdf

SD Scholarships  Build Dakota Scholarship at the SD Technical Schools  Receive full tuition and fees scholarship  Work in specific, high-demand field in SD for 3 years after graduation  http://www.builddakotascholarships.com/  Financial aid, interest, and aptitude determine eligibility  Apply, be accepted into eligible program, and fill out scholarship by Dec. deadline of senior year