In Forney ISD, we are committed to ensuring that our students graduate high school #forneyfutureready through post-secondary opportunities in College, Career, or Military.

October 1st: FAFSA Opens

October 6th: School day ACT Test: SENIORS only!

October 22nd: TSI Testing- NFHS- Seniors only!

November 11th: TSI Testing- FHS- Seniors only!

December 9th: ASVAB Testing: NFHS

December 10th: ASVAB Testing: FHS

*For specific testing information, please see your campus counselors*

If you are interested in enrolling in test prep for your upcoming ACT, SAT, and/or TSI- please go to the following link and register!

http://bit.ly/FISD-testprep

After completing the form, reach out to your counselor for more information.

We know that going to college can be expensive... but who knew that applying to colleges would be so pricey?!

There are several different types of fee waivers that are available throughout the college application process. The two main types of fee waivers that you will encounter are Application Fee Waivers and Entrance Exam Fee Waivers.

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Exam Fee Waivers

• Allows you to have the fee associate with registering for SAT or ACT waived.
• Can be found on the exam registration website.

Application Fee Waivers

• You can search to see which colleges accept application fee waivers by going to CollegeBoard's BigFuture Application Fee Waivers
• ACT has their own form for an application fee waiver but you must have completed the exam fee waiver as well. Not all colleges accept it so check with the college prior to completing!
• The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) also provides an application fee waiver for students that have limited financial resources. Often, students that receive free or reduced lunch, receive public assistance, or live in public subsidized housing can qualify. Learn more about the NACAC waiver.

Synergy is a unique and innovative student leadership program for high school students in Forney ISD that provides students the opportunity to learn and work in a real-world environment. The Synergy program was created in the 2017-18 school year to give students the opportunity to learn from district and community leaders. Students travel to the district administration building for 2-3 class periods to work side-by-side with district leaders or to community businesses to learn more about their career aspirations. When students aren't "in the field" they are learning about soft skills for the "real-world" such as: resume building, interview skills, and college/job applications. Students apply and interview in their junior and senior year to be part of this growing program.

Some past and current opportunities that Synergy students have gotten to experience:

• Presented at educational conferences for Student Voice
• 5 past Synergy students are currently employed with FISD after graduating!
• Internships at local businesses
• Written district curriculum to be used in FISD classrooms
• Participate in district decision-making committees

Beginning with the 2020-21 school year, all Texas high school graduates must complete the Free Application for Student Aid (a.k.a FAFSA) as part of their graduation requirements. While this document may seem a little daunting, here are some tips and tricks to conquer this lengthy document!

• Have all of the necessary forms and identification ready to go. This includes the following information: Social Security Number or Alien Registration Number (if you are not a U.S. citizen), Federal Income Tax Returns or W-2's, Bank statements and records of investment (if applicable), records of untaxed income, and your FSA ID number.

• Fill out the FAFSA on the Web worksheet. Students can complete the FAFSA on the Web worksheet (English version or Spanish version) in advance so they know the types of questions that will be asked.
• One of the biggest mistakes that most applicants make is that they don't list ALL schools on the FAFSA form. Initially, you can only have 10 schools on your list with FAFSA. After you receive your SAR (Student Aid Report), you can send your FAFSA information to all schools on your list.
• Nitro College has a GREAT resource on how to complete the document. Check out the Nitro College "How to Complete the FAFSA Application" for step-by-step instructions, along with screenshots, on completing the FAFSA.

Make sure that you are completing the FAFSA for the correct year! All students graduating in the 2020/21 school year will actually be completing FAFSA for 2021/22. This opens on October 1st, and the deadlines for completion vary by college. The "official" close date for FAFSA will be June 30th, 2022- but most colleges require it to be completed prior to this deadline.

For any additional questions, be sure to attend one of our FAFSA Support Nights!

The College Board Opportunity Scholarships is an exciting new scholarship program. Students don’t have to write an essay, fill out an application, or have a specific GPA or test score to participate. The program gives students a simple six-step college plan and rewards students with scholarships ranging from $500 to $40,000 for simply completing the actions they need to take in order to apply to college. 4,000 students each year will earn scholarships totaling $5 million, and at least half of all the scholarships ($2.5 million) are designated for students whose families earn less than $60,000 per year. Go to opportunity.collegeboard.org to sign up and check out the video below for more details!

To search for additional scholarship opportunities from both public and private institutions, try BigFuture Scholarship Search through CollegeBoard. This is a great way to search for scholarships based on your background and future goals!

This month's senior is Kayla Gatlin from Forney High School! Kayla has spent the past four years of high school enrolled in a full schedule of advanced courses, working towards an endorsement in Health Science, all while creating and managing her own skincare blog as part of her Synergy project.

Kayla was selected to be an ambassador for Bubble Skincare -- 2 million applied and she was one of 150 chosen to represent the brand! Kayla plans on going to TWU next fall and eventually going on to medical school to pursue her dream of being a dermatologist. Congratulations Kayla-- we can't wait to see all of the great things you will continue to accomplish!

In order to help our students in their future success, the district is covering the cost for Seniors to take the TSI exam for the 2020/21 school year. Texas Success Initiative (TSI) evaluates students for college readiness in Math, Reading, and Writing. Colleges may not exempt you from the requirements of the TSI, despite ACT, SAT or college credit hours.

The test will be administered October 22nd at North Forney High School and November 11th at Forney High School.

Registration closes on October 9th. Complete this registration form to sign up!

*Note: At this time, this is for SENIORS only and the form needs to be completed once per student*