Senior year of high school is full of many important events and rites of passage (like sitting in white chairs on your first AND last day at Poway High). But there are also a lot of things you can be doing to prep for your future. This newsletter is designed to help with your journey.

You can find some of the specific information from the Senior Homeroom Presentations on our power point presentation here and you can see the packet that was given out here.

9/21 - Financial Aid Night at 6 pm in the Poway Performing Arts Center

9/23 - Letter of Rec Workshop in the Titan Center during lunch

9/28 - Common App 101 Workshop at 3 pm (Signups Required)

9/30 - UC 101 Workshop at 3 pm (Signups Required)

10/1 - Deadline to request Letters of Rec for October 15th

10/5 - Community College 101 Workshop at 3 pm (Signups Required)

10/7 - Deadline to request Letters of Rec for November 1st

10/7 - CSU 101 Workshop at 3 pm (Signups Required)

10/28 - Deadline to request Letters of Rec for November 15th and December 1st

11/5 - Deadline to request Letters of Rec for January 1st

11/12 - End of Trimester 1/You should have started your UC/CSU Apps by now!

11/30 - Last Day to Submit UC/CSU Applications

Besides getting a deeper and more thorough education, there are many benefits to attending a college or university. You can discover your passions, challenge yourself, expand your worldview, and, meet new people. Frequently, job searches rely as heavily on who you know as they do on your degree. Below are some helpful links for your college application process.

Cal State Apply - The application site for the 23 California State University schools

UC Admissions - The application site for the 9 University of California schools

Common App - The application for over 800 private schools

Coalition App - The application for the 140 schools in the Coalition

CA Private Colleges - Connections for California's Private Colleges

• High school grade point average in A-G classes
• Standardized and College Prep Test Scores
• Number, content, and performance in academic courses beyond the minimum eligibility requirements
• Number of and performance in honors or AP courses
• Quality of the senior year program, as measured by the type and number of academic courses in progress or planned
• Quality of academic performance relative to educational opportunities available in the applicant's school
• Recent marked improvement in academic performance
• Special talents, achievements, and awards
• Academic accomplishments in light of an applicant's life experiences and special circumstances, such as disabilities, low family income, first generation to attend college, need to work, disadvantaged social or educational environment, difficult personal and family situations
  

Community College is a great option for many students. Seniors are eligible to attend upon the completion of a high school diploma or GED. The SAT or ACT is not required, however may help with the placement of courses. Many students attend for 2-3 years before transferring to a college or university to complete their degrees. There are several transfer programs available and it is recommended to meet with a counselor at the community college to review your options. Please note that each College has an allotted amount of spots for transfer students and will be considered before another student who may want to transfer from a 4-year University. Below are some helpful links for the Community College process.

California Community Colleges - A site with info about the many college options

Palomar College - The application site for Palomar College

San Diego Community College - The admissions site for the SD Community Colleges

Mira Costa College - The application site for Mira Costa College

Grossmont College - The application site for Grossmont College

Looking for scholarships? Our PHS website has lots of resources to check for scholarship opportunities. Our scholarship deadline log is updated as they become available. Generally, the local scholarship season is January – June so you won’t see as many opportunities right now. It’s still a good idea to regularly check scholarship websites for national scholarships and colleges for merit scholarships.

PHS Scholarship Deadline Log

Scholarship Resources

College can be expensive. Even Community College can come with unexpected cash flows. Below you will find some sites with information about how to pay the bills.

FAFSA - The Free Application for Federal Student Aid

Student Aid - Federal student aid programs

FinAid - The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid

Saving For College - Get personalized information to help with saving for college

Letter of Rec Workshop On September 23rd in the Titan Center at lunch. The deadline to request Letters of Rec for November 1st is October 7th! The deadline to request Letters of Rec for January 1st is November 5th.

For more information about Letters of Rec, check here.

• UC's/CSU's - Letters of Rec are not part of the initial application. Only send a Letter of Recommendation if requested by the University.
• Private schools usually require one counselor letter of recommendation and 1-2 teacher letters of recommendation. Use the Common Application if possible!
• Three weeks prior to your first deadline, in a face-to-face conversation, ask the teacher(s)/counselor to write a letter on your behalf and provide all documents outlined below

APPLICATION & PROCEDURES

• STEP 1: FERPA WAIVER (word) (pdf)
• STEP 2: COLLEGE INFO FORM (word) (pdf)
• STEP 3: PERSONAL INFO FORM (word) (pdf)
• STEP 4: PARENT BRAG SHEET (word) (pdf)
• STEP 5: TEACHER INPUT FORM (word) (pdf)
• STEP 6: RESUME (word) (pdf)
• STEP 7: EXTRACURRICULAR LOG (word) (pdf)
• STEP 8: ORDER TRANSCRIPT(S) (word) (pdf)

Click here if you need transcripts

For students who aren't planning to go straight to college, working toward a career may be a good option. These students can get a jump start on building up their bank accounts. Below are some helpful links for finding and starting the career path.

CA Career Resource Network - Resource for career exploration and planning

CA Career Zone - A Vocational Assessment Site

Cal Jobs - A job search website

SD Workforce Partnership - A site with local jobs information

Some students plan to serve the country after graduation. If you are planning to go to one of the Service Academies, click here to get information about getting a nomination for a Service Academy from your congressman.

For students wanting to join the military right after high school, you can find information on the process here.