BHRA Senior Newsletter
September 2020
Welcome Back!
Welcome to your senior year! I’m so grateful we are able to return to school! This will be a very busy and sometimes stressful year as you begin planning for your future. Please feel free to email or set up an appointment with me any time you have questions. I am trying something new this year to share information. I have set up a Google Classroom for the Class of 2021. To join this classroom go to www.classroom.google.com and sign in with your student email address. Click join class and enter the class code a3lli3j. Please join this classroom to have access to important announcements and events, college and career information, scholarships, and more. At this time, only students can join the classroom so I will continue to also put information in our daily announcements and post the information on my web page at: http://www.bismarck.k12.il.us/o/bhra-high-school/page/guidance-counselor--18.
Virtual College Visits
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, college admission representatives will not be able to visit the schools. I have created a list of virtual college visits and will continue to update this list as more information comes in. Take advantage of this opportunity to find out more about the schools and programs/scholarships they offer. Virtual College Visits
SAT Test - October 14th
SAT test will be given October 14th. This is a required test for all seniors. Review sessions will be offered, a sign up sheet will be available next week. Students can also do free, personalized SAT practice with Khan Academy Official SAT Practice
Transcript Request
Transcript Requests can be completed electronically using Parchment. Students should check their email for an invite and set up their accounts.
What Can I Be Doing NOW to Prepare for Life after High School?
Consider what career(s) you are most interested in.
If you would like to take or further explore a career assessment, log in to Xello at http://login.xello.world
BHRA students already have an account; user name is email, password is student ID
Another career interest site to explore is http://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip
If you have ideas about what you want to do for a career, search careers online using the sites below or http://www.careeronestop.org/videos/default.aspx. Find out if your career of interest involves further education and how many years you might need to be in school. Find out what schools might offer the programs that you are looking for. You should check what type of grades you will need to earn to get a degree in your field of interest—you want your academic ability to compare with others working in your career field.
Try to arrange a job shadowing experience in your area(s) of interest—even if you don’t know anyone who works in that field, call or stop by an office and introduce yourself. Let them know that you’re interested in the field and would like to talk with or job shadow someone so you can learn more about the career—you’ll be surprised how willing people are to help someone who wants to learn about what they do.
Don’t panic if you don’t know exactly what you want to do! It’s ideal if you can narrow down your career interests but you don’t need to have a final decision made by a specific deadline. The most important thing is that you are thinking about what opportunities are out there and where your interests could take you after high school and beyond.
Look at colleges/universities, technical schools, military opportunities, apprenticeships, or other training institutions that will help you prepare for the career you are most interested in.
If you need training for your career of interest, start figuring out where you could get that training.
Visit, visit, visit!! Due to restrictions, your visits may have to be virtual this fall. I’ve created a list of virtual college visits here - Virtual College Visits
Once it is safe to do so, go see colleges whenever you get the chance! I will have several open house posters outside my office with dates listed, many schools are offering small group tours and following social distancing guidelines.
Start narrowing your college options to around 5 or fewer schools and find out more detailed information about each of those schools. Here are some things to think about:
type of academic programs (majors) offered
length of programs--2 or 4 year degrees or shorter training options
admission requirements, tests required (ACT, SAT, other)
cost of attendance and availability of financial aid/scholarships
housing options, location of school (big/small community, in/out of state, etc.)
academic and extracurricular programs on campus
size of the student body
if you are an athlete hoping to play, the caliber of the athletic program you would like to participate in (identify schools that have athletes who perform at a level similar to yours and talk with your coaches to hear their suggestions)
anything else that may be important to you.
Once you receive your SAT scores, you can retake the SAT or take the ACT if you want/need to earn a higher score for your college(s) of interest or for scholarships. (Many schools are test optional this year for entrance, but be sure to look into scholarship requirements) You can sign up for the ACT at www.actstudent.org and the SAT at www.collegeboard.org. You should choose your testing date by when your college application due dates are—you want your scores back by the application deadline. The earliest priority application deadlines in Illinois are usually in November. If you are retaking the SAT, make sure you have linked your test scores with Khan Academy for personalized practice and free sample tests: https://www.khanacademy.org/sat?utm_source=sem-bng&utm_medium=cb418-sem&utm_campaign=practice
FAFSA and Financial Aid
Think about money and how you will pay for your post-secondary education.
You can start applying for federal and state financial aid on October 1st, so it’s not too early to think about what you need to do to get grants, loans, and scholarships for college. Learn about the FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) at https://studentaid.ed.gov/ and similar sites like http://www.isac.org/, www.cappex.com, www.collegegreenlight.com, and studentportal.isac.org/web/guest/student/.
I have set up a Zoom meeting with a representative from ISAC on September 17th at 3:00. Check the calendar in the Class of 2021 Google Classroom to join. Information about the financial aid process and steps on how to apply will be covered.
Another Zoom meeting will take place Oct. 20th to walk you through the application.
Look at scholarships to your schools of interest—find out when the deadlines are and what you need to do to apply. You automatically apply for some scholarships with your college application so make sure you know what date you have to apply by to qualify for scholarships.
Talk to your parents to see if their jobs or any organizations they are involved with have scholarships for children of members/employees. Find out when the deadlines are to apply for these scholarships.
Be prepared to start looking for scholarship money in the fall of your senior year—most scholarships are turned in between November and April of a student’s senior year. A number of places to search for scholarships are listed on the next page of this newsletter; plus, there are many other places (look for free ones—you don’t have to pay!)—you just need to put the time in to find them.
Talk to your family about what you can realistically afford for college. Complete the FAFSA4caster at https://studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa/estimate with your parents/guardians to get an estimate of your eligibility for federal aid or what you might have received this year (if you had applied). This will give you and your family an educated guess of what type of aid you might be eligible for next year. Consider the least expensive ways to get to your career of interest.
Talk with your parents and family about your interests and options.
You want your parents/guardians on the same page as you when looking at colleges. If you’re thinking about an Ivy League school and your parents are thinking about a community college, you have some middle ground to find. You will need your family to help with the college process—especially when it comes to applying for financial aid. The sooner you talk about options together, the easier it will be when it comes to making decisions.
Keep asking questions, being curious, and learning about yourself and your interests!
The more you know about yourself, the easier it will be for you to choose a career and college. Do things that help you learn more about yourself—take advantage of new challenges and opportunities. Try a new job or sport or hobby or anything that might help you reflect on what you want from your life and career. Being an open-minded learner is a great help to decision making!!