College, Career, Military Readiness
Friendswood ISD
November 2022 Update
November is the time when many students begin completing their college application process and can then move into the scholarship search process. This month's newsletter will outline the scholarship search process in SchooLinks, where FHS houses all our local scholarships as well as a large database of national scholarships. In addition, every year students and parents have questions around the recruitment process for student athletes, so the newsletter will highlight some information and resources to provide insight into the NCAA and NAIA recruitment processes. Finally, it will introduce a job search tool for high school graduates seeking jobs requiring only a high school diploma. This tool can be a handy resource for students wishing to go straight to work after high school, students planning to take a gap year, or students who want to earn money while they attend college. As always, be sure to check out the FHS College and Career Website and visit past newsletters for additional information and resources, and subscribe to the mailing list using the orange "Follow" button for upcoming newsletters!
AN OVERVIEW OF THE SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH PROCESS
With the thousands of scholarships available to students, sometimes knowing where to begin with the scholarship search process can be daunting. The pool of eligible applicants for scholarships can vary widely spanning the entire world all the way down to just our FHS seniors. Of course, as the applicant pool decreases in size, the student's chances of potentially being awarded that scholarship can increase significantly, so I always advise students to begin searching for scholarships using our local scholarship database in SchooLinks. Students can log into SchooLinks by selecting "Login with Google" and using their FISD email account to log in. Once there, they should click on the Finances icon on the left-hand navigation sidebar and select "Scholarship matching". Guardians can view and search scholarships as well from their guardian accounts. Within the scholarship matching window, students will be asked to answer a few questions to determine eligibility for the scholarships and narrow the search results. They can choose to answer the fields or just click next to see their scholarship matches. (Note: They will be required to enter a zip code for the "Where do you live?" question.) This list of matches will include all scholarships across the nation, but in the top right corner, students can toggle to view just our district posted scholarships. If at any point, the student wishes to go back and modify or change answers to the eligibility questions, they can toggle back to "Matches" in the top right corner and then click on the word "Eligibility" shown above the list of scholarships on the left. My advice to students is to read through the scholarships in SchooLinks and focus on applying first to the local/district ones for which they qualify and then broaden their search to the national scholarships. Also, pay attention to the application deadlines and focus on those with the closer deadlines first. The FHS counseling center also has paper applications printed for some of our local scholarships requiring them. Students can stop by the counseling center anytime to pick up the copies, but they will also need to look through the scholarship requirements in SchooLinks to get a full picture of what is expected through the application process.
NCAA vs. NAIA vs NJCAA: What's the difference?
There are two separate governing bodies over four- year collegiate athletics: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Additionally, The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the national governing body of two-year collegiate athletics.
Probably the most well-known organization in collegiate athletics is the NCAA, but because less than 2% of all high school athletes will go on to play in Division I of the NCAA, it is important to understand all of the options students have for playing sports in college. Each governing body has something unique to offer athletes and it is important for students to understand the difference. The NCAA consists of three divisions (DI, DII, and DIII), offers 24 sports, oversees 1100 colleges and universities, and serves around 500,000 athletes nationwide. Athletic scholarships are available for both DI and DII athletes, but DIII athletes can only receive academic scholarships. The DIII schools can vary greatly in size from larger state institutions to much smaller liberal arts schools. Arguably, some might say that there are DIII facilities that are sometimes better than their DII counterparts and are in many cases comparable to DI institutions. In contrast, the NAIA serves a much smaller pool of 77,000 student athletes over 27 sports and covers 250 colleges and universities. Of those 250 institutions, 82% are private and 90% offer scholarships. The NAIA might be smaller than the NCAA, but bigger is not always better.
According to Courtney Rickard of Honest Game, a company committed to creating a clear pathway to academic eligibility for all student-athletes, when one considers all the factors such as playing time, eligibility time limits, scholarship opportunities, and other restrictions and factors , several NCAA DII and NAIA programs are equally competitive to and as appealing as NCAA DI level teams. Due to the competitive nature of DI NCAA sports, the NAIA should not be dismissed if a student's goal is to play their sport in college because they do offer a vast number of athletic scholarships.
Finally, the NJCAA is a third possibility for students wishing to play a sport after high school. The NJCAA covers 29 sports, consists of three divisions (DI, DII, and DIII), and has athletic allowances for DI and DII sports. One benefit of playing at this level is the cost savings on tuition and fees for attending a 2-year institution as opposed to a 4-year institution. The NJCAA also offers athletic scholarships, can serve as a starting point for thousands of student athletes, and has been a launching point for many professional athletes' careers across multiple sports. After competing at this level for two years, students are eligible to be recruited by the NCAA or NAIA to transfer to a 4-year institution and would fall under the eligibility requirements for those organizations.
Each of these organizations have their own eligibility requirements, registration process, and recruitment process. All this Information can be found at the organizations' websites linked above and the requirements brochures attached or linked below and should be thoroughly researched by interested students. Coursework beginning freshman year can impact the eligibility requirements, so I highly recommend that parents and students become familiar with the requirements prior to beginning their freshman year of high school.
The following video provides a general overview of the differences, although minor changes have occurred since the video's recording.
A THOROUGH AND INFORMATIVE VIDEO ABOUT THE COLLEGE ATHLETIC RECRUITMENT PROCESS
If you are interested in learning more about the college athletic recruitment process, the Texas High School Coaches Association provides this free recruiting webinar, which is a must-see video for any student-athletes, parents, coaches, counselors and administrators interested in learning about the recruiting process. The webinar is made available through a partnership between the THSCA and the Recruiting Education Foundation Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit program which operates FreeRecruitingWebinar.org.
The webinar is about one hour in length and addresses many important recruiting topics including: Scholarship Myths and Facts, the NCAA and NAIA Eligibility Centers, NCAA Core Course Requirements, National Letter of Intent, Finding the Right School, and much more. You will be required to register in order to view the video, but I highly recommend that any students interested in playing sports after high school view this video with their parents to understand the recruitment process.
WANTED: STUDENTS SEEKING EMPLOYMENT!
Looking for a job? Explore the SchooLinks "Job" Board!
Check Out "Get Schooled", too!
Finding and landing that first job or even any job for a high school student can be a challenge. There are many barriers that students face during the job hunt including employers unwilling to take a chance on them due to their age and/or lack of experience, resumes not being polished enough to solicit interest from potential employers, poor interviewing skills, and much more. That's where the Find a Job tool created by Get Schooled comes into play. Get Schooled is a comprehensive website that provides resources and tools to help students get ahead in life, including a wide variety of topics to help students explore their path after high school and then additional tools to help them stay on that path once there. However, one of the most unique features of the platform is their youth-focused job search tool that allows students to explore entry level positions and youth friendly employers. In addition, Get Schooled provides valuable services to students such as resume review, job search and application assistance, interview preparation, and much more. The website targets students as young as 14 years old by providing them with resources and information about their eligibility to work but can also be extremely useful for students wishing to enter the workforce straight out of high school. The basis of the platform is to leverage technology to meet the youth where they are and guide them in getting to their post-secondary education, succeeding there, and finding a job. Explore all that Get Schooled has to offer!
How to subscribe to this Newsletter!
Upcoming Events at FHS
FAFSA Application/Opt Out Form Due
Monday, Jan 23, 2023, 04:00 PM
Friendswood High School, Greenbriar Drive, Friendswood, TX, USA
Upcoming Testing Dates and Information
AP Exam Registration opens
Monday, Sep 5, 2022, 09:00 PM
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Resources for Past and Upcoming Tests at FHS
- Click here for information about How to Send SAT Scores.
- Visit the Advanced Academics Website for the latest information and guidance on ACT, AP, PSAT, and SAT testing
Testing Accommodations- Information for 504 and Special Education Students
- Accommodations Information for College Board Exams (SAT/PSAT/AP)
- Accommodations Information for the ACT exam
- Who to Contact for Testing Accommodations Information
- 504 students need to email Lead Counselor, Krystal Fletcher
- Special Education students need to email ARD Facilitator, Samantha Eubanks
- Questions regarding test day information or special testing procedures can be directed to the Testing Coordinator and Assistant Principal, Delaney Lyon
Contact info
Nishi St. John
FISD College and Career SpecialistEmail: nstjohn@fisdk12.net
Website: https://fhs.myfisd.com/explore-fhs/ccr
Location: 702 Greenbriar Drive, Friendswood, TX, USA
Phone: (281)482-3413
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FHSmustangs
Twitter: @fhsmustangs