This newsletter is intended to provide you with basic information,
important dates, suggestions, and resources. The best way to access
current information about college, financial aid, and scholarships is to
check for the newsletter and scholarship postings on the MHS guidance web
site at: http://www.duvalschools.org/mhs/guidance
Paper copies will be available through your senior classes as well as the
guidance office.
Do Now:
Plan to attend the college fair at the Prime Osborn on October 11.
Register
online for college entrance exams: SAT or ACT (if you haven’t already).
Request your scores be sent Mandarin HS (Code # 100769) and the colleges to
which you are applying. Your scores MUST be sent to MHS to become part
of your transcript and be considered for Florida Bright Futures
Scholarships.
SAT
Test Date
Register by
Late registration
SAT, Subject Tests
Nov 1
Sept 26
Oct 10
SAT, Subject Tests
Dec 6
Nov 5
Nov 18
SAT, Subject Tests
Jan 24
Dec 26
Jan 6
SAT only
Mar 14
Feb 10
Feb 24
SAT, Subject Tests
May 2
Mar 31
Apr 9
SAT, Subject Tests
June 6
May 5
May 15
ACT
Test date
Registration date
Late Registration
ACT and optional writing test
Oct 25
Sept 22
Sept 23 – Oct 3
ACT and optional writing test
Dec 13
Nov 7
Nov 8-20
ACT and optional writing test
Feb 7
Jan 6
Jan 7-16
ACT and optional writing test
April 4
Feb 27
Feb 28 – Mar 13
ACT and optional writing test
June 13
May 8
May 9-22
Watch For
College Visits:
College representative visits are announced on TV news. Sign up to attend
college presentations in guidance. An appointment slip will be sent to you
and presentations will be in the guidance career room unless otherwise
specified.
October visits:
Washington University—Oct 1st 9:30am
Columbus State—Oct 10th 8:00am
Spelman College—Oct 10th 9:00am
Howard University – Oct 10th 10:00am
University of Georgia – Oct 10th 1:30pm
Emory University—Oct 15th 10:45am
University of Hartford—Oct 20th 12:30pm
Stetson University—Oct 21st 8:00am
FCCJ—Oct 21st 9:00am
UCF – Oct 23rd 1:00pm
Apply
to the college or university of your choice online or submit a hard copy
application. Most colleges and universities prefer e-applications. Many,
i.e. UCF, UNF, FSU and Florida require
website applications and no longer accept paper applications. Check out
links for prospective students and financial aid links.
Pay attention to deadline dates.
(They are not kidding.) Deadlines will be different for college
applications and financial aid applications. Remember to record your login
and password for each site and write them down where you can access them
for future reference.
Admission deadlines for popular institutions:
UNF
Nov 1, also guaranteed scholarship deadline
FCCJ
Feb 28 (for preferential scheduling and financial aid consideration)
FSU
October 15
USF
Nov 1
Florida
Nov 1
Florida A&M
Sept/Oct
UCF
Nov 1
Transcripts
may be requested by completing the form available in the guidance office
(48 hour turn around), or may be requested online at the MHS website
guidance page. Transcripts to state university system institutions are
sent electronically. Electronic transcripts are processed periodically—it
is best to allow two weeks from the time of request to the deadline date.
It is the student’s responsibility to pick up and mail hard copies or
personal copies of transcripts.
Recommendations—should
be requested at least
two weeks in advance of when you plan to mail them to the admissions
office. It is customary to ask permission to use a person’s name as a
recommendation, and if you are asking for a letter of recommendation, be
sure to provide them with a brief resume of your activities in and outside
of school, achievements, and interests. This allows the writer to present
you in specific and positive ways. Finally, it is always a good idea to
write a brief thank-you to persons who have provided recommendations for
you.
Electronic recommendations for UCF: Make an appointment with your
counselor well ahead of the November 1 priority deadline date!!!
Essays may
be requested as part of your college application. As you plan your essay,
remember it will:
Reveal your thinking and writing
Allow you to share something of your self not found elsewhere in the
application
Provide a way to communicate how you see yourself and your place in
the world
·
Pick a topic with which you are comfortable.
·
Structure your essay by deciding what point you want to make, and being
concise when writing it down.
·
Write a rough draft, have someone else read it and provide feedback, and
then write a final draft.
·
The essay allows admissions officers to get a glimpse at who you truly are.
It can influence consideration of your application. Use the fact you have
complete control over it to your advantage!
Financial Aid offices
of institutions where you are applying should be contacted when you apply
to the institution.
Two dates to remember:
December 1, 2008—the
first date seniors may go online to apply for Florida Bright Futures
Scholarships
January 1, 2009—the
first date seniors may file the “Free application for federal student aid”,
commonly referred to as FAFSA on the fafsa.ed.gov website. The “FAFSA” is
required by all financial aid offices to determine the amount of money a
student will need.
BEWARE of any scholarship website that offers to find you a scholarship for
a fee.
Most legitimate scholarship websites are free.
Information available in Guidance
College catalogs and view books
are available in the Guidance Career Room.
Scholarship information and applications are also
available in Guidance. Scholarship information is updated for each
newsletter. When a scholarship deadline passes, information is deleted.
Most of the information available in guidance is also available
online. Colleges and Universities are using the Internet extensively (and
some exclusively) to provide information and forms for prospective
students. Your guidance counselor is available to assist you in
understanding the information and using it to making decisions about your
future plans.
Useful Web
sites:
Sites providing a starting point and efficient ways to gain information for
college planning are:
www.fastweb.com
Customized search of over 600,000 scholarships and over 4000 colleges.
www.fafsa.ed.gov
--website of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This form
determines the amount of financial need for most institutions. It will be
a critical part of your financial aid process. IMPORTANT: Wait
until January 1, 2009 to complete this form to avoid nullifying your
information. Until that date, institutions are working with their newly
entered students (2008 graduates) information.
*Be aware that fafsa.com is a commercial “look-alike” website that charges
money for exactly the same form a fafsa.ed.gov*
