Hello Cowboys!
The Canyon Counseling Blog will be going on a wee Winter Break (all those scheduling changes have made our fingers TIRED and we need a break!). Our next post will be January 15th.
Until then:
-Don't forget to print your schedule on Sunday, January 12th. You can see you schedule on Infinite Campus starting on January 9th. BUT we will still be scheduling and balancing classes after the 9th. So double check your schedule Sunday night to make sure you have the latest schedule.
- Winter Break is a great time to start looking at colleges. Next semester we are going to highlight the schools from the book, "Colleges That Change Lives." You can get a headstart and look at the colleges HERE.
-Not sure if you want to or can go to college? Check out THIS!
-If you haven't visited collegeboard.org yet, that is also a good site to become familiar with. It is where you will sign up for your SAT tests. It has a helpful sister site called, BigFuture. This site answers your questions about how to get started with college planning. Freshman, Sophomores, and Juniors, THIS site is for you!
Happy Holidays. Be safe and happy until we see you again!
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Loyola Marymount University and Gonzaga University
One of the websites that you might want to make a favorite as you start your college search is the US News and World Report website. From this website you can research several lists and learn basic information about colleges.
Today, we are going to look at two schools from the A+ for B students list. I chose these two schools because they have a high freshman retention rate. It's important to choose a school that has a high retention rate because that shows you that students went there and loved it. If students got in and then wanted to transfer out, that is a red flag that you probably wouldn't enjoy the school.
Gonzaga University has a 95% freshman retention rate. It is a small school with an enrollment of 4,906 students in Spokane, Washington. Ninety-five percent of the students receive financial aid (that's also a great statistic!) The average GPA is a 3.73 and the average SAT score is 1200. Gonzaga has a very prestigious law school with several Supreme Court judges learning from it's classrooms. If you are an athlete approximately sixty percent of the student body participates in intramurals. Gonzaga has a very strong Division I basketball team. The most popular majors at Gonzaga are business, engineering, psychology, journalism, communications, and law. The Gonzaga University website is www.gonzaga.edu. HERE is a link to some videos to tell you about the school.
Loyola Marymount is a school that is close to home and has a 90% freshman retention rate. The average GPA is a 3.76 and the average SAT score is 1800. The most popular majors are business, visual and performing arts, speech, and English. They have a school for film and television (ranked 9th in the nation), law, engineering (ranked 22nd), and much more. HERE is a link to a video library to tell you more.
Today, we are going to look at two schools from the A+ for B students list. I chose these two schools because they have a high freshman retention rate. It's important to choose a school that has a high retention rate because that shows you that students went there and loved it. If students got in and then wanted to transfer out, that is a red flag that you probably wouldn't enjoy the school.
Gonzaga University has a 95% freshman retention rate. It is a small school with an enrollment of 4,906 students in Spokane, Washington. Ninety-five percent of the students receive financial aid (that's also a great statistic!) The average GPA is a 3.73 and the average SAT score is 1200. Gonzaga has a very prestigious law school with several Supreme Court judges learning from it's classrooms. If you are an athlete approximately sixty percent of the student body participates in intramurals. Gonzaga has a very strong Division I basketball team. The most popular majors at Gonzaga are business, engineering, psychology, journalism, communications, and law. The Gonzaga University website is www.gonzaga.edu. HERE is a link to some videos to tell you about the school.
Loyola Marymount is a school that is close to home and has a 90% freshman retention rate. The average GPA is a 3.76 and the average SAT score is 1800. The most popular majors are business, visual and performing arts, speech, and English. They have a school for film and television (ranked 9th in the nation), law, engineering (ranked 22nd), and much more. HERE is a link to a video library to tell you more.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Financial Aid Websites
This week we had a very successful financial aid meeting. If you missed it, and you are a senior or parent of a senior, here are some helpful websites and links.
HERE is the financial aid cheat sheet that we gave out.
THIS is a link to the federal website that explains financial aid. It is quite extensive and very informative.
THIS is the link to the biggest scholarship that Canyon has to offer. Every senior that is eligible should apply. Over 15 scholarships will be given based on this one application. The highest scholarship is $5000 and the smallest is $500.
THIS is the link to our list of scholarships. If one of the scholarship links in the file doesn't work, google the name of the scholarship to get the most current information.
The next financial aid meeting will be at the COC Performing Arts Center on January 21st at 6:30 pm. The COC Financial aid department will be on hand to answer all your financial aid questions and help if you have questions about the FAFSA. This session is open to the community and is free.
HERE is the financial aid cheat sheet that we gave out.
THIS is a link to the federal website that explains financial aid. It is quite extensive and very informative.
THIS is the link to the biggest scholarship that Canyon has to offer. Every senior that is eligible should apply. Over 15 scholarships will be given based on this one application. The highest scholarship is $5000 and the smallest is $500.
THIS is the link to our list of scholarships. If one of the scholarship links in the file doesn't work, google the name of the scholarship to get the most current information.
The next financial aid meeting will be at the COC Performing Arts Center on January 21st at 6:30 pm. The COC Financial aid department will be on hand to answer all your financial aid questions and help if you have questions about the FAFSA. This session is open to the community and is free.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Grand Canyon University and Utah State University
This week we are going to tell you about two schools outside of California.
The first school is in Pheonix, Arizona, Grand Canyon University. Grand Canyon University is a small non denomination Christian school, but you don't need to have any religious affiliation to attend. We are choosing this school because because they give substantial academic scholarships. If you are a full time student you will pay $8,250 in tuition a semester. Grand Canyon will give you $8,000 if your unweighted GPA is a 3.8 or higher. They also will give you an early decision grant of $1,500 dollars. So if you are doing your math...yep, tuition is ZERO!!!! If you keep at least a 3.5 GPA while you are in school, you can keep getting the $8000 scholarship. By the way, they give scholarship awards all the way down to $4000 dollars if your unweighted GPA is a 3.0. You can see a complete breakdown HERE.
Grand Canyon University has a wide variety of majors that might interest you. Some of their most popular majors are nursing, forensics, pre-med, athletic training, psychology, teaching, business, and the performing arts.
The requirements for admission to Grand Canyon University are a GPA of 3.0 or higher. If you don't have that, you can also qualify if you have a 920 on your SAT or a score of 19 on the ACT test. There are no specific classes that you have to pass.
There is no admission deadline. However, to get the early decision grant, you need to apply by January 1st. If you would like to ask specific questions about Grand Canyon University, you have your own personal connection. Please call Mr. Austin Badgett at 818-205-4819 or email him at austin.badgett@gcu.edu.
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The second school this week is Utah State University. Utah State was voted the #1 public university in the west for lowest tuition. They are in the top 3% of all Carnegie research institutions. With more than 165 undergraduate degrees, you are sure to find a major that fits you perfectly. The average cost of Utah State with tuition, books, fees, room & board is $14, 516. The average cost of UC with those same items is $28, 754. That's a great bargain!!
Utah State has a very helpful website. We suggest going HERE and clicking on the botton, "WHY USU?" That will be a great introduction to the school for you.
Utah State is having a few Open Houses in California next week. If you can attend and are interested in the school, we strongly recommend making the time to visit an open house. You will be able to talk to USU representatives one-on-one but most importantly they will be awarding scholarships right on the spot and waiving the application fee. You just need to go the Open House with an official transcripts and your test scores. HERE is the link to the Open House information. If you have questions about this, please see your counselor.
The first school is in Pheonix, Arizona, Grand Canyon University. Grand Canyon University is a small non denomination Christian school, but you don't need to have any religious affiliation to attend. We are choosing this school because because they give substantial academic scholarships. If you are a full time student you will pay $8,250 in tuition a semester. Grand Canyon will give you $8,000 if your unweighted GPA is a 3.8 or higher. They also will give you an early decision grant of $1,500 dollars. So if you are doing your math...yep, tuition is ZERO!!!! If you keep at least a 3.5 GPA while you are in school, you can keep getting the $8000 scholarship. By the way, they give scholarship awards all the way down to $4000 dollars if your unweighted GPA is a 3.0. You can see a complete breakdown HERE.
Grand Canyon University has a wide variety of majors that might interest you. Some of their most popular majors are nursing, forensics, pre-med, athletic training, psychology, teaching, business, and the performing arts.
The requirements for admission to Grand Canyon University are a GPA of 3.0 or higher. If you don't have that, you can also qualify if you have a 920 on your SAT or a score of 19 on the ACT test. There are no specific classes that you have to pass.
There is no admission deadline. However, to get the early decision grant, you need to apply by January 1st. If you would like to ask specific questions about Grand Canyon University, you have your own personal connection. Please call Mr. Austin Badgett at 818-205-4819 or email him at austin.badgett@gcu.edu.
______________________________________________
The second school this week is Utah State University. Utah State was voted the #1 public university in the west for lowest tuition. They are in the top 3% of all Carnegie research institutions. With more than 165 undergraduate degrees, you are sure to find a major that fits you perfectly. The average cost of Utah State with tuition, books, fees, room & board is $14, 516. The average cost of UC with those same items is $28, 754. That's a great bargain!!
Utah State has a very helpful website. We suggest going HERE and clicking on the botton, "WHY USU?" That will be a great introduction to the school for you.
Utah State is having a few Open Houses in California next week. If you can attend and are interested in the school, we strongly recommend making the time to visit an open house. You will be able to talk to USU representatives one-on-one but most importantly they will be awarding scholarships right on the spot and waiving the application fee. You just need to go the Open House with an official transcripts and your test scores. HERE is the link to the Open House information. If you have questions about this, please see your counselor.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
UCLA and the University of Redlands
Every Wednesday we will highlight colleges. Where you decide to study after graduation can be one of the biggest decisions of your life. There are a lot of colleges and universities for you to choose from. There is a perfect college for you, and we want to help you find it!
To begin, we are going to explore the colleges that our Canyon Faculty and Staff have attended. This way you will be able to talk to someone face to face about their school and get the inside scoop. Please stop by every Wednesday for a new set of schools.
First off, let's explore the alma mater of our Superintendent, Mr. Rob Challinor. Mr. Challinor went to the University of Redlands. This college has a total enrollment of 2,410 students. That is just like Canyon! If you are looking for a small school where you could wouldn't get lost in the shuffle, this is a good choice. The average class size is 19, which is not at all like Canyon. Can you imagine having a class of only 19 people?
Some of the popular programs at the University of Redlands are psychology, business, and music. There are many areas of study at the University of Redlands. Here is a list. Mr. Challinor gave us the inside scoop. He said this school is also perfect for "students that are interested in a liberal art education or students that need more time to examine career choices."
The average GPA to get into this school is a 3.5 and the average SAT score is a 1200. If you have a GPA or test score higher than this, you might want to consider applying to this school and trying to get a merit scholarship. This school is also a bargain! The US News released the best value colleges for the western region and the University of Redlands is ranked number #6!
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Most of you have probably heard of our second school. Mr. Michael Kuhlman attended UCLA. Our principal LOVES his alma mater. If you ever had questions about UCLA, he would be a great resource!
Mr. Kuhlman said that UCLA is probably not for the student that is looking for the small, intimate college. The total enrollment is 28,000. Imagine all the students at Canyon...then image 12 Canyons. That's how big UCLA is. UCLA is the most applied to school in the nation. For the fall of 2012, 72,000 applications were received!
Although this school is very large, that was one of the things Mr. Kuhlman liked best. He said there were always activities and unique opportunities available. He said if you were proactive and sought out resources that everything was available and the world would open to you.
The average GPA for UCLA is a 4.25 and the average SAT score ranged between 1760 and 2140. The US News ranked UCLA #23 in their list of top national universities. This school has many nationally recognized programs and the professors are considered national authorities in their field.
If you are thinking UCLA might be for you, THIS is a great place to start learning.
Cowboys, the door is always open at the Counseling Office. If you ever have questions about your future plans, please come visit us!!
To begin, we are going to explore the colleges that our Canyon Faculty and Staff have attended. This way you will be able to talk to someone face to face about their school and get the inside scoop. Please stop by every Wednesday for a new set of schools.
First off, let's explore the alma mater of our Superintendent, Mr. Rob Challinor. Mr. Challinor went to the University of Redlands. This college has a total enrollment of 2,410 students. That is just like Canyon! If you are looking for a small school where you could wouldn't get lost in the shuffle, this is a good choice. The average class size is 19, which is not at all like Canyon. Can you imagine having a class of only 19 people?
Some of the popular programs at the University of Redlands are psychology, business, and music. There are many areas of study at the University of Redlands. Here is a list. Mr. Challinor gave us the inside scoop. He said this school is also perfect for "students that are interested in a liberal art education or students that need more time to examine career choices."
The average GPA to get into this school is a 3.5 and the average SAT score is a 1200. If you have a GPA or test score higher than this, you might want to consider applying to this school and trying to get a merit scholarship. This school is also a bargain! The US News released the best value colleges for the western region and the University of Redlands is ranked number #6!
___________________________________________________
Most of you have probably heard of our second school. Mr. Michael Kuhlman attended UCLA. Our principal LOVES his alma mater. If you ever had questions about UCLA, he would be a great resource!
Mr. Kuhlman said that UCLA is probably not for the student that is looking for the small, intimate college. The total enrollment is 28,000. Imagine all the students at Canyon...then image 12 Canyons. That's how big UCLA is. UCLA is the most applied to school in the nation. For the fall of 2012, 72,000 applications were received!
Although this school is very large, that was one of the things Mr. Kuhlman liked best. He said there were always activities and unique opportunities available. He said if you were proactive and sought out resources that everything was available and the world would open to you.
The average GPA for UCLA is a 4.25 and the average SAT score ranged between 1760 and 2140. The US News ranked UCLA #23 in their list of top national universities. This school has many nationally recognized programs and the professors are considered national authorities in their field.
If you are thinking UCLA might be for you, THIS is a great place to start learning.
Cowboys, the door is always open at the Counseling Office. If you ever have questions about your future plans, please come visit us!!
Monday, November 25, 2013
Success Tip #1
Learn to say "no" to activities and people that prevent you from achieving your goals.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Friday Website Highlight
Today we have TWO websites to recommend.
The first site we would like to suggest is for parents. Kidsinthehouse.com has videos and help for parents of kids at all stages of development. The teen section is very extensive. Please visit THIS link. On the top you will also see tabs for "Parent to Parent". You can connect with other parents of teens. Please take some time to visit this valuable resource.
The second website is something both parents and students can use. Are you trying to decide what you would like to do when you grow up? THIS website is a great place to start! CA Career Zone lets you do interest and aptitude surveys. You can explore jobs. Not only can you see videos of the job in action, but you can also learn how much money you would make. If you aren't sure what it means to make $35,000 a year, the website will also show you what kind of lifestyle you would have with the salary of your chosen career. If you need any help navigating the site, please visit your Counselor.
The first site we would like to suggest is for parents. Kidsinthehouse.com has videos and help for parents of kids at all stages of development. The teen section is very extensive. Please visit THIS link. On the top you will also see tabs for "Parent to Parent". You can connect with other parents of teens. Please take some time to visit this valuable resource.
The second website is something both parents and students can use. Are you trying to decide what you would like to do when you grow up? THIS website is a great place to start! CA Career Zone lets you do interest and aptitude surveys. You can explore jobs. Not only can you see videos of the job in action, but you can also learn how much money you would make. If you aren't sure what it means to make $35,000 a year, the website will also show you what kind of lifestyle you would have with the salary of your chosen career. If you need any help navigating the site, please visit your Counselor.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Friday Website Highlight
This week Canyon High School participated in the Every 15 Minutes program. Our final speaker was our principal, Mr. Kuhlman. He asked us to try to find a way to make this event meaningful in our lives. It is with this in mind that we would like to suggest THIS website. The website is a link to the family education page for the City of Santa Clarita. There are a variety of resources, but one of the best ones is a Family Driving Contract. It is a great way to start the discussion of safe and responsible driving. BE SAFE COWBOYS!!!!
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Financial Aid Workshop
On December 4th, at 8 am in the Q theater, we will have a financial aid workshop. We will be explain the financial aid process and give out applications for a very important scholarship. The SCV scholarship foundation has one application that qualifies you for over fifteen scholarships that are just for Canyon seniors. One student is guaranteed a five thousand dollar scholarship. Please make sure to attend!
Deadlines are Approaching
Seniors: Don't forget that the deadline for UC and CSU applications is November 30th. If you need help or have questions, please stop by.
COC representative on Campus
A representative from the College of the Canyons is coming to explain the new application process. If you are planning to attend COC next year, please plan to come to this very important meeting. The meeting will be held in the Q theater on November 20th at 8 am. This is a late start Wednesday. We hope to see you there!
Giving Thanks to Teachers
It's Thanksgiving season. It's a great time to let a Canyon staff member know if they helped you or made a difference this semester. Please click Here to write a quick thank you note. Thanks Cowboys!!!!!
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