Preparing for Your Senior Year

Juniors!

Your counselor will calling you up in the next few weeks to complete your senior registration.  You will be given a sheet with a lot of important information.  Just in case you lose it, the most important information is here.

SAT & SAT Subject Test    (Offered at Canyon High School)                   

Go to: http://www.collegeboard.com

Dates remaining for this school year:

Test Dates	March 8	May 3	June 7
Regular  Registration Deadline	Feb 7	Apr 4	May 9
Late Registration Deadline	Feb 21	Apr 18	May 23

ACT  (Offered at Valencia High School)

Go to: http://www.actstudent.org/regist/index.html   

Dates remaining for this school year:

Test Dates	April 12	June 14 (not available at Valencia HS)
Regular  Registration Deadline	March 7	May 3
Late Registration Deadline	March 8-21	May 10-23

                                                                   

**YOU CAN ALSO TAKE THE SAT AND ACT YOUR SENIOR YEAR.  COLLEGES WILL TAKE TEST SCORES UNTIL DECEMBER!

FREE SAT/ACT Practice Online                         www.ineedapencil.com           or        www.number2.com      SAT Prep Courses Tier One                    Call 800-998-4371 Revolution Prep      Call 877-738-7737 Eureka Review           Call 877-463-8735

 


Getting Started

How to plan for and apply to a California State University or a University of California.

www. .csumentor.edu                                        www.universityofcalifornia.edu

Scholarships and Financial Aid:

Check the Senior Section of The Daily Bulletin frequently @ www.canyonhighcowboys.org www.canyoncounselor.blogspot.com   (follow us and every new post will be emailed directly to you)

www.cappex.com   

www.fastweb.com 

www.scholarships.com     

www.studentaid.ed.gov  This tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about financial aid

College Search Engines:

Naviance – College Search

·      How to log on:

1. Go to Canyon’s homepage
2. In the green box on the left click NAVIANCE
3. Enter your student ID number as your username
4. Enter your 6 digit birthdate as your password
5. Click “manage my account” on top right, then “manage my profile” on the left. Add an email address that you check regularly by clicking the pencil icon.

·      To search for college info, use the colleges tab at the top and click SuperMatch-college research section.

www.collegeweeklive.com                               www.cacareerzone.org

www.collegeview.com                                     www.cacollege.com

www.noodle.org/colleges                               www.collegesearch.collegeboard.org

*********Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)          www.wiche.edu/wue         *************         

Through WUE, students in western states may enroll in 150 two-year and four-year college institutions at a reduced tuition level: 150 percent of the institution's regular resident tuition. The list of schools and majors is at:

http://wue.wiche.edu/search_results.jsp?searchType=all

 

Late Start Wednesdays, 8:00 AM 

• March 19^th:  Naviance training (sign up in counseling office)

• May 14^th:  Starting Your College and Career Search (this is a very important workshop.  YOU SHOULD ATTEND!)

CAREER COACH: 

Did you know we have Career Coach on campus?  She is here every Friday.  She can help you start your exploration of careers.  Please sign up with the counseling secretary, Mrs. Hettema!

Goal Setting

When I was seven years old, my dad sat down with me and taught me about goal setting. I think I have kept this memory because it has had a profound and positive impact on my life.   Setting goals is what helps me decide what it is that I really want in my life and then plan out steps to achieve my dreams.  My dad taught me that there are two main categories of goals, short and long range.  Short-range goals are the ones you try to do every day, or every week.  Long-range goals are the things you want to accomplish that might take a while.  For example, maybe you want to get all A and B grades.  That is a long-term goal.  Your short-term goal might be to write down and complete your homework every day, or study at least an hour every night.

At Canyon, we believe in goal setting.  You may have wondered about our Late Start Wednesdays.  Each department on campus is creating goals to try to help you learn and be successful.  Each semester we are creating goals to become better.  Are you setting goals for yourself each semester?  You should be!

We are trying so hard to help you achieve your dreams, that we have created a mission statement.  This mission statement is our long-range goal.  It is, “Our mission is to develop responsible citizens who have the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary for either beginning post-secondary education or entering the workforce.”  

What are your goals for high school and after graduation?  We recommend that you sit down with your family and discuss this if you haven’t yet.  We would love to hear your goals.  The more we know about you, the better we can help you!

If you ever need help with goal setting, please stop by the counseling office.  We are goal setting masters!!  In the upcoming weeks we will continue to share with you the goals that the Canyon Staff has made in an effort to help you be successful in life.

Have questions about filling out the FAFSA, Cal Grants, or need some help?

On Tuesday, January 21st, the Financial Aid Office at College of the Canyons will be conducting a Cash For College workshop for any family that would like information about financial aid.  This workshop is open to the community and is FREE to attend.  No reservations are required. The workshop will be held in the COC Performing Arts Center at 6:30PM.

At this workshop, they will discuss how to apply for financial aid, Pell Grants, Cal Grants, and student loans.  Financial aid experts will be
on hand to answer any questions or concerns you might have.

Since COC is our local community college, the financial aid office wants to help ANY student with their financial aid applications.  It doesn't matter what school you would like to attend.  

If you have financial aid questions, this is an important meeting to attend. 

Seniors: It is time to fill out the FAFSA!

Seniors, the window is now open to fill out your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  You must complete a FAFSA application to be eligible for financial aid in college.

Here is the link for the FAFSA.  Make sure you are the website that ends with ".gov"  Any of the websites that end with ".com" are not the official FAFSA website and you are giving your social security number and financial information to the wrong people.

You want to complete the FAFSA as early as possible.  If you have questions, there are little tutorials along the way to help you.

Your parents can use their tax information from last year to fill out the FAFSA.  They have 60 days after submission to go back in and change information based on the the taxes they do this year.

When you complete the FAFSA you will see a section that asks you about the CAL GRANT.  The CAL GRANT is free money from the state of California to help you go to school.  The Cal Grant money is awarded on a first come, first served basis and is based on your GPA.  Canyon High will submit your GPA electronically.  You don't need to have your counselors sign any paperwork for you.

When you fill out your FAFSA, there is a portion that asks you to list 10 schools that you would like to be allowed to get your financial information.  Colleges use this information to decide your financial aid package.  Make sure you list your schools in alphabetical order (see your counselor for an explanation, it's too long to post, but it's a good idea!)

The deadline for turning everything in MARCH 2nd.

Please see your counselor if you have questions.