Important Things To Accomplish Over Winter Break:

While you have some down-time during the Winter Break, we would like to remind you of some important activities that will need your attention.  

SENIORS:  

    If you haven’t been keeping up with the emails that colleges have been sending you, you need to take the time to read all the correspondence from the schools you are interested in.  After you have applied, most schools will send one email to the email account you used to apply and then they will start sending correspondence to the email they have created for you within their own system.  They will email important deadlines and ask for information needed for your application to be complete.  If you do not access the emails, and miss this important information, your application will not be considered.

    One of the things that colleges will be looking for is your ACT or SAT test results.  Please make sure to send these scores.  If you need more information, please read the previous blog posts covering this.

    Starting January 1st , you can begin your FAFSA (or Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  The FAFSA is your application for a federal Pell Grant and state Cal Grant.  This is money that you do not have to pay back.  These grants give money for trade school, community college, or a four-year university.  Everyone should apply!  Don’t forget - even if you think your family makes too much money to qualify for a grant, many colleges require you to fill out the FAFSA in order to qualify for ANY type of aid at their school.  This could mean that you lose out on merit aid.  Merit aid is money colleges offer based on how well you have done in high school and your parent’s finances aren’t taken into consideration.  

     If you are still unsure what the FAFSA is all about, check out THIS video.  Please remember, you do not need to have your taxes complete to fill out the FAFSA.  You can use your  previous year’s tax statements.   Later, when you finish your taxes you can go back in and have the IRS automatically update your FAFSA form for you. THIS link will take you step by step through the IRS data retrieval tool in the FAFSA form.

    If you didn’t attend a financial aid workshop and would like even more information on the FAFSA, THIS video goes through the FAFSA application with easy-to-follow directions.  There will also be another financial aid workshop held at COC on January 19th at 6pm in the Performing Arts Center.  It is called Cash for College and is excellent.

    Speaking of money, now is the time that scholarship applications start to really become available.  If you haven’t already done so, please check our previous blog post about a scholarship that we recommend all students consider submitting because it is a fantastic opportunity to be awarded BIG MONEY!

    Lastly, many of you will need to sign up for English and Math placement tests for your colleges.  You will be notified through email if you are required to take the tests.  The testing dates fill up quickly.  Please sign up for the earliest date possible!  If you wait until May to sign up for testing,  there is a good chance you will have to travel three or four hours away to find open spots!

JUNIORS:

    You will be meeting with your counselor at the beginning of second semester to discuss your senior schedule.  We will be talking about what you need to accomplish for college admission, but DO NOT WAIT for our meeting to sign up for the SAT and/or ACT if you plan to apply to a four-year college.  We recommend that you take your SAT or ACT at least once during your junior year.  The SAT is only offered at Canyon and the ACT is only offered at Valencia.  Every student in the Hart District is trying for the same seats, so you want to register as early as possible!  Registration for the tests is done online.  Here are the links for SAT and the ACT.

SENIORS: THE SCHOLARSHIP YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR IS NOW AVAILABLE!!!!

     Did you notice the four exclamation points?  This is exciting and serious business! The Santa Clarita Valley Scholarship Foundation has over twenty-five scholarships that are to be awarded to only Canyon seniors! Completed applications are due to the Canyon Counseling Office by 3:30 pm on  Feb. 1st 2016. 
     Awards range from five hundred to FIVE THOUSAND dollars!  To be eligible for a scholarship you must have attended both eleventh and twelfth grades in the Wm. S. Hart District and  have at least a 2.0 GPA. If there is one scholarship not to be missed, this is it!!

THIS LINK will take you to the scholarship application.  This would be a great activity for over winter break.  Remember: The only scholarship you are guaranteed not to get is the one you never applied for!  

Sending Test Scores to Colleges....An Important Step

Seniors, as you are completing your college applications you will notice that colleges are asking for SAT and ACT test scores.  One of the most common questions we get is, “Should I report all of my scores?”  The simple answer is, “YES!”  Colleges are going to take your highest score.  It doesn’t hurt you to show that you took a test again to improve your score.  If anything this shows that you care about your scores and want to put your best foot forward.  Colleges like to see growth, so don’t be afraid to show the colleges an improvement in scores.

Although some of you have your test scores on your transcript, this will not be sufficient for colleges.  Most require that you send scores directly from The College Board or ACT.  The colleges will tell you their deadlines through email.  It is really important that you are checking your email and spam folders regularly so that you don’t miss any communication from your college.  For example, CSUN requires that you send your test scores by the end of January.  If you miss this deadline they will no longer consider your application. No exceptions.  It is a very strict deadline that you can’t miss.   Every year we have students that wait until the last minute and try to send their scores for next day or same day delivery, this DOES NOT WORK.  The College Board will charge you an extra $31 for a rush delivery that goes out in 2 days, but the college still requires up to a week to record your scores.  You need to give yourself at least two weeks to make sure everything gets sent properly.  

It is important that you make sending your test scores a top priority.  If you are applying to one or more CSU schools you can send your scores directly to CSU mentor and it will go to every CSU school.  The CSU mentor code for SAT is 3594.  If you have ACT scores to send, you need to send your scores directly to one CSU and then you can use CSU mentor for the rest of the schools.   THIS link will give you more information.

If you plan to apply to UC schools, you only need to send your scores to one school.  Once the scores are received they will be shared with the other UC schools.  For colleges other than a UC or CSU, you will need to send the scores directly to each school.  This link takes you to the information on how to do this  for SAT and ACT.

For those of you planning to participate in NCAA sports in college, you also need to send your test scores to NCAA.  The NCAA code is 9999.  For instructions, please follow THIS link.

If you have any questions about this, or your college applications in general, please don’t forget that your counselors are in the library during 6^th and 7^th period from November 16^th to November 25^th to help.  Please stop by!!

College Application Help

Seniors:  The counselors will be in the library during 6th and 7th period starting Monday, November 9th through November, 25th to help with college applications.  Please stop by if you need any help!

PSAT: Wednesday, October 28th

Sophomores and Juniors that paid for the PSAT will be taking the test on Wednesday, October 28th.  The test will be administered in the Canyon High Gym.  Students should plan to be on campus at 7:40 am.  The doors will open at 7:40 am and will close promptly at 8:00 am.  Once the doors are closed, no student will be allowed entrance and if you are late, refunds will not be given.  Learning to be on time for these standardized tests is essential; the same policy will be enforced for the SAT and AP testing.  Make sure to on campus by 7:40 am!

If you haven't picked up your practice booklet, there are still some available in the counseling office.  Please stop by the counseling office if you have any questions!

Impacted Campuses and Majors

      Students: As you are narrowing your choices for college, please make sure to take into account which colleges and majors are impacted.  If a school or major is impacted that means that there are more applications than spots available.  Many of the UC and CSU schools are impacted.  This means that although you might meet the minimum requirements, the school will likely require higher requirements for its applicants.  Below are a few websites that will show which UC and CSU schools and majors are impacted:

CSU campuses that are impacted:

 http://www.calstate.edu/SAS/impaction-campus-info.shtml

CSU search for programs at each campus that are impacted: http://www.calstate.edu/sas/impactionsearch/

UC programs that are impacted: http://www.eap.ucop.edu/ReciprocalExchanges/Pages/Majors.aspx

       It is possible that a school will not be impacted, but the major you want at that school will be impacted.  For example, CSU Bakersfield is not impacted.  If you have a 3.0 GPA and have met the minimum requirements for A-G, then you can get into Bakersfield.  However, they do have impacted majors on their campus.  We will use Nursing for this example.  Nursing is an impacted major at every UC and CSU campus.  If you are interested in Nursing, the requirements for acceptance at Bakersfield are going to be more rigorous than just a 3.0 and the minimum A-G requirements.

      There are five CSU campuses in California that are not impacted.  We want to recommend that you take a good look at these schools while you narrowing down your choices, especially if you are not completely set on your major.  College representatives have told us that at the impacted campuses it can be difficult to change your major (again, because the majors are so full).  However, if you are studying at a non-impacted campus, you will have an easier time changing majors.  The five non-impacted CSU campuses are Channel Islands, Bakersfield, Dominguez Hills, East Bay, and Stanislaus.  

      We are offering a field trip to CSU Channel Islands.  The field trip will be on Thursday, November 19^th from 7:45 am to 2:30 pm.  The cost is $15.  There are only 15 spots left, so if you are interested please stop by the counseling office TODAY!  This would be a wonderful opportunity for you to explore a non-impacted campus that shouldn’t be missed.

      If you have any questions, please stop by the counseling office.  Also, don’t forget the counselors will be in the library 6^th and 7^th period November 9^th through the 25^th help with college searches and applications. 

Financial Aid Workshop This Week!

Hello Cowboys!  There will be a Financial Aid Workshop this Late-Start Wednesday, October 14th.  The workshop will be held twice.  Once at 7:45 am in the library and again at 6:30 pm in the library.  Parents and students are welcome to attend either session.  We will cover topics such as:

• How much will college really cost?
• How do I find scholarships?
• What is the FAFSA and how do I apply? 

We hope to see you there!

Are You Starting To Apply To Colleges?

Seniors, as you begin to tackle your college applications there are some common questions that come up.  For the next few weeks we will try to answer as many of those as possible.  If you don’t see your questions answered here, please stop by the counseling office and talk to your counselor.  Also, don’t forget that October 19^th through October 23^rd we will be in the library during 7^th period to answer questions, narrow your college search, or assist with your applications.

Where do I apply to college?  If you are applying to a UC school, you will apply online at this website:  https://admissions.universityofcalifornia.edu/applicant/login.htm   This handbook will answer a lot of your questions about the UC application: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/apply-online-freshman-cal.pdf  

There will also be an online workshops hosted by the UC schools to help you through the UC Application.  There will be two workshops, October 13^th at 3:30 pm or November 18^th at 3:30 pm.

If you are applying to a CSU school, you will apply online at csumentor.edu. This handbook will answer a lot of your questions about the CSU application:

http://www.calstate.edu/sas/documents/freshmaninstructions.pdf

 If your school is not a UC or Cal State school, you will want to check the college’s website to see how they want you to apply.  If you are applying to a private university or an East Coast school there is a good chance they are using the Common Application.  This is also an online application that can be found at www.commonapp.org.  

As you apply to schools you are going to be introduced to some new vocabulary.  Let’s review a few of these terms:

Regular Decision:  This is most common option to choose while completing the Common App.  You will apply before the deadline and receive notification of your acceptance by March or April.  You will have time to look at the financial aid packages that come in and make your decision by May 1^st.

Early Decision: If students chose the Early Decision application their application will be due in early November, usually November 1^st.  If students choose this option they will be given a decision in early December.  You can only apply to one school Early Decision.  Usually you will pick this option if this is the school that you have researched well and it is your very top choice.  With Early Decision, if you are accepted you are committed to attend that school.  The positive is that you will know by Winter Break what school you are attending and the acceptance rate for Early Decision is about fifty percent higher than regular decision.  One downside is if you don’t accepted then you have very little time to apply to other schools.  Also, you would be accepting admission without knowing the financial aid package you will receive.  If you at all worried about financial aid, this is not a good option for you.

Early Action: This is similar to Early Decision.  You apply by November 1^st and you hear back by early December.  However, with option you do not have to accept the offer of admission.  Also, you can apply to more than one school Early Action.  With this option you are telling schools that it is your top choice, but you have the freedom to wait until March and see what your financial aid options will be.  

Single Choice Early Action:  Some schools like Harvard and Yale offer this option.  This is similar to Early Action with the exception that you can only apply to one school as Early Action.  You can still apply to other schools as regular decision. 

**Some schools have their own rules regarding Early Decision and Early Action.  If you are considering these choices make sure to check the website for each school before applying.

What is FERPA? The Common App and some scholarships will ask you to waive your FERPA rights.  FERPA stands for the The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.  Basically this act says that you have a right to review your academic records.  As you ask counselors and teachers to write you letters of recommendation, these letters become a part of your academic record, if you are accepted to a college.  By waiving your rights, you are saying that you won’t look at the letters of recommendations.  In general, you will want to waive your rights.  Here is why:  admission officers want teachers and counselors to be as honest and candid as possible when writing about you. If you haven’t waived your rights, some schools will not consider the letters of recommendation because they don’t feel the recommenders were free to say how they really feel.   

     In general, you shouldn’t be worried about what your recommenders are going to write about you.  If you have any concerns, don’t ask for a letter of recommendation from that person!  Your teachers and counselors obviously don’t want to be a stumbling block on your road to college; they want to support you in your efforts.  You can help yourself by making sure to ask for letters of recommendation at least two weeks before they are due and returning any materials that they ask for by their due dates.  If you have any questions about this, please stop by and visit with your counselor.