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School Counseling » College and Career Development / Support

College and Career Development / Support

 
Whether you’re searching for a new career, finishing your high school diploma or exploring your options, Job Corps can provide you with FREE training to jump-start your future. Visit their website to apply: https://www.jobcorps.gov/
 
To learn more, click this presentation:
 

 

Not all colleges are created equal and not every college will have the program you want! We highly encourage all students to use the BigFuture tool, created by The College Board, to explore the thousands of colleges across the United States (and even some abroad). BigFuture helps you filter through college options based on features that matter to you – what majors a college offers, what colleges are within a specific state, how expensive a college is, and even what kind of sports teams a college has!

 

Explore the BigFuture tool here.

 
College Visits:
 
East Pennsboro Area High School believes it is imperative that students visit prospective colleges or trade schools in order to help them determine the schooling of their choice. With this thought in mind, we grant Seniors and Juniors three (3) excused days per year for post-secondary school visitations, if documented with proper signatures. We require that school admission personnel complete this verification form.
 
Job Shadowing:
 
The best way to learn about a job is through watching someone work one! East Pennsboro Area High School believes that the job shadowing experience is an important component of all students. We believe that all students should graduate from High School with an action plan designed to help them achieve their career and personal goals. To make sound, informed decisions, students need to explore careers of interest to them. The Job Shadowing Program provides a structured format in which students can investigate their career choices and engage in meaningful dialogue about their goals with their mentors.
 
Bring this form with you during your College Visit and/or Job Shadow and submit it to the main office upon returning to school.
 
College Visit and Job Shadowing Form

 

There are several different ways that colleges admit students each year and while the differences may not sound like that big of a deal, they can make all the difference between getting in or not.

 

Regular Admissions: 

 

All colleges have a deadline by which they need to have applications submitted. All applications are reviewed at the same time and most students who meet the college’s requirement are accepted. This deadline typically occurs in January or February.

 

Rolling Admissions: 

 

It is to a student’s advantage to apply early in the senior year for schools with a rolling admissions policy. These colleges accept students who meet their admissions criteria as the applications are received. There is no hard deadline - but the earlier, the better.

 

Early Action: 

 

Some colleges allow students to apply early, usually in October or November, wherein they are notified about admission in mid-December or January. Unlike Early Decision, this admission option is not binding. This is a good option for students who are highly interested in a particular school, as the applicant pool is smaller for Early Action applicants; however, you do not have to attend if you are accepted. 

 

Early Decision: 

 

Students who are very sure of the school they want to attend may complete an early decision application. Students are usually notified of early decision acceptance by December. Early decision plans are binding, requiring a student to attend if they are accepted.

 
Most colleges will want to see your scores on either the SAT or the ACT when you apply. Most students take these exams during the spring of their junior year or the fall of their senior year. We offer the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) to sophomores (for practice) and to juniors each fall, which helps prepare students for the SAT. The PSAT is also linked to several scholarship opportunities, so sign up in the Counseling Office as soon as you hear about it each year!
 
  • For more information about PSAT, click here.
  • For more information about SAT, and to register for an exam, click here.
  • For more information about the ACT, and to register for an exam, click here.

 

For college applications and exam applications, you may need to use our School CEEB code. It is 391260.

 
There are many important components to college admissions that are specific to students interested in participating in college sports.
 
To learn more about the advantages of college athletics, and to understand more information about applying as a student-athlete, click here.
 
Step 1) Match your Common Application and Naviance accounts (Skip if not using Common App)
 
Step 2) Add your schools to Naviance for Non-Common App Schools
 
Step 3) Request Recommendations Letters through Naviance

➔ How to Request Recommendation Letters through Naviance Video
➔ Before requesting any counselor recommendation letters via email, please complete
your “Recommendation Letter Brag Sheet” on Naviance FIRST. This will help us to better
write your recommendation letter.
 

◆ Log into Naviance
◆ Go to “About Me”
◆ Click on “Surveys from Your School”
◆ Click on “Recommendation Letter Brag Sheet”

 
Step 4) Request Your Official Transcript through Naviance
➔Only request “INITIAL TRANSCRIPT” when you apply. Mid-Year Transcripts are requested in January (if needed) and Final Transcripts are requested AFTER you’ve accepted an offer from a school
➔ VERY IMPORTANT - Do not request an “unofficial” transcript through Naviance for
self-reporting!!!
➔ Please come to the counseling office and ask Mrs. Lohnes to print an unofficial transcript
out for you.
➔ If you are unsure whether you need an “official” transcript vs. “unofficial” transcript, you
can find that information on your college’s admissions page.
 
Step 5) Send your SAT/ACT Scores to Your Colleges, if needed

➔ Find out if your college requires test scores by looking on their admissions page
➔ Comprehensive List of Test-Optional Schools
➔ For SATs - login to your College Board account
➔ For ACTs - login to ACT.org
 
Intro to Financial Aid
 
There are several different kinds of financial aid available to students. There are four major sources of financial aid listed below.

Federal Student Aid

Federal Student Aid is the largest provider of student aid in the nation. Every year, they award over $150 million in federal grants, loans, and work-study programs to more than 15 million students. Students must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to qualify.
 
Go to www.fafsa.ed.gov for more information about federal aid and to access the FAFSA.
 
NOTE: Make sure to use the website listed here – there are FAKE FAFSA WEBSITES that charge money. These sites are not legit! The FAFSA is free!

Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA)
 
PHEAA is a national provider of student financial aid services, serving millions of students and thousands of schools through its loan guaranty, loan servicing, financial aid processing, outreach, and other student aid programs. PHEAA is also how students get aid from the PA state government.

Go to www.pheaa.org for more information about Pennsylvania state aid.
 
Aid from Colleges/Career Schools

Many colleges offer financial aid from their own funds. Find out what might be available to you:
1.    Visit your school’s financial aid page on its website, or ask someone in the financial aid office.
2.    Ask the department that offers your course of study; they might have a scholarship for students in your major.
3.    Fill out any applications the school requires for its own aid, and meet the deadlines.
Some colleges may require that you complete the CSS/Financial Aid Profile, which is an application for nonfederal financial aid that is distributed from the colleges’ own scholarship/aid programs. This information helps a college determine which of their students are in the most need of the financial aid they have to distribute.
 
Click here for more information about the CSS/Financial Aid Profile.
 
Aid from Nonprofit or Private Organizations

Many organizations offer scholarships or grants to help students pay for college. This free money can make a real difference in how affordable your education is. There are several online scholarship search tools listed on our website! Please take advantage of these to help find scholarship opportunities. Also, there are local scholarships that are awarded every year, so please check this website regularly to see any updates! All seniors will receive a scholarship bulletin several times a year in their homerooms, so keep an eye out for these too.
 
Intro to Scholarships

Scholarships are awards given to students in the form of financial aid to help further their education. They can be awarded based on various criteria, which are usually specific to the organization who awards them.
There are five basic types of scholarships:
 
Merit-Based Scholarships

These awards are based on a student’s achievements in an applicant’s academic history, extracurricular activities (like sports or music), and community service record. The most common merit-based scholarships, awarded by either private organizations or directly by a student’s intended college, recognize academic achievement or high scores on standardized tests.
 
Need-Based Scholarships

In the United States, these awards are based on the student and family’s financial record and require applicants to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to qualify if the scholarship is a federal award. Private need-based scholarships also often require the results of a FAFSA, which calculates a student’s financial need through a formula that looks at the expected family contribution and cost of attendance at the intended college.
 
Student-Specific Scholarships
 
These are scholarships for which applicants must initially qualify based upon gender, race, religion, family and medical history, or many other student-specific factors.
 
Career-Specific Scholarships
 
These are scholarships a college or university awards to students who plan to pursue a specific field of study. Often, the most generous awards to students who pursue careers in high-need areas.
 
College-Specific Scholarships
 
College-specific scholarships are offered by individual colleges and universities to highly qualified applicants. These scholarships, given on the basis of academic and personal achievement, usually result in either a full-ride to the college, or for a reduced rate of tuition.
 
Online Scholarship Search Engines
 
 
Sign into your Naviance account using Clever. Under the "Colleges" Tab in Naviance, select "Scholarship Search". There, you will find scholarships that the school counseling office posts. We highly recommend checking these scholarships in the Fall, Winter and Spring of your senior year as we continue to post information throughout the school year. Many of the scholarships we share are local scholarships, meaning you have a higher chance of being awarded them since you are typically only competing against other students in the local area.

This website is one of the leading online resources for finding scholarships. Students can sign up and have scholarship opportunities that match their future plans sent to them via email on a regular basis.

This website, from The College Board, has a great Scholarship Search tool, as well as up-to-date information about grants, scholarships, and financial aid in general.

This is a great website that has information about financial aid, scholarships, and the opportunity to ask questions with experts about your specific circumstances.

This website is a database of thousands of scholarships that can be sorted in many different ways, which helps students identify awards that match them best.