Seniors-What You Need to Know

Welcome back, Seniors! As you begin your final high school year, we know there is a lot on your plate: college applications, scholarships, financial aid forms, and so much more. As your school counselors, we are here to guide you through this exciting, and at times perplexing, time of your lives. Consider this newsletter a navigation guide for this coming season and be sure to share this with your parents/guardians and fellow seniors. Future editions of the Senior Newsletter will include Career Planning and FAFSA/Financial Aid.

Seniors, your counselor will soon send an email with a link to schedule a meeting to discuss your college and career plans. Parents are welcome to attend. Senior Planning Meetings will be held September 8–18.

• TLH College Fair - September 11th from 10-11 a.m. in the Mall Area. More details to come in the Senior Google Classroom including a list of colleges that will be attending.
• College Application Day - Get help filling out your college applications! October 16th from 9-1 in the TLH Library. You must sign up in advance. More details and link to register coming soon in the Senior Google Classroom
• FAFSA/Scholarship INFORMATION Night-October 1st-Learn about the financial aid process including FAFSA, federal grants, loans, etc. as well as the scholarship search/application process. 5:30-6:30 in TLH Lecture Hall.
• FAFSA Help Night-Get help completing your FAFSA on October 27th from 5:30-7 pm

We have a Scholarship page on the TLH School Counseling website. Please keep in mind that the scholarships listed there are not yet updated from last year. The deadlines for these scholarships are set annually and may vary from year to year. We will update the the scholarships on this page as we receive the updated information from the various scholarship sponsors. We keep the information on this page so students can see the criteria and plan to apply later in the year.

The Meeting Street Scholarship is available to South Carolina high school graduates who have earned the merit-based LIFE or Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, qualified for a Federal Pell Grant, and still have a financial gap for basic college expenses. The scholarship provides up to $10,000 per year toward tuition, housing, meals, and fees. Learn more here: https://meetingstreetscholarshipfund.org/ https://meetingstreetscholarshipfund.org/

SAT Registration: https://tinyurl.com/5z626kmv

ACT Registration: https://tinyurl.com/bdcv6c8c

SAT fee waivers are available to select 11th and 12th grade students in the U.S. based on income level. SAT Subject Test fee waivers are available for students in grades 9–12.

You're eligible for fee waivers if you say "yes" to any of the following:

• You're enrolled in or eligible to participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
• Your annual family income falls within the Income Eligibility Guidelines set by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
• You're enrolled in a federal, state, or local program that aids students from low-income families (e.g., Federal TRIO programs such as Upward Bound).
• Your family receives public assistance.
• You live in federally subsidized public housing or a foster home, or are homeless.

The Common Application is a single online college application form used by over 900 colleges and universities. Instead of filling out the same general information—like your address, GPA, and extracurriculars— a dozen times, you only have to do it once. The Common App website has lots of videos that explain step by step how to submit your application using their platform. Check out their website below.

https://www.commonapp.org/apply

Below are step-by-step instructions on how to use parchment.com

Here's a short video on how to create a parchment account: https://vimeo.com/729325658

Here's a short video on how to order transcript: https://vimeo.com/772549988

College application fees can really add up, but there’s good news for students. Every income-eligible student who takes the SAT with a fee waiver or as part of a district or state program while in high school, can choose from over 2,000 participating colleges and apply for free. These waivers will be delivered online to eligible students.

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-in/applying-101/college-application-fee-waivers

You can also request an ACT college application fee waiver if you were approved for an ACT Test Fee Waiver. See your counselor if that is the case for you.

Below is a link to a great article on writing a high school resume for college.

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/high-school-resume

University of South Carolina - Lots of FAQs here about USC admissions. https://uofscadmissions.tumblr.com/

Furman University - lots of helpful information for both potential Furman applicants and really the entire college search and admissions process.

https://www.furman.edu/admissions-aid/admission-blog/

Georgia Tech -They have a GREAT blog that has some humor in it as well which always makes it more appealing to read. GT also recently started a series of short podcasts that break down some of the more complex college application topics into easily understandable pieces.

https://sites.gatech.edu/admission-blog/

University of Georgia - Also another awesome blog with very insightful information about the college admissions process that will be helpful for any student applying to a selective state university.

https://www.admissions.uga.edu/blog/

Google Classroom Code: https://classroom.google.com/c/NzMxMTg0NDIzMzMw?cjc=jeywuvu

Seniors can order their Cap and Gown online by visiting the link below. Please place your order as soon as possible, as the price will increase throughout the semester!

Here is the link for just the required items needed (cap and gown only): https://tinyurl.com/37fundw4

Here is the link for all the graduation packages: https://tinyurl.com/4xn2twxn

Website: https://sites.google.com/anderson5.net/tlh-counseling/
Location: 2600 SC-81, Anderson, SC 29621, USA
Phone: (864) 260-5110
Twitter: @TLH_SchoolCounselors