College Counseling Newsletter

This newsletter highlights:

• College Visits and Preview Day Opportunities
• Summer Programs
• TOPS Info
• SELU Preview Day
• How DE credits transfer
• How to request your DE transcripts
• Junior Checklist
• How to Pay for College Video

• High School Timeline by Grade

• Ministry Preview Day Mississippi College - Feb. 19th
• Mississippi College Baton Rouge Reception - March 19th
• Mississippi College Preview Day - March 28 and April 17th
• Lion Pride Preview Day (SELU) - Feb. 28, 2026

• Air Force Academy Summer Seminar Applications NOW OPEN! - For JUNIORS
• Navy Summer Seminar Application NOW OPEN! - JUNIORS
• Coast Guard Academy AIM Opens Feb. 8, 2026 - JUNIORS
• West Point Army Summer Seminar Application Opens Feb. 15, 2026 - JUNIORS

• Pre-ACT March 26 (9th and 10th) @ STA
• ACT February 14 and April 11 @ STA
• ACT Testing Resources

• Southeastern Louisiana University

It's already time to start making plans for the summer! This newsletter contains opportunities for students, especially juniors, to take advantage of over the summer. Many summer programs have deadlines that begin as early as this month, so please be sure to check out the application deadlines and eligibility criteria. Participating in a summer program helps with career exploration, but it can also play a huge factor in the college admissions process. Many in this newsletter are selective or cost-conscious.

• Coast Guard Academy AIM (rising seniors/class of 2027)- Applications open 2/1, due April 1
• LSU High School Summer Research Program - Application due February 6, 2026 (Grades 9-11)
• Ochsner STAR Program (Medical)
• LSU Summer Research Program
• Louisiana Youth Seminar- Opens February 14
• QuestBridge College Prep Program (low-income/high achieving)- Due late March
• Southeastern Scholars Program
• US Military Academy West Point Summer Leaders Experience- Opens February 15-complete asap if interested
• Tulane Pre-College Programs- deadline April 3

LSU offers a ton of summer programs for students to determine whether or not a career field is a good fit for them or not. Some include: mass communication, anatomy, javascript, engineering, architecture, the word of esports, programming, and more!

The Ochsner STAR Program provides qualified high school students a cost-free opportunity to explore the world of healthcare. Through a rigorous, hands-on summer course focusing on science, technology, academics, and research. STAR aims to engage and inspire students to pursue further education and careers in science and healthcare.

Click on the photo above for more information!

Louisiana Youth Seminar is a summer program for emerging leaders hoping to buiild on their leadership skills. This program fills up fast so prepare early! Applications are due February 14.

QuestBridge's Summer Scholars program is a program for high-achieving high school juniors from low-income background. If you'd like to explore this option or would like help on your application for this program, please let Mrs. Carmen or Mrs. Mary know!

The Southeastern Louisiana University Scholars program is a great opportunity for our students who meet criteria and are interested in taking college credits during the summer. To best maximize this opportunity, you will want to take as many dual enrollment credits as possible at STA during the school year and then take a class or two at SELU during the summer. We would also recommend each student only enroll in dual enrollment classes where they are certain that they can preserve or improve the GPA. Beginning your college career with a C or below average GPA can be very difficult to bring up so please pace yourself appropriately.

Please visit the SELU Scholars program link for additional information on how to apply.

The University of Alabama's E-Day is an excellent opportunity for students in grades 6-12 to explore the major and career opportunities available in engineering and computer science. Here's the registration link!

The next Lion Pride Preview Day will be Feb. 28th. Be sure to register ahead of time as they did reach their capacity at the last Lion Pride Preview Day.

We can't tell you enough how important it is to STUDY for the ACT. This is very much like building any muscle in the body. If you've never run before and you'd like to run a 5K, how will this look differently if you practice 5 times/week for two months compared to no practice at all? This is how the ACT works. It's a test that you need to practice for!

Click HERE for free ACT practice resources. You can also find practice questions and free full practice tests here!

It’s never too early to start thinking about your activity list for college applications! Even if you're only in 8th grade and just beginning to explore new clubs, sports, or hobbies, or in grades 9-12 and ready to add your experiences to Scoir (STA will be getting this soon!) or the Common App, now is the perfect time to get organized. Building a strong activity list helps you reflect on your interests and growth over time. To help you craft compelling descriptions, check out the College Essay Guy’s article on the activity list—including his epic list of action verbs! Reviewing excellent examples can inspire you to up-level your own activities and make your application shine. Start today and set yourself up for success!

Check out this list of 80+ examples of activities for your extracurricular list!

Figuring out exactly how your credits will transfer depend on what college you plan to attend and your major. It's always a good idea to email college admissions to make sure anything that's not on the list will still transfer as an elective. Here are a few links to help you get started with your search:

AP Credit Policy Search

Mississippi College Dual Enrollment Search

LSU Dual Enrollment Search

Southeastern Louisiana University Dual Enrollment Search

Your counselors will publish the scheduling requests in the next coming months and we will prepare to build the schedule before and over this summer. There are many factors that should be considered when requesting your high school classes we truly value an individual's goals. Whether it's rigor, career exploration, GPA preservation or boosting, or specific college course preparation, there are many factors that we discuss in our individual meetings for schedule requests. Please keep these in mind, talk to your family, your teachers, and your college counselors to help find the academic path that will best meet your needs!

Check out Scoir's article 'Course Selection: Why Your High School Class Decisions are Important' for additional reading on course selection and scheduling!

It's a good idea to be aware of the teacher evaluation typically used when writing and submitting the letter of recommendation. The items above reflect some of the components that that teachers will be completing with filling out the teacher letter of recommendation. Over the next few months we will be preparing our juniors for the letter of recommendation process. Even if you're not a junior, it's a good idea to understand what the letter of recommendation truly entails!

Here's a quick check-in to make sure you're moving in the right direction:

For All Students:

• Review your academic goals and adjust your study habits if needed
• Participate in extracurricular activities that align with your interests
• Start or continue volunteering in your community
• Read books, conduct online research, or chat with people to explore related potential career fields

For 8th Graders:

• Explore different career paths through online research
• Talk to family members and friends about their professions
• Begin thinking about high school course selection

For 9th and 10th Graders:

• Take challenging courses to build a strong academic foundation
• Start a college savings plan with your family if you haven't already
• Attend college fairs to gather information about various institutions

For 11th Graders:

• Plan out your ACT/SAT testing schedule
• Start researching colleges and creating a preliminary list on Scoir
• Plan campus visits for the upcoming fall, spring, and summer

For 12th Graders:

• Finalize your college list, including reach, target, and safety schools
• Work on college application essays
• Request letters of recommendation from teachers and counselors
• Begin gathering documents needed for the FAFSA (December 1st)

This is the time to prepare for your scholarship applications!

The best place to start is with your college list! Look at college websites to see what scholarships are offered at each school. Some schools will have a general application that you need to complete (Auburn University's AUSOM - after being admitted), some will combine their general scholarship application with their admissions application (LSU), and some will have additional scholarships listed on their website (University of Southern Mississippi Joe Paul Leadership Scholarship and NC State's Park Scholarship).

Check out this article from Prep Scholar that lists 15 Top Merit Scholarships including the Coca-Cola Scholarship.

You will also want to create an account with a credible scholarship search site:

scholarships.com

Fastweb

Going Merry

Scholarship Owl

Local scholarships typically do not open up until the spring semester of senior year. For these local scholarships, the student will want to make sure that they keep a close eye on their email for application information to include deadlines and eligibility criteria.

Attention ALL Students!!!! It is a GREAT idea to look at the scholarship criteria prior to your senior year. Are you a Freshman? Notice that there a TON of community SERVICE scholarships! Sophomore? Check out how many ask you to reflect on your LEADERSHIP experiences. Juniors? See how many scholarships want you to reflect on how you THINK through research, intellectual curiosity, excellent GPA, or school projects and clubs!

One thing we always encourage families when developing a college list is to ALWAYS use the Net Price Calculator for each school. Don't simply look up the Cost of Attendance as this is not the most accurate indicator of how much the school will actually cost. Simply search "_____ (college name) Net Price Calculator" and it should be the first link to pop up.

How and when should we schedule time with your Counselor?

The best way to schedule a time with your School Counselor is through the Scheduling link

Students should schedule during electives, breaks, or lunch. If they are scheduling during classtime, they should check with their teacher first.

Rescheduling is always an option if needed - simply let us know through the calendar invite or via email.

A general guideline is for the students to have at least one individual meeting with the College Counselor by the following dates:

12th graders by the end of September

11th graders by the end of December

10th graders by the end of March.

Students are more than welcome to schedule as many times as they would like!