College and Career Newsletter

Welcome students and parents to our first VUSD College and Career Readiness Newsletter! This year we are excited to bring our community many events and resources to help guide students in their college and career decisions. These monthly letters will help provide a map for your exploration.

It is never too early to start conversations with students regarding plans are for the future. It has been shown over and over again that students benefit from envisioning their career plans at a young age. It gives them the drive and meaning to embrace what they are currently learning in the classroom. Now is the time to show them the possibilities of what can be, in partnership with the right attitude and growth mindset, to making a bright future. Visalia Unified's College and Career Readiness department will continue to serve our students from elementary school to our seniors receiving their college acceptance letters. Although this academic year has been a challenge for everyone, it is our privilege to continue to serve your students.

It is the hope that you find these letters a starting point for conversations and exploration in your homes! We look forward to sharing many live webinars with you this year, along with an ongoing list of resources.

Best wishes,

Paige Loverin

College and Career Readiness

Visalia Unified School District

A webinar designed to cover everything from graduation requirements, university A-G requirements, CTE, NCAA, campus resources, and much more!

Wednesday, September 30 at 6:00PM

Register now for the event by clicking here!

The week before the event you will receive an email containing the webinar link.

Ignite Your Curiosity will be a monthly series of webinars for students and parents to hear from a variety of industry leaders. Each month a new industry themed panel will help your child explore career possibilities.

This month's theme is STEM. We welcome PhD candidates from Harvard and MIT to share their experiences and insights with our students and parents. The presenters are doing research in the areas of cancer biology, microbiology/infectious diseases, and protein biochemistry!

To join us for the event, please register by clicking here The week before the event you will receive an email containing the webinar link. We will also be recording the event and posting to our website: https://sites.google.com/vusd.us/vusd-ccr/

Seniors, it is officially college application season! To help keep you sane, we have designed a website just for you: videos on how to fill out your applications, timelines, scholarships, and much more! Click Here to zoom to the senior page!

October 1, is the day that the 2021-22 Financial Aid Application cycle opens. Here are some things that your students and their parents can do now to be ready to apply:

1. Create a FSA ID – Both the student and their parent need to complete this process to electronically sign the FAFSA. The California Dream Act application includes the prompts for setting up a State Student Aid PIN for electronic signatures.
2. Social Security Cards (If Applicable) – It’s important that the FAFSA information matches perfectly the students and parents data at the Social Security Administration. A slight change in a name or birthdate can cause delays in processing.
3. Determine Household Size – This number should include the parents and any other household members that receive more than half of their financial support from the parents.
4. Determine Number of College Students in the Household – Of the members identified in #3, excluding the parents, how many family members will be attending college at least half time in 2021-22
5. Gather Federal Tax Documents for 2019 – Families will need this information for the parents and the student applying for aid. IRS transcripts and other documents can be downloaded immediately at www.irs.gov.
6. Calculate the Net Cost of College – Colleges and Universities have financial aid calculators that allow students to get an estimate of what their cost might be. Find the calculators for UC campuses here.

copied from UC Counselors and Advisers Bulletin - September 2020

Are you considering attending Fresno Pacific? Join this live webinar and ask their representative Joy Rubio what it is like to be a student at this great campus! The webinar will take place Wednesday, September 16 at 9:30 AM. Put it on your calendar and register below!

Click here to register for the event. Once you have registered, you will receive an email, on the day of the event, with the link to the webinar.

Come listen and ask questions about this college life! This is a live webinar with admissions representative Kayla Waters. The webinar will take place Wednesday, September 23, at 12:00 PM. Put it on your calendar and register below!

Click here to register for the event. Once you have registered, you will receive an email, on the day of the event, with the link to the webinar.

Biola University is so excited to give you insights into their bustling campus. Admissions representative Emily Sagherian will host this live webinar. Pull out your calendar and mark down Wednesday, September 30 at 10:00 AM

Click here to register for the event!

Student Events:
We're also hosting a series of student events with themes on academics and research, affordability, campus life, preparing your application, outcomes, and more (counselors can register, too).

· Financial Aid and Affording College - Monday, Sept 21 at 7 p.m. EDT

· Campus Life and Building a Community - Thursday, Oct 1 at 7 p.m. EDT

· Applying in the Time of COVID - Tuesday, Oct 13 at 7 p.m. EDT

· Outcomes and Opportunity - Tuesday, Oct 27 at 7 p.m. EDT

We know that everyone is spending a lot of time on Zoom these days, but we hope you'll join us and look forward to helping your students navigate the college search process. (If you register for an event and can't make it, we can send you a link to the recording, so you don't miss out.)