FHSD College and Career Newsletter

FAFSA Guide for Families

FAFSA Workshop for Families

Bright Flight ACT Scores for 2027 High School Seniors

Full Ride Scholarship for Junior Students to Apply To: Coolidge Scholarship

McDermott Scholars Program Application : Full Ride to the University of Texas-Austin

Maryville University Fall Visit Day

My Missouri Scholarship Promise (MyMO) Program

Free Mock College/Scholarship Interview Practice

St. Charles Community College Dardenne Campus Open House

Seniors: Now Is The Time to Start Applying for Scholarships

Video: Financial Aid 101

Important College and Career Links

College and Career Counselors

The FAFSA opened on October 1st and it so important for all senior families to complete the FAFSA to determine what aid you are available for. Check out this FAFSA guide for step-by-step details:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kdd2U9GuPvNtxbiWR_VMnfeoCnxOhgXn/view?usp=sharing

Bright Flight ACT Scores
for 2027 High School Seniors

To qualify for the Bright Flight scholarship, students must score in the top 5 percent of all Missouri students taking either the ACT or SAT exam. Award amounts are tiered based on whether the student’s score is in the top 3 percent or the top fourth and fifth percentiles. The ACT composite scores required for Bright Flight eligibility for the 2026-2027 college academic year are the same as last year for the top 3 percent and the fourth and fifth percentiles. Bright Flight can only be used at universities in the state of Missouri.

The following table displays the qualifying ACT scores for the 2026 high school graduates.

Top 4th and 5th Percentiles 30 or 31

The Coolidge Scholarship is an annually awarded, full-ride, presidential scholarship that covers a student’s tuition, room, board, and expenses for four years of undergraduate study. The Coolidge Scholarship may be used by recipients at any accredited college or university in the United States. Anyone of any background, pursuing any academic discipline of study, may apply to this non-partisan, need-blind, program.

Students apply for the Coolidge Scholarship during their junior year of high school. Finalists are flown in for a finalist weekend at the Coolidge Historic Site in Plymouth Notch, Vermont where they interview with the Coolidge Scholars Finalist Jury. Recipients of the Coolidge Scholarship are notified of their award late in their junior year, before college application (note: current high school seniors are not eligible to apply). Finalists who are not named Coolidge Scholars are eligible to receive a smaller, one-time, college scholarship.

Applications are due by December 1, 2026 at 5pm.. For more details and to apply, go to: https://coolidgescholars.org/

The Eugene McDermott Scholars Program at The University of Texas at Dallas is recruiting a new class! Students with outstanding grades* and a proven passion for service and leadership might find their place in our comprehensive cohort experience.

This full-ride-plus scholarship includes tuition, housing, living and educational stipends as well as funding for study abroad. While a generous merit award, it is also a serious commitment requiring students to demonstrably contribute through leadership and service, on campus and beyond, while also excelling academically.

Within our top-ranked public university, McDermott Scholars find community, opportunity, and a landscape of personal and professional growth opportunities.

Deadlines

Well Before December 1: UT Dallas Application due (with supplementary documentation).

December 1: McDermott Scholars Program Application due (with two McDermott Scholars Program Recommendation forms).

February 2026: Finalists selected.

A UT Dallas NetID is required to start a McDermott Scholars Program Application, so prospective applicants must apply to UT Dallas as soon as possible to get one.

We are happy to answer your questions and would be pleased to see you or your interested students at one of our upcoming Zoom Q&A sessions.

*The Eugene McDermott Scholars Program application does not consider standardized test scores.

• Saints Experience – Saturday, November 14- Register Here!
  All of our academic programs represented — perfect for students pursuing any major!

Boeing offers a paid apprenticeship for high school graduates to become mechanical apprenticeships. They offer paid training, full benefits and pay for 100% of college classes should an employee decide to further their education. No experience needed. For more information and to apply go to: https://jobs.boeing.com/btap

My Missouri Scholarship Promise (MyMO 2030)

My Missouri Scholarship Promise (MyMO) from Missouri Scholarship & Loan Foundation (MSLF) assists Missouri students from low-income backgrounds on their pathway to college starting in 9th grade. The annual benchmarks benefit students by better preparing them to go to college.

Students earn $2,500 each year by meeting college-going benchmarks, totaling $10,000 by senior year. These funds will be disbursed evenly, over four years, directly to the school as an outside scholarship to any eligible college in Missouri on behalf of the student.

Application opens January 1 of freshman year of high school. Application will close March 1, 2027 and review process will begin. Students will be notified if selected after May 1, 2027. Only high school freshmen can apply.

Eligibility:

• Student must be Pell Eligible. To determine if student is Pell Eligible, student and family must fill out the Federal Student Aid Estimator. You will need information regarding your family’s 2025 income and assets to complete the calculator. For the 2027-28 application, if your Student Aid Index (SAI) on the estimator is 7,395 or less (this is the SAI which qualifies students for Federal Pell Grants), you are eligible to apply for MyMO.
• Must have a verified permanent Missouri address and valid Social Security Number or other taxpayer identification.
• Must be a Missouri high school freshman at a public, charter, or private high school or be homeschooled (with residence in Missouri).
• Must open a MOST 529 account (Use PROMO CODE: MO-SLF30) and contribute at least $1 or already have a 529 college savings account established.
• Must enroll full-time at a nonprofit Missouri public or private, 2-year or 4-year college or university or a nonprofit technical college to use the scholarship funding.

Steps to Apply:

1. Complete Federal Student Aid Estimator to determine Pell Grant Eligibility.
2. Open and contribute at least $1 to MOST 529 account using Promo Code: MO-SLF30
3. Locate your high school cumulative GPA and attendance percentage documentation.
4. Apply at https://myscholarshipcentral.smapply.us/prog/MyMO/ or scan the QR Code. The student should register/create an account and complete the eligibility profile. Both the student and parent/guardian will have required sections/steps to complete as part of the application.
5. Questions? Contact info@moslf.org or call 636.787.2677.

Many of you are in the process of submitting college admissions and scholarship applications--congratulations on completing an important step in the process! Another step may be participating in an interview as part of the process for admissions or awarding scholarships. Mentors 4 College has volunteers who will help you prepare for these interviews. Go to mentors4college to sign up to be paired with a volunteer to do mock interviews so you are ready for your official interviews with college personnel. Click on the ‘Got A Quick Question’ button. When you fill out the contact form, be sure to indicate that you want to practice interviewing skills.

If you want help with other aspects of the college search and application process, check out the free resources on our website: mentors4college.org

We are happy to help--and it's all free!

1. Seniors should look at the scholarships offered at the schools they are applying to. Many schools have automatic merit scholarships that students earn based on GPA/test scores and are automatically given based on the student’s admission application. However, some larger scholarships have a separate application that students must fill out and often these scholarships have early deadlines during first semester.

2. Students ( juniors and seniors) should go to the district college and career website at bit.ly/fhsdCCR and click on Scholarship Hub.

a. Check out General Scholarship Page. Direct Link to this: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bjTFKcLW0i-sekmKLr0SovRgigM2JU6wAkvKx2mvwks/edit

The general scholarship page is updated weekly and lists general scholarships students can apply for. Many local scholarships are included that students have a better chance of getting.

b. Check out the Scholarship Search Engine Page. Students should consider checking out this page and signing up for at least one scholarship search engine. I recommend myscholarshipcentral.com

As this includes local scholarships. You will put in your information and it will email you scholarships weekly that you qualify for.

c. The last thing to check out on this page is High School Specific Scholarships. These are only for seniors and come out during second semester. These are scholarships that are just for students at a specific high school (FHHS, FHN, or FHC). Students have a much better chance of getting these scholarships and winners are announced at senior awards night. Scholarships from the previous year will remain on the website until the current ones come out in January so students can get an idea of which ones they may want to apply for, as they are similar from year to year.

IMPORTANT COLLEGE AND CAREER LINKS

District College and Career Website: bit.ly/fhsdCCR

Direct General Scholarship Link

Direct Summer Opportunities Link

High School Campus Specific Scholarships

College and Career Counselors

Francis Howell Central Dustin Bailey dustin.bailey@fhsdschools.org

Francis Howell High Jennifer Lowrey jennifer.lowrey@fhsdschools.org

Francis Howell North Brooke Prestidge brooke.prestidge@fhsdschools.org

FHSD College and Career Specialist Katie Vargas katherine.vargas@fhsdschools.org