JUNIORS: Scholarship & Testing Info

My name is Heidi Clairmont and I'm the GRHS Scholarship Coordinator.

My job is to notify you of scholarship opportunities and deadlines, announce when military and college reps will be visiting the high school and I help with testing and communications from the counseling department.

My office is in the counseling office or you can contact me by email: hclairmont@isd318.org or phone 218-327-5760 x41544

Many important announcements will come via email to your school email account. Make a habit of checking it daily or at least weekly! Scholarships will come out from announcements like this weekly or bi-weekly and will include time sensitive information and deadlines! You don't want to miss out on something because you didn't check it!

***PSEO STUDENTS!!! Your school gmail account is still active and is the way that the school will communicate all kinds of information to you! If you don't remember your email and password, please reach out to me or Amy in the counseling office to get the information!

Notices of Local, National, Regional and State Scholarship Opportunities are available on the "9th-11th Scholarship Opportunities" Page. These are updated as I receive new ones.

**However, this is not an exhaustive list... there are endless amounts of opportunities - be sure to research additional scholarships on your own**

Juniors & Seniors will receive email updates through their school email. To receive them to a personal or parent email address, sign up here: Scholarship Notification List.

**This initial message is going out to all parents/guardians of Juniors as a courtesy. However, if you want to continue receiving these emails about scholarships, you MUST sign up to be on the notification list! Students may also sign up to receive the email to a personal email address.

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) will be administered at Grand Rapids High School on Friday, October 24th. The deadline to sign up is Monday, October 20th. There is no cost to take the ASVAB. You will take the test then after the break will complete the interpretation on the same day. Plan on being out of class most of the day.

Although the ASVAB is a military entrance assessment, there are many benefits to taking the ASVAB outside of entering a branch of the military. Taking the ASVAB does not commit you to anything, but a military recruiter may contact you. The ASVAB can help you determine your own interests and aptitude, even if you are not planning to enter the military or are undecided. It can help you choose courses for college and make your personal career decisions (https://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/asvab/asvab-questions.html).

FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO SIGN UP, CLICK HERE

Grand Rapids High School will be administering the PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) test for juniors on Tues Oct 28th starting at 8:25 in the Loft. Student cost is $20. Sign up and pay by Oct 7th to ensure your spot. Late registrations may not be able to be accommodated.

The PSAT is a two-hour test given once a year. Many students take the PSAT to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Competition. The students who should be encouraged to take this test are those that are planning to go to a four year college.

The most common reasons for taking the PSAT/NMSQT are:
*To receive feedback on your strengths and weaknesses on skills necessary for college study. You can then focus your preparation on those areas that could most benefit from additional study or practice.
*To see how your performance on an admissions test might compare with that of others applying to a four year college.
*To enter the competition for scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (grade 11).
*To help prepare for the SAT. You can become familiar with the kinds of questions and the exact directions you will see on the SAT.
*To receive information from colleges when you check "yes" to Student Search Service.

The website for the PSAT is located here: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10

Make sure you get signed up as soon as possible. Sign up is not complete until your payment has been received. LINK TO PRACTICE TEST INFO

PSAT SIGN UP

Planning on taking the ACT this year? There are many opportunities & options for taking the test and for Test Prep.

• The ACT will be offered at GRHS on Weds March 11, 2026. We will not be offering the writing portion; many colleges/universities do not require it but check with any you are considering attending or need it for scholarships. Do I need to take the Writing portion? Cost is $58 and will be able to be paid through check or cash or online prior to taking the test; it is waived for students who have completed the Free/reduced lunch application and were approved for the current school year. More information will be available in January. (Please note: the district offering of ACT does NOT give your answers back. You MUST test on the national test day for this service**)

• ACT National Test Dates are available at act.org. The 25/26 test dates are on Saturdays: Oct 18, Dec 13, Feb 14, April 11, June 13, July 11. You will need GRHS ACT code: 240990 to sign up. Fee Waivers will be available in counseling in October for free/reduced lunch students.
• Test Information Release (TIR) Oct, April or June is that you can purchase Test Information Release (TIR) which allows you to receive a digital copy of the multiple-choice test questions, your answers, a copy of your answer document, the answer key, and the conversion table used in determining your ACT scores. If you took the optional writing test, you will receive a copy of the writing prompt, the writing test scoring rubric, and your essay scores. However, the cost to take the test on national test day is more, and the TIR service costs $32 if you sign up before you test.
• The fees for national test dates can be found on this link

Heidi Clairmont, Scholarship Coordinator, is offering an in person ACT information Prep sessions at GRHS to give Juniors and parents of Juniors insight on the ACT process, answer questions AND give students a free prep resources to help you prepare take the ACT this spring on Thursday Oct 16th and Friday Oct 17th. Additional opportunities for practice test will be available later in the school year.

• INFORMATION PREP SESSIONS:
• Thursday, Oct 16th from 9:30am - 11am
• Thursday, Oct 16th from 11:30am-1pm
• Thursday, Oct 16th from 1:30pm -3pm
• PRACTICE TEST: Friday, Oct 17th from 9am - 12pm

Sign up below:

During junior year, I encourage you to do four main things:

1. College research: Learn about different colleges and which ones might be a good fit. Potentially begin going on campus visits. Many colleges now offer virtual campus tours.

2. Study for standardized tests: If you’re considering a college that requires the SAT or ACT, it’s normally wise to take the test in the Spring. This way, if you’re unhappy with your score, you have time to retake it at the beginning of senior year.

3. Learn about financial aid: Once senior year rolls around, you’ll be too busy doing college applications to research the financial aid process. So focus on understanding that (and taking note of deadlines!) now. To start, here’s a good primer on how college financial aid works.

4. Apply for scholarships. High school juniors are eligible for plenty of scholarships, and it’s never too early to begin earning money towards your college tuition! Plus, it’s pretty easy to turn common scholarship essays into college essays, when the time comes. To find and apply for scholarships, I recommend you sign up for Going Merry.

I know that may seem like a lot to keep track of though, so you might also find this Junior Year Calendar/Checklist to be quite helpful. Print it out, and check things off as you complete them!

College & Military Reps come to Grand Rapids High school to talk with students about what their organization has to offer. Juniors & Seniors can attend. Sign up to get a pass to come down to the counseling conference room during the scheduled times: SIGN UP FOR A PASS

Scheduled Reps will be at GRHS from the following schools:

• U of MN Crookston Tues Sept 30 @ 1pm
• St Olaf College: Tues Sept 30 @ 2pm

Reach out to me or to your counselor for help as questions come up. We are here to help you!

GRHS Counselors (Remember that students are assigned to counselor by last name not by grade)

A-D: Tanis Henderson

E-KL: Nate Elsen

KN - RH: Teresa Stephens

RI - Z: Sheila Anderson

Scholarship Coordinator

Counseling Office at GRHS

Email: hclairmont@isd318.org
Website: https://grhs.isd318.org/counseling/scholarships
Location: 800 NW Conifer Dr, Grand Rapids, MN 55744
Phone: 218-327-5760 .41544
X: @GRCounseling