Counseling Corner

WINTER

Complete FAFSA - Opens Oct. 1

Research/Apply for scholarships (ongoing)

Complete BCCF Application - Opens Dec. 1

Complete Legacy Application (required for Legacy Scholarship recipients)

SPRING

Apply for scholarships (ongoing)

Receive and review Award Letter or No Need Letter

Make a decision regarding school of choice

Request Final Transcript (Parchment)

Schedule/complete orientation

Legacy Enrollment Event (school day)

Our goal was to have all seniors submit college applications, if applicable by the Nov. 1 (aligns with most schools priority deadlines). If you have not yet completed your college applications, you can still do so. When completing your applications, be sure to adhere to your schools application deadlines, as they are often tied to scholarships! If you need assistance, please stop by the Student Services Center to set up a meeting with your counselor for any support that you may need during this process.

~Senior financial aid presentation Monday, November 17

~Senior scholarship presentation Monday, December 8

Both presentations will be occurring during seminar classes. Makeup sessions for students without seminar will be held at a later date (TBD). The goal of the presentations are for all students to create a Federal Student Aid ID (November 17th) In preparation for the completion of the FAFSA and to complete the Battle Creek Community Foundation's Universal Scholarship Application and Legacy Enrollment Form (December 8th).

It would be incredibly helpful for students to memorize their social security number prior to the meeting or have it on them in some capacity (not stored in phone). Lastly and to ensure that parents are in the loop, we will also be facilitating a Senior Parent Financial Aid/Scholarship Presentation at LHS on Tuesday, Dec 9 at 6:30 in the Forum Rm A202.

Students who are planning to attend college, including vocational/trade schools, are encouraged to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Filing a FAFSA® is the single most important thing you can do to get money for college. It's the gateway to more than $150 billion in college grants, work-study funds, and federal student loans, as well as state-based aid.

Once you are accepted to your college/university, the institution will pull results from your FAFSA and offer you a Financial Aid Award Letter highlighting your financial aid and is specific to each college/university that you have applied to (as long as you have listed your college on the FAFSA).

To complete the FAFSA, students must first create their FSA ID. The FSA ID serves as your login to access the FAFSA. Counseling staff will be presenting a FAFSA lesson on Monday, November 17th and during that time, we will be assisting create their FSA ID. In order to successfully create a FSA ID, students must have their social security number, a personal email address, a contributors email address (parent or guardian) and their cell phone.

Once students have created their FSA ID, their portion of the FAFSA and input the contributors email address, the contributor will be notified via email, prompted to create an FSA ID and their portion of the FAFSA.

What will contributors need to fill out the FAFSA?

To complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®), you will need:

• Your Social Security Number

• Your Alien Registration Number (if you are not a U.S. citizen)

• Your federal income tax returns, W-2s, and other records of money earned in 2024. (Note: You may be able to transfer your federal tax return information into your FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.)

• Bank statements and records of investments (if applicable)
• Records of untaxed income (if applicable

Counselors will be available to assist students and parents with FAFSA completion by appointment ONLY. If you need assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out:)

As we head into winter, now is the time for seniors to begin focusing on scholarships.

The counselors will be meeting with seniors on Monday, December 8th, to demonstrate the process of searching for, and applying for, scholarships as well as completing the Legacy Scholarship Enrollment Form.

The main focus will be local scholarships, including the Legacy Scholarship. Majority of the local scholarships can be found at the Battle Creek Community Foundation (BCCF) website here. The 2025 scholarship portal will open December 1.

The BCCF also houses our very own Lakeview Schools Educational Foundation (LSEF) scholarships. The LSEF scholarships should be of the HIGHEST priority for our seniors. The primary reason for this is that our students have the best opportunity to be awarded these scholarships. To learn more about the LSEF scholarships, please look here.

To review a list of local scholarships that will include scholarships housed outside the BCCF, please check out the LHS website HERE.

If you're considering using your Legacy Scholarship to attend KCC free of cost next year, there are three main required steps you need to complete this year in order to stay eligible:

1. Complete a KCC application

2. Complete the Legacy Scholarship Enrollment Form

3. Attend the Legacy Enrollment Event

3. Complete your FAFSA (Optional but HIGHLY recommended)

The College Guarantee, which includes:

• In-district tuition, contact hours, and mandatory fees.
• An additional $1,000 Michigan Achievement Bonus award for Pell-eligible students, which can be used toward additional college costs.

Eligibility Criteria

All recent Michigan high school graduates are eligible! Here’s how to claim your award and enroll at a Community College or Tribal College:

• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
• Be a Michigan resident since July 1 of the previous calendar year.
• Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or approved refugee.
• Graduate from a Michigan high school.
• Enroll in college full time as an undergraduate student
• Enroll in college within 15 months of graduating high school

Additional State of Michigan Programs can be found here.

Statistically, most scholarship money comes from colleges students attend and from local organizations. We tend to focus more on this in November and beyond. Here you will find helpful document listing colleges that provide full tuition to qualifying students along with a list of other scholarships you may qualify for. The document will be updated as we acquire new scholarships.

Students with Last Names Starting With...

Counselor: Mr. Williamsen- B-D (all), E-F (9th &10th)

Counselor: Mrs. McMurtrie - G-L (all), E-F (11th & 12th)

Counselor: Mrs. Brown - M-R

Counselor: Mrs Vanderploeg - S-Z

Website: www.lakeviewspartans.org
Location: 15060 Helmer Road South, Battle Creek, MI, USA
Twitter: @LHSC0unseling