September Counseling News

In this newsletter......

All Grade Levels

Stay Connected!!
Level drop window for advanced courses
Leander ISD College Fair
Austin Community College Dual Credit registration for Spring 2026
AP course and exam registration
PSAT and SAT dates and test prep resources
College visits at Vandegrift

Senior Specific Info

Senior Conference meeting information and prep
Senior Workdays during PIT
FAFSA is a graduation requirement!
Understanding Financial Aid & FAFSA Overview (open to all parents!)
TSI Assessment offerings at VHS

Stay Connected!!

The VHS Counseling team maintains a resource rich website. All student/parent presentations are posted on this site, as well as links to each year's monthly VHS Counseling Newsletters.

We are thirteen days into the school year and counselors have already met with new to Leander ISD families, all freshman and senior students during their English classes, and we presented to both freshman and senior parents during open house night.

Missed a presentation? You can always visit our Stay Connected page to access past presentations.

Course Level Drop Window // August 31 - September 18

Students struggling in an Advanced or AP course may request to move into the equivalent on-level course beginning August 31. The deadline to make this request is 4:00 PM on September 18. It is important you speak to your teacher about your wish to drop prior to submitting the form.

LEVEL CHANGES ARE NOT IMMEDIATE

The VHS Counseling Team processes changes as quickly as we are able, but please keep in mind we are also juggling multiple additional responsibilities (senior conferences, college applications, letters of recommendation, new student registrations, mental health needs/crisis management, and more!).

Note the following:

Dropping an AP/Advanced course may result in an unavoidable readjustment of the student's current course schedule including the possibility of teacher, period, and/or lunch changes. Due to the volume of requests counselors are processing, we are unable to meet with students regarding such changes, and we are unable to predict what changes will occur as a result of processing the level drop. By submitting the level drop request, students are acknowledging and agreeing to any such changes. Please know we do our absolute best to disrupt the schedule as little as possible, but sometimes this is unavoidable.
Once processed, level changes and their associate schedule changes are FINAL.
The exact grade in the advanced class student is dropping will transfer to the new on-level course.
AP/Advanced weight is only awarded and calculated into GPA after completion of an entire semester of an AP/Advanced course; therefore, the student will lose this when dropping into the new on-level course.
Until the schedule change is complete, all coursework for the AP/Advanced class must be completed.
A student who participates in a UIL activity and is currently failing an advanced class, might consider remaining in the advanced course until the end of the six weeks to be eligible for a AP/Advanced participation waiver.

VHS Electronic Level Drop Request Form

Students must be logged into their LISD accounts to submit the request.

Leander ISD College Fair // September 22

Leander ISD students and parents are encouraged to attend the district’s College Fair from 6–8 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22 at Glenn High School (1320 Collaborative Way, Leander, TX 78641) to learn more about admissions, financial aid and scholarships to prepare for students’ collegiate endeavors.

Students will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from over 150 four-year and two-year colleges and universities, trade schools and technical programs. Additionally, the armed services will be represented.

***New this year: Students are encouraged to register for the College Fair through StriveFair.com, which should take no more than two minutes.***

Parking is available in the front, back and the side of Glenn High School. College representatives will be in the commons area and 1200s academic wing.

Austin Community College Dual Credit Registration - Spring 2027

Registration for ACC spring semester college courses opens October 17.

Returning Dual Credit students: Keep an eye on your Dual Credit Google Classroom for instructions on verifying your course plans with Ms. Kendall
New Dual Credit students: Students not currently in dual credit and interested in taking dual credit ACC courses outside of the school day should make an appointment to work through the enrollment process with Ms. Kendall

Full details about the Dual Credit opportunities through Austin Community College can be found on our VHS College & Career Center website.

AP exam registration through Total Regist. and College Board is happening now!

AP Course Enrollment & Registration

Avoid a $40 late fee per course by completing AP Enrollment and Exam Registration before October 28, 2026. Students should log into their College Board account to make sure each AP Class on their schedule is listed in MyAP and also ensure they are in Total Registration.

Click Here for Detailed AP Registration Instructions

VHS AP Testing Information Page

PSAT and SAT Dates and Test Prep Resources

Sophomores & Juniors - SAVE THE DATE! PSAT: October 20, 2026

All 10th & 11th grade students will take the PSAT during the school day. The school-day PSAT test is free and requires no registration! There is no make-up opportunity for this test date.

Juniors - SAVE THE DATE! March 3, 2027

All 11th grade students will take the SAT during the school day on March 3rd. The school-day SAT test is free and requires no registration! Juniors should plan to take the SAT and/or ACT in the spring semester in preparation for the college application process. Other than this school-day SAT, students may register for Saturday test opportunities based on national testing dates through the SAT or ACT websites.

Students will be allowed to use their own device as long as the bluebook app is downloaded.

More Than a Teacher offers practice tests and test prep classes, while Khan Academy offers free online SAT prep.

More Than a Teacher @ VHS

College Visits at Vandegrift

College admission representatives want to connect with our amazing Vandegrift students! There are so many benefits to connecting and tuning into these college visits:

Develop an understanding of college offerings and college lingo
Gain unique perspectives on individual colleges
Fully understand the admissions process, scholarship opportunities, etc.
Connect personally with admission representatives (the folks who often review college applications!)

You can see upcoming visits through the College Visits @ VHS document. Students should RSVP for the visit(s) in Naviance.

Juniors and seniors are also allotted 2 excused absences annually to visit colleges in person - more info here. Additionally, LISD has several upcoming student breaks perfect for visiting college campuses- Sept 21, Oct 9-13, and Nov 2-3.

Counselor & Student Senior Conferences

STUDENTS

Senior Student/Counselor Conferences will take place between August 31 - September 24.
The link to schedule your conference is included in the Senior Student/Parent Presentation linked here.
Make sure to complete the Senior Pathways Information Form prior to your Senior Conference with your counselor.

SENIOR PARENTS - How can you support?

View the parent night webinar slides & recording linked here
Talk with your senior about the post-secondary planning process and discuss questions you still have - send them to their Senior/Counselor Conference with those questions!
Seniors are soon launching into the post-high school world and the Senior/Counselor Conference is designed to help them practice those independent, adult skills just as colleges and employers expect - seniors are driving this process! Encourage your senior to share the outcome of their conference with you after their meeting.

Senior Workdays during PIT

Senior Workdays are an opportunity to be productive and get assistance on anything needed for post-VHS plans (college applications, essays, resumes, financial aid, workforce planning, interview prep, etc.) in the College & Career Center (room 1306) during PIT (9:45a - 10:20a) on most Tuesdays/Wednesdays/Thursdays. Students must sign up in the PIT Portal.

FAFSA is a Graduation Requirement!

In accordance with Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.0256, each student must do one of the following in order to graduate:

Complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Complete and submit a Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA) (for Texas residents who are not eligible to apply for federal financial aid - usually includes students who are non-citizens or non-permanent residents of the United States)
Submit a signed opt-out form ENGLISH, SPANISH

*Reminder: this is only one graduation requirement component. Counselors and Administrators will continue working with Seniors on ensuring graduation requirements are met.

ACTION REQUIRED

Seniors: To complete this graduation requirement, submit your documentation to this linked form.

The FAFSA is expected to open by October 1st for this year's graduating seniors.

DO NOT WORK ON IT BEFORE THEN OR YOU WILL BE COMPLETING THE WRONG ONE!!!

Financial Aid Night // CPHS October 1 or December 1

Senior parents, or any parents planning ahead when it comes to financing college, are invited to join A+ College Planning for their Taking the Stress Out of College Planning workshop. Upcoming sessions will be hosted at Cedar Park High School October 1 & December 1 from 6-7pm in the CPHS library.

TSI Assessment // October 1 @ VHS

Counselors will be reviewing college readiness status (known as TSI, Texas Success Initiative) individually with seniors during their upcoming conferences. Students who are not yet TSI complete in Reading & Writing and/or Math are encouraged to take proactive steps to prepare and take the TSI Assessment in an effort to ensure a seamless transition to college level coursework.

The TSI Assessment is offered at Vandegrift regularly for seniors for free. The next testing opportunity is Thursday, October 1st. Seniors can register HERE.