CCR Update

The CCR Update is a weekly newsletter from the St. Charles North Office of College and Career Readiness. Our weekly update contains information to help navigate students through high school and into post-secondary options. A variety of links will be provided to assist students and families in making choices along this journey. For additional information students should reach out to their individual counselor.

High School students enter the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) in October of their Junior year. In April, NMSC identified the 50,000 students with the highest PSAT/NMSQT® Selection Index scores to qualify for recognition. Out of this group, approximately 16,000 students were named Semifinalists and now have the opportunity to advance and become finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. The other 34,000 high performers have been recognized as Commended Students for their exceptional academic promise. Congratulations to the following North Stars for achieving these distinctions:

National Merit Semifinalists:

Brody Bates

James Bryner

Syed-Talha Hasan

Henry Hodge

Atharv Sood

National Merit Commended Students:

Alanna Gupta

Evangeline Han

Cole Kelly

Diana Martins

Teya Reahm

Delilah Luz Rodelo-Bristol

Arpan Shah

Ania Smith

We are so proud of you!

D303 is conducting a Fall Testing Day on September 23, 2026 using assessments from Progress Learning. These assessments will allow all Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors to experience an assessment that is aligned with the PreACT/ACT. These assessments will be administered online and students are expected to bring their school-issued Chromebooks. More details will be shared next week.

Freshman PreACT Day

Sophomore PreACT Day

Junior Practice ACT Day

September 23rd will be a non-attendance day for Seniors. Seniors are encouraged to use this day to complete college applications, make a college visit, apply for scholarships or complete a City of St. Charles Job Shadow opportunity.

On October 22, 2026 all Junior students will also take the PSAT/NMSQT exam during the regular school day. The PSAT/NMSQT exam is a preliminary SAT that also opens the door to consideration for National Merit scholarships. This will be an online exam and students will need to bring their school-issued Chromebooks.

If you were unable to attend our Financial Aid Night presentation at the St. Charles North Auditorium on Wednesday, we have included a link to the Financial Aid Overview that Kathleen Sanders, ECC Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships presented.

Additional resources can be found on the Financial Aid page of our CCR website. A separate FAFSA Update will be sent to Seniors and their parents as we approach the October 1st opening date of the 2027-2028 FAFSA Application.

Our Counselors will be offering workshops in the LRC Courtyard A to assist our Seniors with their post-secondary planning for college, military, trades, etc. These workshops will run during lunch periods every Wednesday from September 9th until October 28th. Seniors are reminded to attend during a lunch period in their schedule.

Sign-up in SchooLinks:

1. Log in to your SchooLinks account (https://app.schoolinks.com/).
   

2. On the Student Dashboard, click on the Events section to see all upcoming college application workshops.
   

3. Click on the date and period of the workshop you want to attend, and then click on the Register for this Event button.

Our counselors met with Senior students on 8/18/26 during their Social Studies classes (American Agenda, Civics, Economics, AP Macroeconomics and/or AP US Gov). Please click HERE to view the presentation.

Starting this week, each senior will meet individually with their school counselor regarding their post-secondary plan! Seniors: if you have not yet scheduled your "Senior Appointment" with your counselor, please do so by clicking the "Student Appointments" button under your counselor's photo HERE! Please stop by the CCR with any questions!

Important information for students who are interested in taking an AP exam that are not enrolled in the corresponding AP course:

Students wishing to take any AP exams for classes in which they are not enrolled must register and pay for the exam no later than Friday, November 6th. The fee is $100 per exam and is non-refundable. Please register HERE by completing this form. Once payment is received, you will receive a join code from Mrs. Gomez to complete your order. Stop by the CCR Office with questions!

• Senior College Night: Tips & Advice from Experienced Admissions Counselors on August 25th 2026 in the St. Charles North Auditorium from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
• D303 Financial Aid Night on September 16th 2026 in the Auditorium at St. Charles North from 6:30-8:00 p.m.
• 2027-2028 FAFSA Application: Scheduled to open October 1, 2026
• Junior Jumpstart Night on October 6th 2026 in the St. Charles North Auditorium from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
• Pathways Night (2 Year, Tech, Trades & Military Post-Secondary Options) - October 28th 2026 at Compass Academy/Haines Center from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
• Early College Credit Information Night at St. Charles East HS in the Little Theater on November 17th 2026 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
• Fox Valley College Fair on March 24th 2027 in the Main Gym at St. Charles East HS from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

More details will be shared as we get closer to each event date.

Elgin Community College is offering a series of College & Career events for the fall and spring semesters. Session topics include The Start of College Decisions, Financial Aid 101, Early College Credit options, Professional Etiquette, Discovering Careers, Career Clusters & Opportunities, Successful Interviewing and more. All events are free and open to the public. Events will be held virtually over Zoom on Tuesday evenings from 6 to 7 P.M. unless otherwise noted. For more information and meeting links, please visit https://elgin.edu/community/college-transitions/ccr/

Upcoming Events: Career Spotlight: Fire Science & Public Safety

Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Time: 6:00 pm to 7:15 pm
Location: Virtual

A successful career begins with a plan. Explore rewarding opportunities in Fire Science, Emergency Medical Services, Law Enforcement, Emergency Management, and other public safety professions. Participants will learn about educational pathways, certifications, career outlooks, and the skills needed to enter and advance in these essential fields. Attendees will also hear from public safety professionals and discover how ECC can help prepare them for a career dedicated to serving and protecting their communities. Special Guest Speaker: Ronald S. Two Bulls, MS, EMT-P Battalion Chief (Ret.)Senior Director of Academic Programming and Public Safety Training Center for Emergency Services Join us for this installment of the College & Career Success Series, a year-long webinar series designed to help students Plan. Prepare. Succeed. in college, career, and beyond.

The 2026 DuPage County Trade Apprenticeship Expo will be held on Thursday, October 15th, 2026 from 3:30pm – 6:30pm. The event features interactive, hands-on demonstrations by the county’s building trade organizations as well as opportunities to meet with instructors to learn more about each individual trade apprenticeship program. Advance registration is required to attend.

This highly popular event is for current high school or college students, parents, guidance counselors, and teachers. It is an interactive way to introduce interested parties to the building trades, and more importantly, outline the career potential that exists outside of the traditional collegiate path.

This includes building a career without incurring student debt.

Register today to find out how!

Have you ever thought about a career as an electric lineman, firefighter, police officer, lab technician, or in tree maintenance, or IT/Networking? These are all individuals, and many more, who are employed by the City of St. Charles.

The City of St. Charles is offering a career pathway job shadow program to St. Charles high school students interested in exploring a career in municipal government. You may schedule up to three different job shadow experiences per school year, during which you can explore work sites, ask questions, see demonstrations, and learn about education and certifications. Students will be responsible for transportation to and from the City. The date, time, and length of the job shadow will be scheduled outside of school hours directly with the City’s job shadow program coordinator. Please return your completed registration form to Ms. Gomez in the College & Career Office.

The Discovery Program exposes students to a broad range of activities designed to encourage their interest in healthcare careers. Program activities include tours, guest speakers, group discussion, and hands-on projects. Meetings are most often on the third Saturday of each month from 9:00am-12:00pm. The NM Discovery West Chapter and the Greater DeKalb Chapter collaborate a lot, so meetings will be held at Central DuPage Hospital, Delnor Hospital, Kishwaukee Hospital, and various off-site NM locations. Please note, meeting dates, times, and topics are subject to change. Participants are responsible for their own transportation.

For information about the Discovery Program and how to apply.

The application deadline is 9/28/26.

For questions about the Discovery Program please email NMDiscoveryProgramWest@nm.org

College Visit Sign-up in SchooLinks

1. Log in to your SchooLinks account (https://app.schoolinks.com/).
   

2. On the Student Dashboard, click on the School Events section to see all upcoming college visits.
   

3. Click on the name of the visit you want to attend, and then click on the Register for this Event button.
   

Before attending the visit, make sure you pick up a College Visit Pass from our College & Career Readiness Office. You will need to fill out the form and have your teacher sign it before attending the visit. You will also be responsible for making up any missed work when attending a college visit.

If you have a conflict with a college visit, please email Ms. Adrienne Geiseman at adrienne.geiseman@d303.org for the college rep's contact information.

For Scheduled Virtual Visits: Click the link to enter the live virtual conference with a college rep. For the full listing go to the College Visit page on our CCR Website.

Upcoming Visits:

9/21/2026 Augustana College

Information for local scholarships and select national scholarships is available in the College and Career Office and through our Scholarship Listing tile on our CCR Website! This list will continue to be updated throughout the school year.

The Voice of Democracy

The Voice of Democracy is the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ premier scholarship program. Each year nearly 26,000 high school students compete for more than $2 million in scholarships and incentives, with a top prize of $30,000. Students compete by writing and recording an audio essay on an annual patriotic theme. The 2026-2027 audio-essay competition topic is: What a Veteran Taught Me About America. The Voice of Democracy is open to students in grades 9-12. Please email Richard Zawislak (richard.zawislak@yahoo.com) to submit your entry. All entries should be submitted by October 23, 2026, in order to meet the national deadline. Rules and criteria for submitting your application are attached here.

Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship Foundation

The Cooke Foundation College Scholarship Program is the largest undergraduate scholarship program available to high-achieving high school seniors with financial need who seek to attend the nation’s best four-year colleges and universities. In addition to the monetary award, Cooke Scholars receive comprehensive educational advising, significant cohort-based programming, and graduate school funding, as well as a thriving network of nearly 2,500 fellow Cooke Scholars and alumni.

Each award is intended to cover a significant share of the student’s educational expenses – including tuition, living expenses, books and required fees. Awards (up to $40,000) vary by individual, based on the cost of tuition as well as other grants or scholarships he or she may receive. Key requirements include: Unweighted GPA of 3.5 or above. Demonstrated financial need and family income up to $95,000. Application deadline is November 11, 2026.

Elks National Foundation Scholarship Program

The Elks National Foundation will award 500 four-year scholarships to the highest-rated applicants in the 2027 competition. Most Valuable Student scholarships are for students pursuing a four-year degree, on a full-time basis (minimum of 12 semester hours), in a U.S. college or university. All scholarships are in the form of certificates of award conditional upon the full-time enrollment of the winner in an accredited U.S. college or university. Male and female students compete separately. Awards range from $1,000 per year to $7,500 per year. The Chicago office of the Elks National Foundation will announce the 500 national winners in late April 2027. (Many local Lodges, districts and state Elks associations award their own scholarships through this program. These scholarships are not to be confused with the 500 Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student Scholarships.) The application deadline is November 12, 2026.

College & Career Readiness Team

255 Red Gate Road, St. Charles, IL, 60175

331-228-6290