Senior Guidance
On Thursday January 12, counselors went into English classes to talk to seniors about the next steps in the college process. The most important topic covered the midterm grades and how to request these grades to be sent to colleges. Students were advised that if they applied to a school through the Common Application, applied early action and were deferred or applied regular decision, that mid term grades would be sent on their behalf. Students were instructed to fill out a purple request form in class. Counselors also covered Financial Aid, CSS Profile and scholarships as well as answered general questions regarding sorority transcripts, committing to a school by May 1 and of course the continued importance of the 2nd semester. If you have any questions, please discuss this with your daughter or contact her counselor.

Junior Parents
The college counselors visited with your daughters on Friday,January 13th to review graduation requirements as they prepare for course selection for their senior year. We will also begin junior conferences on January 19th.  They can sign up for their individual conferences with us on our office doors. We request that each student have a minimum of five schools added to their list of prospective colleges on Naviance before the meeting.  Also, if you have not already, begin looking at the semester calendar to plan a college visit before the summer while classes are in session. Juniors have one college visit day this spring. If you daughter was absent, there will be a make-up session on Wednesday, January 18th, during lunch in Fleming Room B.

Summer Programs: If your daughter is interested in applying to a summer program which requires a counselor or teacher recommendation and/or transcript, please have her schedule an appointment with her counselor to complete transcript and letter request forms. Transcripts and letters of recommendations can only be sent through our SAA offices only. 

Hope to see you at College Information Night on Feb. 7th, 6:30 and "An Evening with an Expert" on April 10th at 6:30!

Sophomore Parents: Looking Ahead College Night Presentation Available Online
Thank you to all the parents who were able to join us for our Sophomore Parent Night: Looking Ahead evening presentation on January 10th. If you were unable to join us or would like to review our presentation, it is available on our Counseling website under Parent Resources or by clicking here. Also, the four year plan that was discussed this evening can be found by clicking here. We want to remind you that sophomore conferences will begin the week of February 21st and more information will be coming your way in the coming weeks.  If you have any questions, please contact her counselor.

TEST PREP OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CLASS OF 2013
We are pleased to announce that we have entered into a partnership with Sycamore Learning Company to conduct a one day workshop for test preparation.  We have scheduled this for Sunday, January 29, 2012.  It will be held from 1 pm to 6:30 pm in our cafeteria.

The reason that we have entered into this partnership is that many of our students do not have the time or the financial resources to do a full prep program.  This one day seminar is designed to show students exactly what types of questions they will see on the tests and then offer specific strategies that will help them in preparation for the test and on test day.

Included in the workshop are 18 practice tests as well as a study guide which highlights strategies on each section and provides answers with explanations for all of the practice tests.  Your cost is $79 for the workshop. You should have received their flyer about the seminar by now.   More information and registration can be found at their website: www.prepforthefuture.com

Sophomore Parents
Sophomores take a career assessment tool in their English classes.  The counselors have been in the sophomore English classes this week and will finish up next week administering a career assessment tool based on the Self-Directed Search developed by Dr. John Holland.  Dr. Holland's theory supports the idea that people who choose careers that match their own type are most likely to be both satisfied and successful.  The process takes two days and offers the girls a good way to get to know a little more about the things that interest them!  Make sure to ask your sophomore about the experience as it is a great conversation starter.

Senior Parents: Financial Aid and Scholarships Reminder
This is the time when seniors and their parents should be filling out the FAFSA (www.fafsa.ed.gov). This is for the 2012-2013 school year and will start in the Fall. If your daughter is taking a summer school course, this FAFSA will not cover summer expense.

Hopefully, by now you have your PIN number ready to go and are ready to fill out this form for financial aid. Remember, your daughter will not be eligible for loans, grants, work study or even special scholarships through the financial aid office at a college unless the FAFSA has been filed. The form does require tax information from 2011, but if you have not yet completed your 2011 taxes, you may estimate using last year's tax information. But be sure to update the financial aid offices with the correct information as soon as your 2011 taxes are filed. To avoid any delays, it's best to have your taxes done as early as possible.  We encourage all students to have a FAFSA complete by February 15.

Another form that some students might need to fill out is the CSS Profile. This is a form that will cost and is required by a handful of mostly private institutions. Please see "Navigating Financial Aid, Part II" for more information on what this form is and where to find it.

Scholarship Applications
Now that the hustle and bustle of college applications is nearly complete, most students are turning their attention to scholarships. Students can find scholarships on institution websites, through a parent's employer and from websites such as www.fastweb.com. Naviance has many scholarships and scholarship information sites listed. Also, students need to be vigilant in checking email from the counseling office as this time of year we have many organizations in or around Houston who have scholarships for students. As soon as we are notified, we email students. We also update this information on Naviance.

Most scholarships will require some combination of transcript, teacher recommendation letter(s), essay and application. We prefer that students complete the application and give it to her counselor. The counselor will mail the application with all required materials before the deadline (as long as the student has given at least 2 weeks notice). If the application is electronic, the student may send this in on her own, however, the counseling office still prefers to send supporting materials. We want to make sure all the materials are grouped together and sent at the same time to eliminate "lost pieces" or an incomplete application. It is the senior's responsibility to communicate with her counselor about deadlines and requirements.

SCHOLARSHIP AND INVITATION SCAMS               
Every year we have students come to us regarding letters that they have received in the mail regarding scholarships and invitations to join miscellaneous honor societies.  These letters are usually invitations to attend a seminar to learn more about how they can help you find money for college or an invitation to send a certain amount of money to be listed as a scholar.  Under no circumstances should you ever pay anyone to help you find scholarships for college or to be recognized as a scholar.  St. Agnes Academy maintains scholarship information for our students in Naviance.  This site is maintained continually to inform our students of a variety of opportunities to compete for scholarship dollars.  In addition, check the Scholarships section under Resources for other scholarship databases.

In addition, we recommend using the following websites:
www.collegeboard.com
www.finaid.com
www.wiredscholar.com
www.fastweb.com

Finally, most scholarships received by our students are institutionally based.  When students apply to specific schools those schools can and will make offers of scholarship money based on merit or talent.