SENIORS! DO NOW!

Hey, Seniors! Take some time to log in to your Student Hubs or Portals (Click here for some direction!) and your college emails. If there are documents or pieces of information missing, you'll have a HOLD on your account. This can prevent you from getting a Financial Aid Package ($$$), being able to register for orientation, and stop you from being able to register for classes.

Let's get these things FIGURED OUT!

In your portal, be sure to click on tabs regarding Financial Aid and look for Red Flags 🔺 or other 'warning' signs. Each college uses different symbols! Usually you'll also have an email letting you know there are issues with your Financial Aid Package. Sometimes, following the link in your email will take you to the right place to resolve the issue.

Metro State Financial Aid

Colorado Opportunity Fund - $ for College!

University of Colorado Denver Financial Aid 

Community College Denver Scholarship Assistance- $TILL AVAILABLE! 

If you are still deciding which college to attend, check this out for some questions to ask yourself as you decide. Remember to ask people who are important to you and know you well what they think! They may know or notice something about you and your college choices that you haven't thought of before!

Preparing for a Scholarship Interview

Here are some things to consider when preparing for a Scholarship Interview! 

• Practice introducing yourself in front of a mirror. It'll feel weird but it's worth doing!
• Perfect your handshake! It should be firm- no flopping fish hands OR painful grips. 
• Choose your outfit AT LATEST the night before...dress professionally and make sure you are comfortable too. 
• If the interview is with an organization (like Daniels Fund) or a particular college, be sure to be well informed about the organization or school. Be able to talk about what the organization means to you or why you want to attend THAT school very specifically. Remember, you have to convince the committee that you are invested in their work as they are seeking to invest in you! 
• Make a BRAG SHEET in advance. What accomplishments are you most proud of thus far in your life? Be prepared to talk about them! 
• Also have a few failures in mind AND be able to describe what you learned from these. 
• Have a teacher, friend, or family member interview you. Even if this feels silly, it gets some of the nerves out. 
• Take your time. If you need to pause before answering a question to organize your thoughts, just do it! 
• Be sure to have a few questions in mind for the committee
• BE YOUR SUPER AWESOME SELF! 

Some common interview questions:

Tell us about yourself.

What are your greatest strengths?

What are your greatest weaknesses?

How has this organization impacted you?

Why do you want to attend this college/university?

Why should we give you this scholarship?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10?

Who is your role model? Why?

Do you have any questions for us?

YESS Senior Checklist!

Hey YESS Class of 2018!

Be sure to read through this list and make sure you are completing ALL of these items as soon as you can! The more you get done now, the easier your transition will be in the Fall. 

Congrats on everything you've accomplished thus far and JUST KEEP SWIMMING! 

SENIOR CHECKLIST 

____ Log into your college student portal regularly (for example, CCDConnect – every school is a little different). Look for red flags/ yellow caution signs that will tell you if you are missing any information or need to sign off on any documents, for example, financial aid documents.

____ Check your college email DAILY. You will get important information through that email account. You can change the settings in your student portal for your school email to be forwarded to your personal email. 

____ Carefully read any emails from FAFSA. You may be asked to provide tax verification and will need to request tax transcripts from the IRS. Let me know if you need more info!

____ Stay in contact with the financial aid office to make sure that your aid has been applied to your    account. You may also be able to check your college student portal for this information. If aid is not applied and you have not set up a payment plan, you may be dropped from your classes.

____ Take any required placement tests (for example, the Accuplacer).

____ If you are living on campus, be sure you’ve signed up for the residence halls and submitted a deposit.

____ Provide any information to health services, for example, immunization records. Many campuses will put a hold on your record if you have not submitted this information.

____ Sign up for campus health insurance or provide proof that you have health insurance to waive your health insurance fee.

____ Sign up for and attend orientation.

____ Get a college ID card

____ Meet with an academic advisor on campus.

____ Register for your classes.

____ Accept or follow up regarding Loans and Work-study.

____ Send school Official Final High School Transcript if requested by school.

____ Check in with external scholarship requirements (DSF, Institutional scholarships, etc..).

____ Authorize COF on your student portal.

____ Plan to buy/rent/borrow books (campus book store, Amazon, library).

____ Review On-Campus Support Services. Examples: Academic Services (Tutoring/Writing Center), Extracurricular Activities, Disability Center, Career Services, Transportation and Parking, TRIO, etc.

If you have questions/concerns please reach out ASAP to your YESS College Navigator, Emily at

(720) 446 9688 or Emily@yessinstitute.org

(Thanks to DUS for the original list)