I've been accepted! Now what do I do?!

YESS HS Class of 2019! 

You all are doing a PHENOMENAL JOB submitting college and scholarship applications. The ACCEPTANCE Letters are rolling in, too! Your hard work is paying off BIG!

So, you've been admitted to some of your colleges. NOW WHAT?! 

Read your acceptance letter/ email VERY CAREFULLY. 

Follow the directions provided to set up your PORTAL/HUB and email for EVERY SCHOOL. 

Review the information in the portal.  Look for TO DO LISTs and RED FLAGS

If your college's scholarship applications are open for application, GET STARTED TODAY! 

ASK QUESTIONS! If you aren't sure what something means, take a screen shot and send it to your Navigator! 

Be sure to check your college email(s) frequently. Many of your schools will ONLY communicate with you via the college email from this point forward. 

<<<Figure out when your institutional scholarships OPEN for APPLICATION>>>

I submitted my FAFSA! Now what?!

High five for completing your FAFSA! But that's just the beginning of your financial aid journey. Take a few minutes to watch the video below:

https://youtu.be/1c1gNefSw78?list=PL23B9A23CD8DD82DD

Keep an eye on emails from FAFSA. You'll receive one with a link to your SAR shortly after submitting your FAFSA application. You may want to search your inbox for FAFSA and/or SAR (student aid report) to be sure you haven't missed it! Some students didn't read the whole thing and never go to the link for the SAR! Your SAR will include the estimated amount of aid you'll receive aka your Pell Grant.

If you've already been admitted to any colleges, follow the steps provided in your admission paperwork/email to access your account for that school. Some of them may also create an institutional(college) email address for you. You'll want to check that regularly (at least once a week!) in case they send you information about financial aid and enrollment to that email address! Consider making a calendar reminder to check weekly.

Check out the info provided by FAFSA about Next Steps here. There's info about verification, your SAR, how to claim your award $, and some details about the loan process should you choose to accept a loan.

Always talk to a trusted adult or friend about financial aid decisions. Remember you'll get financial aid packages from all the schools for which you submitted an application. You'll want to compare these offers as you decide what school to attend! Don't commit to anything until you've considered your options from a financial perspective too!!!

LMK if you have ?s!

College and Scholarship Essays!

You guys! If you haven't started (and maybe even finished) your college application essays...

IT IS TIME! 

I know it can be hard to write about yourself and share your thoughts, feelings and experiences with total strangers. But it can be the MOST POWERFUL part of your application. Sure, grades and test scores matter but most colleges want to get to know YOU as a person with a story...not just the numbers and letters on your transcript! Your essay really is an opportunity for the people in admissions to learn more about WHY they should admit YOU to their college. 

Carve out some time over Thanksgiving Break to work on essays! 

TAKE A CHANCE! 

Be yourself! Make sure your essay 'sounds' like you. Just like you want people to be REAL with you, being REAL in your essay makes a difference! 

Start NOW! Select one of your essay topics. Set your timer for 30 minutes and just brainstorm. Write/type EVERYTHING that comes to mind...even if it's takis! I mean, try to stay focused on the topic and write any and everything that comes to mind. You may come across an idea or direction you weren't expecting BUT that will make an awesome essay! And remember, no one has to EVER see your brainstorming document. 

Check out the links below for some great tips on writing your BEST college essay! There are some video clips too. 

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-in/essays/8-tips-for-crafting-your-best-college-essay

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-in/essays/tips-for-writing-an-effective-application-essay-college-admissions

Got Essay Anxiety?!

You guys! If you haven't started (and maybe even finished) your college application essays...

IT IS TIME! 

I know it can be hard to write about yourself and share your thoughts, feelings and experiences with total strangers. But it can be the MOST POWERFUL part of your application. Sure, grades and test scores matter but most colleges want to get to know YOU as a person with a story...not just the numbers and letters on your transcript! Your essay really is an opportunity for the people in admissions to learn more about WHY they should admit YOU to their college. 

TAKE A CHANCE! 

Be yourself! Make sure your essay 'sounds' like you. Just like you want people to be REAL with you, being REAL in your essay makes a difference! 

Start NOW! Select one of your essay topics. Set your timer for 30 minutes and just brainstorm. Write/type EVERYTHING that comes to mind...even if it's hot cheetos! I mean, try to stay focused on the topic and write any and everything that comes to mind. You may come across an idea or direction you weren't expecting BUT that will make an awesome essay! And remember, no one has to EVER see your brainstorming document. 

Check out the links below for some great tips on writing your BEST college essay! There are some video clips too. 

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-in/essays/8-tips-for-crafting-your-best-college-essay

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-in/essays/tips-for-writing-an-effective-application-essay-college-admissions

FAFSA Preparation!

Hey Seniors! Your FAFSA Nights are FAST approaching...

Are you ready?! 

Below you'll find some helpful information (click the links!) about how to prepare, what to expect and what happens AFTER you've completed your application. Make sure you've signed up for an appointment in YOUR Future Center! 

Gathering the Documents Needed to Apply
Getting Help
Starting Your FAFSA^® and Providing Your Basic Personal Information
Listing Colleges and/or Career Schools
Determining Your Dependency Status
Reporting Parents’ Information
         Automatically Filling in Your Tax Information Using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool
         Determining When Tax Information Will Be Available Via the IRS DRT
Providing Financial Information
Signing and Submitting the FAFSA^®
Taking the Next Steps

 FAFSA is a FREE Application 

The FAFSA is FREE, so if a website asks you to pay to fill it out, you’re not dealing with the official FAFSA site. Remember, the FAFSA comes from the government, so it’s on a .gov site: fafsa.gov.

Check out this video: "After the FAFSA, what happens next?"

https://youtu.be/1c1gNefSw78?list=PL23B9A23CD8DD82DD

Here's some great information about accepting aid and what kind to accept first! Be sure to talk with a trusted adult (or two) about your awards. Remember when we talked about LOANS? You'll want to be extra thoughtful when considering these! 

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/next-steps/accept-aid

SEE YOU AT YOUR FAFSA NIGHT! 

FAFSA Countdown:19 Days!

In just 19 days, the FAFSA application will open for the 2017-2018 school year. 

Are you READY?! 

Here's a checklist of what you'll need to complete the FAFSA application:

https://www.educationquest.org/pdfs/FAFSAchecklist.pdf

What You Need to Complete the FAFSA 

http://www.denverscholarship.org/sites/default/files/multi_file/subsection/download/OFFICAL%202016%20DSF%20FAFSA%20Dates%20Flier%20-%20FINAL_0.pdf

It is critical to bring all of the information requested for both the parent and the student to the FAFSA Workshop.

  

☐Social Security Numbers and Social Security Card (if applicable): Student must be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident to receive federal aid. Non-US Citizens may be eligible for institutional aid in Colorado. Parent does not need to be U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident. 

☐ Student’s alien registration or permanent resident card (if applicable)

 ☐ Birthdates: Month/Day/Year (parent AND student) 

☐ 2015 W-2 Forms and other records of money earned last year (parent AND student, if applicable) 

☐ Student’s 2015 Federal Income Tax Return (if applicable) 

☐ Parents’ 2015 Federal Income Tax Return 

☐ 2015 untaxed income records (if applicable) o Social Security benefits statement o Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) o Veterans benefits records o Disability benefits records

 ☐ Date and Year Parents were married and/or divorced

 ☐ Savings and checking account dollar amount (parent AND student, if applicable)

 ☐ Business and investment mortgage (not the home in which you and your family live) information, business and farm records, stock, bond, and other investment records (if applicable) 

☐ Your FSA-ID or FAFSA PIN numbers (parent AND student, if previously applied for).

 You can save a lot of time by creating your FSA-ID before the FAFSA workshop. To create an FSA-ID, go to https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm. Be sure to write the username and password down and bring them with you.
Here's a video that will walk you through the process!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLi0q7hkFns

Here's some info from DSF about why and how to complete the FAFSA in a timely fashion! 

http://www.denverscholarship.org/students/college/steps/fafsa#fafsa-what-and-why

FAFSA Countdown:19 Days!

In just 19 days, the FAFSA application will open for the 2017-2018 school year. 

Are you READY?! 

Here's a checklist of what you'll need to complete the FAFSA application:

https://www.educationquest.org/pdfs/FAFSAchecklist.pdf

What You Need to Complete the FAFSA 

http://www.denverscholarship.org/sites/default/files/multi_file/subsection/download/OFFICAL%202016%20DSF%20FAFSA%20Dates%20Flier%20-%20FINAL_0.pdf

It is critical to bring all of the information requested for both the parent and the student to the FAFSA Workshop.

  

☐Social Security Numbers and Social Security Card (if applicable): Student must be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident to receive federal aid. Non-US Citizens may be eligible for institutional aid in Colorado. Parent does not need to be U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident. 

☐ Student’s alien registration or permanent resident card (if applicable)

 ☐ Birthdates: Month/Day/Year (parent AND student) 

☐ 2015 W-2 Forms and other records of money earned last year (parent AND student, if applicable) 

☐ Student’s 2015 Federal Income Tax Return (if applicable) 

☐ Parents’ 2015 Federal Income Tax Return 

☐ 2015 untaxed income records (if applicable) o Social Security benefits statement o Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) o Veterans benefits records o Disability benefits records

 ☐ Date and Year Parents were married and/or divorced

 ☐ Savings and checking account dollar amount (parent AND student, if applicable)

 ☐ Business and investment mortgage (not the home in which you and your family live) information, business and farm records, stock, bond, and other investment records (if applicable) 

☐ Your FSA-ID or FAFSA PIN numbers (parent AND student, if previously applied for).

 You can save a lot of time by creating your FSA-ID before the FAFSA workshop. To create an FSA-ID, go to https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm. Be sure to write the username and password down and bring them with you.

Here's some info from DSF about why and how to complete the FAFSA in a timely fashion! 

http://www.denverscholarship.org/students/college/steps/fafsa#fafsa-what-and-why