11/25/14

December Counselor Newsletter

Scholarship apps received –

Four Star Auto Ranch in Henrietta has five $1,000 scholarships available for students in the Wichita Falls region. Application details are here - http://www.fourstarsautoranch.com/scholarship-essay-contest. The deadline is 12/13/14.

The TX Engineering Foundation and the TX Society of Professional Engineers annually offer a scholarship to engineering majors who attend an ABET-accredited program. The Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) - http://www.abet.org/ - provides a link to search for schools with accredited programs. The app arrives in early December and the deadline for 2015 is 1/9/15. The app is loaded at the TSPE site - http://www.tspe.org/?page=Scholarships.

The 2015 Don't mess with Texas Scholarship Contest - http://www.dontmesswithtexas.org/programs/scholarship.php - offers a $6,000 grand prize scholarship and two $2,000 scholarships. The deadline is 4/4/15.

College Related Information –

UT has released its automatically admitted percentage of 16/17 freshmen which will be the top 8% of the class of 14/15 high school juniors. The law regulating the exemption UT has received from the Top 10% law and related information is here - http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/freshmen/decisions/automatic-admission.

An equestrian team was formed last year at Wichita Falls affiliated with the Interscholastic Equestrian Association - http://www.rideiea.org/. Amanda Awakuni, a certified Horsemanship Association riding instructor - http://cha-ahse.org/ - is the sponsor of the organization. Her contact information is 704-3230, . Students in grades 6 – 12 are eligible to join and participants can use their horse or one from the Whispers of Hope Horse Farm - http://whispersofhopehf.org/ - which the team is affiliated with which is a therapeutic equine facility in Wichita Falls.

Subiendo Academy is a week-long leadership academy for underrepresented groups – first generation college students, etc. - at UT’s McComb’s Business school in June –http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/centers/hispanic-leadership-initiative/subiendo. The program is free to accepted students and is open to seniors.

Americorps - http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps - has sent information about its National Civilian Community Corps program - http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/americorps-nccc. A ten month residential volunteer service program, participants receive $5,645 for college.

The Educational Service Center at Wichita Falls has posted a number of college prep/career education search sites. From http://www.esc9.net/vnews/display.v/SEC/Students go to programs and services then career and technical education then under programs at the bottom go to www.galesites.com/menu/wic30602 and enter the password – wic30602. A wealth of career, college, and test prep links are available at that site including several full-length ACT, PSAT, SAT/II tests with answers and explanatory keys, resume template, college and scholarship search engines, with similar links for international and graduate students. At the ESC main site access is also available to www.texasgenuine.org at which students can search for 2-year/tech schools nationally by program. Through the Adventures in Education site - www.aie.org - information about the annual Wootan grant is posted at http://www.aie.org/Charley-Wootan-Grant/index.cfm. In prior years, this grant was available specifically to students in the Wichita Falls area not only for current high school seniors but current college students, as well. In the past the application has been uploaded in early April at www.AIE.org/Wootan and closed 5/1. While in the past the dates have fluctuated to some extent the application period will likely be similar this year. While need was a factor it was not limited to those only with high need. The average grant in 2012, the last year for which information is available, was $3900 per recipient but the aid was granted on a first-come basis. Additional information was available at 800-537-4180. No information has been received about this grant for this year as of yet but the site is active. In the past, students who signed up for the AIE listserve were also eligible for a $500 scholarship awarded monthly.

The Adventures in Education site - www.aie.org - is outstanding with links to a multitude of great sites. In addition to links to numerous scholarship databases it also links to the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation which is one of the best resources for students planning on attending a Texas school. At this site you will find info on all TX schools plus links to scholarship and other college funding sources. Also at this site is www.collegeforalltexans.com at which you can ask any college related question and get a timely answer which you can depend on because the site is sponsored by the TX Higher Education Coordinating Board. Also linked to Adventures is www.saludos.com which is devoted to Hispanic students and includes a scholarship database, internship opportunities, a career guide, etc. Another excellent link to Adventures is www.arts.state.tx.us, sponsored by the TX Cultural & Arts Network. At this site a scholarship database is posted specifically for arts students plus a listing of TX schools which offer specific arts-related majors plus grad school and arts-related career information. Many links are provided branching off from the various arts fields – photography, theater, etc., including one for arts careers for disabled students. It also links to www.kaplan.com, which has info about the PSAT, help for international students, professional licensing exam prep, and more. Even without an art program several SHS students of an artistic bent in the recent past have majored/minored in various arts fields from photography to arts education to studio art and theater as well as journalism.

Although the scholarship from the Wichita Falls Area Community Foundation - http://www.wfacf.org – for high school senior are for students in Wichita and Archer County schools, there are some available for undergraduates.

With the rising cost of college several organizations have begun offering alternative approaches to education through work experience via a gap year, programs which offer certificates based on demonstrated ability/knowledge and other alternatives to traditional college such as the Thiel Fellowships http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chirag-kulkarni/5-nontraditional-educatio_b_6156156.html, http://www.uncollege.org/program/for-counselors/.

The College Solution blog has posted a list of the top 80 schools that meet 94 to 100% of need - http://www.thecollegesolution.com/list-of-colleges-that-meet-100-of-financial-need/ - with links on how to calculate net cost and how to find those schools that meet full need. Although the list dates to 2013 it is not likely to have changed much.

College search sites, all of which are comprehensive covering international, military, financial aid, career searches, etc. -

http://www.collegevale.org

http://www.ruggsrecommendations.com/, http://www.collegedata.com/cs/main/counselor_portal.jhtml (same as college data 411,) http://www.collegeview.com/collegesearch/index.jsp, http://www.princetonreview.com/schoolsearch.aspx?sch=College

Wikipedia college list -http://collegelists.pbworks.com/w/page/16119456/College%20Lists%20Wiki%20News%20and%20Information – posted by - http://www.shelleykrause.com/about.html.

A 10/27/13 NY Times article about the new trend of sites which rate schools on value – cost versus benefit – has links to such search engines - http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/28/education/lists-that-rank-colleges-value-are-on-the-rise.html?pagewanted=2&tntemail0=y&_r=2&emc=edit_tnt_20131027.

The Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP) has started programs for international students to take e-courses and for U.S. HS G/T students to study abroad in short-term programs in India and Germany. At the TIP site - http://tip.duke.edu – go to the educators’ tab and Duke TIP Global.

The GE-Reagan Foundation offers a $10,000 scholarship renewable for up to an additional three years up to $40,000 total per recipient. Awards are for undergraduate study only, and may be used for education-related expenses, including tuition, fees, books, supplies, room, and board. In addition, Scholars are invited to participate in a special awards program. For more information about the GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program, visit: http://www.reaganfoundation.org/GE-RFScholarships.aspx. Applicants must be nominated by a school or community leader. The scholarship is leadership oriented and annually opens in October with a 1/8/15 deadline.

Payscale offers a tool to learn what the return on investment is for a particular major, by college - http://www.payscale.com/college-roi/full-list.

Foot Locker in conjunction with www.DoSomething.org has been offering 20 $20,000 scholarships for athletes with a stellar record of community service. The deadline has been mid-December.

Jon Dickson at has provided information about a relatively new youth leadership program in TX, Army Explorers - http://www.armyexplorers.us/. Students interested in this program should contact Mr. Dickson or go to the above site.

The Texas Medical Association’s Young Physician Section annually offers the Dr. Michael O’Malley Scholarship for future doctors, from rural areas - http://tmaloanfunds.com/Content/Template.aspx?id=9. Other similar opportunities are posted here for future physicians. The award has been $1,000 with a deadline of early January.

Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY, has sent information about the five full-ride CS scholarships it offers- www.marist.edu/technologyscholarships.

The American Legion – www.legion.org/needalift - sponsors several scholarships and contests, found here.

At www.firstgov.gov are links to government resources including volunteer and federal employment opportunities and the ERIC research site. The link – Benefits, Grants, and Loans – has links to numerous educational and career services offered by the federal government. Under the Jobs and Education Assistance category are links to the U.S. Department of Labor which has programs for youths, apprenticeships, Native Americans, Job Corps, a summer jobs bank, grants for undergrad study abroad for languages, public health, STEM, etc. Links are also provided for student loan and consolidation information, VA benefits including educational benefits for students of disabled vets, (all colleges have a VA rep for assistance in this area,) and more.

To read about co-op programs go to www.co-op.edu. A co-op program is similar to an internship in which students volunteer or in some cases are paid, by employers in their field who give them the chance to work for a summer, spring or fall term. This is an excellent way for students to gain experience in their field prior to graduation and gives one a big advantage when applying for a job after graduation with that firm.

In the past, Horace Mann had a scholarship for the children of school employees, among many others. It was a part of the FastWeb database - http://www.fastweb.com/. The deadline in the past has been February and required a seventh semester transcript. Fastweb has much more including a college search engine, and students can search based on selected criteria – for bilingual students, healthcare, etc.

Go to www.whereyouheaded.com for transfer advice, summer programs, alternative educational opportunities, gap year, etc.

The Hispanic Outlook is a magazine devoted to issues concerning the college-bound Hispanic student. It can be viewed online at www.hispanicoutlook.com. Scholarship information specifically for Hispanic students is addressed in this publication. Another possible source of scholarships specifically for Hispanic students is the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC.) It has chapters in most cities of any size, including Wichita Falls, which offers a scholarship to area Hispanic students, annually.

USA Group - http://www.usafunds.org/students/Pages/Access2EdSchol.aspx - in the past awarded scholarships to minority or physically disabled students with economic need but switched to being a resource site instead for groups offering scholarships to underrepresented groups. Links are provided to the American Indian College Fund, Hispanic College Fund, Asian fund, etc.

In the past the Texas Department of Criminal Justice - http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/ - sent information about how to become a part-time correctional officer. According to the brochure job opportunities were available state-wide. In addition to helping someone gain experience in criminal justice this position, as a state job, also had excellent benefits. Because it was sent to high schools I am assuming that college-bound students were targeted and thus the hours were probably flexible so as to be worked around class schedules. TDCJ also has a partnership program with several colleges at which correctional officer training is provided. Graduates of that program who are hired receive a higher wage than those who did not go through the program. Although the site has changed since last received, details were available there.

In the past I have received info from the Northwest Lineman College - http://www.lineman.edu/ - about its training program for electrical lineworkers. Lineworkers work on the electric power lines for companies like West Texas Utilities and Rural Electric Cooperatives. According to information from this school power companies recruited heavily from them and there was a shortage of lineworkers. The starting pay was $11-18 per hour depending on the geographical region with pay increases up to $25 an hour at the journeyman level. In vocational trades the journeyman level is one of the highest levels within an apprenticeship program. Your vocational teachers can explain the vocational apprenticeship structure in greater detail. A job with any utilities company including co-ops is generally a good job with good benefits because of their affiliation with state governments. While Northwest is a for-profit school with a campus in Denton as well as two other states, TSTC also has a lineman program – electrical powerline technician. Occupations which have an apprenticeship program will have that information at their site. The TX Workforce Commission - http://www.texasworkforce.org/ - also has information about apprenticeships and links to the U.S. Department of Labor’s searchable database of industries which offer them, nationwide.

To read about nearly any occupation go to http://www.bls.gov/oco/. This site is the federal government’s online version of the Occupational Outlook Handbook which is the government’s classification of occupations. Each occupation is detailed as to what the job actually is, etc. At www.assessment.com you can take a fairly short interest inventory which matches your interests with the Handbook.

A couple of sites that have come through in the past - www.misscheerleaderofamerica.com – scholarships for cheerleaders; the Congressional Student Leadership Conference - www.lead-america.org (recently became part of Envision) – offers summer programs in healthcare, law, journalism, and other fields. Although fairly expensive, SHS has had students attend the healthcare program and another the national security program and all reported a good experience.

Every year UT’s MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston offers a summer program in biomedical science for a graduating senior interested in biomedical research. Students must be nominated for this program. The application period is December through February - http://www.mdanderson.org/education-and-research/education-and-training/schools-and-programs/summer-science-programs/index.html . Other similar programs are available for undergrads.

At http://www.tcr.org you can read about the Concord Review, an organization which publishes history essays of high school students. Essays which are chosen for publication must meet high standards and include footnotes and bibliography using the Turabian style. For those students who are good writers and enjoy writing they may want to check out this website. Affiliated with the Concord Review is the National Writing Board which has begun assessing student essays on the part of some universities. Similar type services began to grow with the advent of an essay on the SAT I beginning in 2005 with ACT following suit. Many universities now require the optional ACT essay as an admissions requirement in addition to the ACT composite score.