RCHS Seniors,

Welcome back to Rhea County High School. Seems like just yesterday you entered RCHS as a freshman, and here you are entering your last year of high school. Life goes by quickly, and I want you to think about that this year. After high school graduation, a student has one of four options: go directly into the work force, go to some type of technical or college training, enter the military, or become a stay-at-home person who depends on parent support. What are your plans? The average person works full-time for twenty-five to thirty years. Where do you see yourself in five years, and how do you plan to get there? This is the last year to practice for “real life,” and I hope each of you choose to make this year count towards a successful future.

One thing you may not know is that there is some type of funding support for every graduating senior. You do not have to think only of college training; however, technology is moving at a lightning pace, and all of us must keep up to stay competitive. The question students most often ask is, “If I choose to go for some type of training, how can I get the money to attend?”

All high school graduates who have been Tennessee residents for one year have access to Wilder/Naifeh technical training monies that support programs offered by Tennessee Vocational Technical Training Schools. Rhea County has four in the area: Athens Technical Center, Chattanooga State Technical Center, Crossville Technical Center and Harriman Technical Center. Each Center has different training programs that are three to twenty-four months long. Vocational Training Centers are not the same as an academic college; training is mostly hands-on skill development that quickly prepares students for work force entry. Attendance is very important and course completion is based on time spent in class training (Tennessee Technology Centers - http://www.paris.tec.tn.us/ttclist.htm ).

Students planning to attend a Tennessee college/university also have the opportunity to earn a state-sponsored HOPE scholarship. The requirements for this are up-dated and changed each year by Tennessee State Representatives; currently, a student must maintain a 3.0 GPA or earn a minimum score of 21 on the ACT. Students who earn a score of 29 or better will earn additional HOPE scholarship funds. Sadly, what many students don’t realize is that this scholarship can be lost by not maintaining a specific level of progress while in college. Many students qualify for HOPE during their senior year of high school but lose those monies their freshman year of college because they don’t pay proper attention to their grades or to studying. College is much more demanding than high school.

Colleges and universities offer their own limited scholarships on a competitive basis. An ACT score of 25 is usually the beginning score for which these institutions will make an offer to students; a score of 29-31 might even earn a student a full scholarship that includes tuition, fees, room and board. Every point past 25 on the composite ACT (the average of your English, math, science, and reading scores) can be worth thousands of dollars over a four-year college program. These offers are time and institution specific. The college application and ACT test deadline is usually December of a student’s senior year. Don’t wait too late! Go to your college choice web site and look for scholarships and early application procedures. Students can apply to more than one college.

FAFSA is a federal fund offered to students based on their parents’ income earnings. An adjusted income of around $36,000 has generally been the cut-off point for Pell grant funds. When a student completes FAFSA filing requirements (and all students should do this whether they think they will attend college or not), he/she will also be enrolling for the Tennessee HOPE Funding Source. Students and parents each apply for their pin number in December of the senior year. FASFA filing starts in January and requires the current year’s income tax data. RCHS is planning on Sunday afternoon February 22, 2009, as a date that parents and students can come in and complete this process.

Student loans are another source of college funds. Unlike scholarships and grants, loans require pay back with interest. Qualified students will have deferred payback as long as the student continues to make progress on their program of studies. Loan applicants are required to complete the FASFA filing procedures. The college you plan to attend will assist in loan processing.

RCHS Senior Web Page offers up-dates on more specific senior information.

http://www.rheacounty.org/schools/rchs/. Choose “guidance” then “seniors.”

Thank you,

B. Ballentine, RCHS Senior Counselor

423-775-7824 E-Mail- ballentineb@rheacounty.org