Welcome
back to
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
Wilder/Naifeh technical training monies that support
programs offered by Tennessee Vocational
Technical Training Schools.
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
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. Students and
parents each apply
for their pin number in December of the senior year. The FASFA is
completed
A.S.A.P. after January when parents/guardian have completed and filed the last
year’s
income
tax data. This year is 2010 and tax data for 2009 is used on the required FASFA
paper work.
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.
http://www.rheacounty.org/schools/rchs/.
Choose “guidance” then “seniors.”
Thank
you,
B.
Ballentine,
423-775-7824 E-Mail- ballentineb@rheacounty.org