Counseling information that will be helpful as you plan for college and a career.

College Acceptance Many of our students have been accepted and attended colleges including, UC San Diego, Anapolis Naval Academy, Berkley, UC Santa Barbara, UC Riverside, UC Davis, Point Loma, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Layola Marymount, Columbia Union College, Pacific Union College, La Sierra University, Southern Adventist University, Walla Walla College, Andrews University, Azusa Pacific University

Test Preparation There are many sites with information about preparing for the PSAT, SAT, ACT, and other standardized tests. You may go to collegeboard.com and majortests.com for these helpful free practice tests. Mrs Kim will be giving online SAT practice tests to all juniors during their computer class. I have also ordered critical reading workbooks for all juniors and those workbooks will be completed in English class with Mrs. Dudley. All students are given SAT practice booklets and practice tests to complete on their own. There are also organizations that will offer SAT prep courses if students wish to receive more assistance outside of what the school offers. The two best known courses are through Kaplan and Princeton Review.

10th and 11th grade students will take the PSAT test on October 13, 2010

Applications Students should be completing college applications and writing their college essay. Check the school of your choice for application deadlines. Mrs. Dudley will be working with you in senior English class so your essay is outstanding. Applications for most colleges and universities may be completed online. See the list below:

        La Sierra University            www.lasierra.edu
       Pacific Union College          www.puc.edu
       Walla Walla College            www.wwc.edu
       University of California         www.ucop.edu/pathways

           Common Application                www.commonapp.org   (This application can be used for any one of 232 colleges.)

Information about any college may be found at www.collegeboard.com, www.act.org, or www.fastweb.com.

Advanced Placement Exams Students who are enrolled in an AP class are required to take the AP exam in that subject and will receive college credit if the score is high enough. Redlands Adventist Academy offers AP courses in Biology, Calculus, and English. AP exams are offered in English Language, English Literature, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, Computer Science A or AB, Calculus AB or BC, US or European History, Biology, Physics, World History, Chemistry, Government & Politics, Environmental Science, Human Geography and others. Go to the College Board’s AP student site (www.collegeboard.com/apstudents) which offers numerous student resources including the most current information on AP courses and exams, exam preparation and frequently asked questions.

Scholarships For students with financial need, there are many possibilities. The most important step is to complete the FAFSA. A La Sierra University representative will be on our campus on January 25, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. for a financial aid workshop where he will go line by line to explain how to fill out the FAFSA. The workshop will be held in Mrs. Dudley's classroom. Every student should complete this form even if you don’t think you have a financial need. You may do this online between January 2, 2011 and March 2, 2011 by going to www.fafsa.ed.gov. (This is most easily done after your have completed your income tax forms.) Check some of these other sites for valuable financial aidinformation:

www.fastweb.com
www.finaid.org
www.collegeview.com
www.collegeboard.com
www.clearinghouse.net
www.californiacolleges.net
www.scholarshiphelp.org

Become acquainted with these names:

Pell Grant, Stafford Loans, FFEL Stafford Loans, FFEL PLUS Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, Direct Consolidation Loans, FSEOG (Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants), Federal Work-Study, Federal Perkins Loans.

Also do a search for Scholarships on the internet. CAUTION! The Federal Government lists these as statements made by fraudulent scholarship organizations. Do not go on any site that says

“The scholarship is guaranteed or your money back."
“You can’t get this information anywhere else."
“I just need your credit card or bank account number to hold this scholarship."
“We’ll do all the work."
“The scholarship will cost some money."
“You’ve been selected by a national foundation to receive a scholarship."
“You’re a finalist in a contest you never entered."

Career Exploration There are six steps to Career Planning. They are 1. Self-assessment, 2. occupational research, 3. decision making, 4. employment contacts, 5. work, and 6. career/life planning. Check out www.careers.org for more helpful information.

We have an online program for college and career information. Access it by logging on to www.act.org/discover/login and use the user name given at school to the juniors and seniors.

If you find a problem with any website listed, please let Mrs. Bennie know so it can be removed.

Watch on a regular basis for more information.