I know that
as your senior year winds down, a whole new set of stressors begin
to emerge. Whether its prom, grades, summer plans, fall plans, it can get kind
of overwhelming. I would like to offer
a couple of tips/suggestions for those seniors who might have put off their decision
to go to college until now.
First of
all, it’s not too late! Would it have
been more beneficial to have started this process a little bit earlier? Sure, it would have. But things happen. Maybe your other plans fell through or you
just weren’t sure what you were going to do until now. If you really want to go to college this next
fall, it can still happen. And, if it
doesn’t happen this fall, there is always the following semester or even the
following year.
How am I
going to pay for college?
This is a
major consideration as college can be expensive. You should complete the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible to apply for federal and state grants,
and to be considered for student loans.
Most high school seniors will need to use their parent’s information
including 2015 tax returns.
Where should
I go to college?
I am
guessing that you have had this thought in the back of your head for a while as
you have been talking to friends and listening to them discuss their
plans. A lot of things can come into
play when making this decision: Are you going to live at home and attend a
nearby school? How much can you
afford? What major are you going to choose? Are you looking at a 2 year or 4 year degree?
Your choices
will be somewhat limited because you procrastinated, however you should visit
the college you are considering. Go online to the college’s website or call to schedule a visit to check out the
college and get your questions answered.
Once you have made a decision, apply for admission.
What’s next?
After doing
the things I mentioned above, don’t forget to follow up. You will get information back from the
Department of Education about your FAFSA and also from the college you applied
to. Be sure to pay attention to anything
you receive and soon you will be signing up for orientation and registering for
classes.
Please do
not procrastinate when it comes to signing up for classes! Sign up for the earliest orientation you can,
so that you have more options when it comes to classes.
ICAN is
here to help. We can walk you through
the process and help you with all of these things. We can advise you as to what you should be
doing, what questions you should be asking yourself and the colleges, and guide you
as follow through. If you have already
started this process, or are too overwhelmed to start, call us for an
appointment or schedule online at www.icansucceed.org/apt. We can guide you through
all of this!
John - ICAN Waterloo Center
