Understanding Financial Aid and College Admissions

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1 Understanding Financial Aid and College Admissions P R E S E N T E D B Y S T U D E N T F I N A N C I A L S E R V I C E S A N D T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F V I R G I N I A C O L L E G E G U I D E P R O G R A M

2 Understanding the Pathways to Post-secondary Education P R E S E N T E D B Y T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F V I R G I N I A C O L L E G E G U I D E P R O G R A M

3 First: A Little About Us

4 Know Your Options Option 1: Career & Technical Schools Option 2: Community College Option 3: Four-Year Colleges and Universities

5 Career Path 1: Career/Technical Schools Advanced Technology Institute Virginia Beach Lincoln College of Technology US Nashville Auto & Diesel College TN Ohio Technical College OH The Apprentice School for Northrop Grumman Newport News Virginia School of Massage Charlottesville WyoTech PA University of Phoenix US Community Colleges and Four-Year Schools

6 Career Path 1: Career and Technical Schools Prepares you with the skills to enter the workforce almost immediately No SAT/ACTs needed Small Classes Specific Programs Online Classes Career Certificates and Degrees BUT some are Expensive Private Non-transferable degrees/credits

7 Proprietary Schools Can be 2 or 4-year colleges For-profit colleges and universities owned by private investors The philosophy behind many proprietary schools is that owners believe students should learn from teachers with actual business experience Proprietary schools are also categorized as career schools because they often feed directly into specialized and vocational career options i.e. Information Technology It is important to verify that proprietary schools are accredited and to know exactly what degree and career options you are investing in! Good or Bad: How can you tell?

8 Better Business Bureau You can use the BBB website to research vocational-technical schools and see which ones are accredited! The BBB uses a set of criteria to decide which schools to accredit for example, an accredited school has been shown to: Have a positive track record Use honest advertising Be responsive to customers needs Protect its customers privacy Etc. You can see the details of how a school is accredited on the BBB s website. Click on View BBB Report, and you ll see a rating on a scale from F to A+ for the business. From here, you can see an explanation of the rating with basic information about the business, customer complaint history, and other useful information.

9 Career Path 2: Community College Admission is open to all! Inexpensive PVCC In-state tuition for Spring 2011: $110.65/credit No SAT/ACT needed Compass Testing for placement NOT for admission English and Math Untimed Free Career Certifications, Degrees Earn an Associates degree in up to 2 years Regionally ACCREDITED!!! Online classes and growing satellite locations Many programs and Transfer Agreements

10 Career Path 2: Community College If you attend a community college for two years, maintain the following GPA and complete a few other steps, you could get GUARANTEED admission into JMU with a 3.0 UVA with a 3.4 Virginia Tech with a 3.4 George Mason with a 2.75 Radford with a 2.8 Old Dominion with a 2.5

11 Career Path 3: 4 year College/University Moderately Expensive In-state public school Cost of Attendance is around $20,ooo/year Transferable Variety of Programs/Majors SAT/ACT Required!!!! Based on Academic Strength Earn a Bachelor s Degree Small and Large Classes

12 Admissions Checklist Register for and take the SAT or ACT Take at least once in the Spring of Junior year and once in the Fall of Senior year Send scores to every school student is applying to through College Board or ACT.org Complete applications online for each school Write Essays and Personal Statements Request a High School transcript from the Guidance Department Request Teacher and Guidance Counselor recommendations as required Deadlines: Rolling First come, first serve. Early Action Usually November 1 st, Non-binding Early Decision Usually November 1 st, BINDING Regular Decision varies by school, notified April 1 st

13 Why College is worth it 90% of the fastest growing careers REQUIRE some form of post-secondary training or education beyond high school! Colleges are training students for jobs that don t exist yet!

14 How to Prepare your Students Start taking the tough classes now! Foreign Language, Math (at least Algebra II), Advanced Classes Course rigor and grades are most important Activities Do Them & Log Them! Clubs, Community Service, Sports, Jobs, Leadership roles Research Schools at Careers at Establish a relationship with a Guidance Counselor, College Guide or Career Coach early!

15 Questions? U N I V E R S I T Y O F V I R G I N I A C O L L E G E G U I D E P R O G R A M