Miss Merrill's Page for All-Things-College!
What to Expect When You're Expecting...
...to send your baby off to school. Welcome to our Rockingham County High School Student Services' College Access page! We want you to feel empowered in this journey of preparing your child to take the next step in their education, and hope you know that our team is here for you at every juncture in your path!
Whether your student dreams of Harvard or Western Carolina, Rockingham Community College or Universal Technical Institute, please know that our department is here for them, and for you. We pledge to do our best, to work in conjunction with your family, and treat your child with the utmost dignity and respect. Please follow along for our projected timelines, should your child be considering an Associate's, a Bachelor's, or anything in-between!
Please see the "Important Links" page for a direct connection to the North Carolinian graduation requirements for high school students.
Our department is comprised of:
Shannon Hazelwood
Leslie Deaton
Misty Attaway
Beth Knight
Madeline Merrill
We look forward to partnering with you and your family over the course of this 2014-2015 Academic School Year!
Here is a fabulous Senior Year Timeline, broken down month-by-month.
SENIOR YEAR TIMELINE
Summer:
1. Narrow your choices and determine where you will be applying to college. Remember that you will be able to have all application fees, up to a reasonable limit (see below), waived. Also, because you will be filing the FAFSA (on time) and eligible for a financial aid package that is predominantly gift-aid (grants and scholarships that do not need to be paid back), you should not allow college costs to dissuade you from considering any particular college or university at this point in your decision-making.
You may apply up to 4 NC campuses/private universities with an application fee waiver (see Miss Merrill for details).
We as a department recommend that students apply to no more than 10 colleges; 6 is ideal in most circumstances. Applicants should be confident of their admissions qualifications at one or two colleges; they should "reach" for admission at one or two; and they should have a reasonable chance of admission at another one or two.
2. Update your resume. List your involvements in and out of school, and time commitments. Include leadership positions you have held.
3. If you don't already have one, create an e-mail address that has your name in it and is business-like. Free e-mail addresses are available through Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail. When college admission offices contact you, it should be clear that they have the correct address. For example, if your name is John K. Smith, it is important that your email address be johnksmith@server.com,rather than cuteguy@server.com.
4. If you have a Facebook page, Instagram or Twitter accounts, make sure they are private and can only be viewed by friends that you approve.
5. Make sure you have a social security number. You will need it to file for financial aid. If you do not have a social security number because you are undocumented, then again...come talk to Miss Merrill
Fall:
1. IN AUGUST and/or SEPTEMBER, register for entrance exams (SAT and/or ACT) if you have not fulfilled the test requirements of the colleges and universities you are applying to:
If you have not taken the SAT or ACT, be sure to register on time (with fee waivers, if eligible) to take either or both exams this fall (by November, ideally!). If you are applying to UNC Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, Duke, etc, and/or other selective universities, you must take the ACT Plus Writing if you want to submit ACT scores for admissions consideration. You may register twice for FREE (on-time registration only!) with fee waivers for 2 SAT sittings, 2 ACT sittings, and 2 SAT Subject Test sittings (up to 6 subjects). UNC Chapel Hill no longer requires SAT Subject Tests for admission, but some majors may recommend them and/or some private colleges may require them. It's worth a bit of research, on your end!
If you took the SAT and/or ACT Plus Writing (and SAT Subject Tests if required by the colleges/programs you're applying to) in the spring of your junior year, you do not HAVE to take the exams again this fall....but Miss Merrill strongly recommends that you do!
You will need to submit your test results to all colleges for admissions consideration.
2. Ask a teacher(s) and/or school counselor and/or administrator (someone who knows you) to write a letter of recommendation, if needed. Certain schools (NC State, UNC Charlotte) do not require letters of recommendation for admissions consideration. However, most independent colleges and universities require one or two letters of recommendation for admissions consideration. You should ask your teacher(s)/counselor early, let them know where you're applying, and what the deadline dates are. If you are a youth in foster youth, you absolutely should indicate your desire to be considered for financial aid on your college applications.
3. IN OCTOBER, FILE YOUR APPLICATION(S). Also, look at the application deadline dates of independent universities to which you are applying. Prepare your essays/personal statements based on the prompts provided in the applications. Foster youth should make sure they check the "interested in applying to EOP" box on the NC campus applications.
4. KEEP UP YOUR GRADES IN YOUR CLASSES. Now is NOT the time to catch "senior-itis!".
5. IN DECEMBER, COMPLETE ANY REMAINING APPLICATIONS BY THE DEADLINE. Request your high school to send your transcript to those colleges and/or universities, either immediately or after your 7th semester (current semester) grades are posted in January, depending on what is requested. You will be required to submit your final high school transcript, after graduation, to the one campus you decide to enroll in. At that time, the campus will "validate" that your self-reported grades on your application were accurate. If you reported your grades with errors, your offer of admission is subject to cancellation.
**Throughout fall and spring, make sure to work hard in your classes. Your senior year grades will have a bearing on your admission to college.**
Jan-Feb:
1. Submit the FAFSA (Federal Application for Free Student Aid) electronically. The deadline for filing is March 1 at most colleges and universities, but may be earlier at some independent colleges and universities (e.g. the Wake Forest deadline is Feb. 1). The FAFSA may not be filed prior to Jan. 1 because you need to have year-end numbers for 2014. Foster youth (those in foster care on or after their 13th birthday) will file the FAFSA as independent students. Go towww.fafsa.ed.gov to file the online form....and don't forget! You need a PIN (personal identification number) to sign electronically.
2. If you are applying to Wake Forest, Davidson, Duke, Elon, Chapel Hill, you may be requested to submit the CSS/Financial Aid Profile, in addition to the FAFSA. If you are required to file it, you should qualify for a fee waiver for its submission. Be sure to file it by the university's deadline which may be as early as Feb. 2!!!!
3. Study hard for your final exams in January. Request mid-year reports be sent from your school to any independent colleges and universities that request them (certain schools may not require them).
4. Review your Student Aid Report (SAR) and make corrections, if necessary. If you don’t receive your report within three weeks of submitting your FAFSA, call toll free 1-800-433-3243.
5. If you plan to attend a North Carolina Community College (NCCC), file your application now. Go to CFNC to apply (Miss Merrill can reset your CFNC username/password).
6. File your scholarship applications for private funds in January, February, and March, checking the website of each organization to ensure meeting the deadlines. See Miss Merrill's scholarship bulletin!
Spring:
1. Keep up your grades! As you receive offers of admission from colleges, the offers will be contingent on the successful completion of your senior year courses at the achievement level on which you were admitted. Be sure to READ your admit letters in their entirety, including the provisions for admission (sometimes the provisions are in the letter and sometimes they are in a separate document). Every summer, significant numbers of students have their offers of admission rescinded because of poor grades earned in the final semester of high school. This REALLY happens!
2. Keep checking your e-mail, as admission and financial aid offices may send notifications with requests for additional information. Also, you may be urged to apply for housing on some campuses before you have decided to enroll. Go ahead and follow the instructions from each campus. When you make your choice by May 1 (see item 5 below), you can notify the other colleges that you will not be attending.
3. If you have been admitted, and you are considering accepting the offer of admission, you may have to take placement tests (the English Placement Test--EPT; and the Entry-Level Math test--ELM) by the first Saturday in May of your senior year. Some students will be exempt, based on scores earned on the EAP or SAT, etc.
4. By April 30, you should receive notification about your NC Grant. If you don't hear by this deadline, call toll free.
5. By May 1, you will have to select ONE college or university at which to enroll, from among the colleges and universities that offered you admission. You should be able to make an informed decision by considering the preliminary financial aid award from each institution. Congratulations! You're going to college! Be sure to let Miss Merrill know of all your acceptances/financial aid awards.
6. After high school graduation, you will need to send your official high school transcript to the college you're attending in the fall. Watch the deadline for date of submission (usually July 15 but it could be sooner). Be sure to keep checking your e-mail, so that you can meet other deadlines. For example, you might have an opportunity to attend a summer advising session and a campus orientation, like the Summer Bridge program. Be sure to take advantage of all the support offered by your new college or university.