College Night 10-12-16
Thank you to the 267 people who attended Mazama’s 2nd Annual College Night!
In case you missed College Night or would like an electronic copy of the materials presented:
Thank you to everyone that left us feedback. I will try to address lingering questions and comments:
Congratulations to our 3 $500 scholarship winners: Michael Christensen, Samantha Recino, and Elizabeth Eck!
SENIORS and SENIOR PARENTS: Please attend FAFSA Night next Wednesday, October 19th 6-7:30pm in the library for help completing the FAFSA
SENIOR SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: Oregon Tech will award 1 $500 scholarship to a student who attends FAFSA Night (you will enter your name in a drawing and we will pick one student to win)
Students and parents, please contact your counselor for help planning for college:
10th and 12th Grade: Mrs. Radmaker Reichardt [email protected]
9th and 11th Grade: Mr. Rooney [email protected]
College and Career Pathway Advisor (all grades): Mr. Ojeda [email protected]
In case you missed College Night or would like an electronic copy of the materials presented:
- College Night Presentation – you may download the presentation herehttp://www.collegenights.org/presentations.html
- Opportunities Guide and Workbook http://radmaker.weebly.com/uploads/5/8/6/2/58627543/2016-17_or_opportunities_book.pdf
- Opportunities Guide and Workbook in Spanishhttp://radmaker.weebly.com/uploads/5/8/6/2/58627543/2016-17_or_opportunities_book_-_spanish.pdf
- Scholarship Handout and Search Websiteshttp://radmaker.weebly.com/uploads/5/8/6/2/58627543/2016-2017_scholarships.pdf
- Senior Scholarship List (here I will list all scholarships that come directly to me)https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zrruaaiWahDI-orW860T9s5FV-XyOmsMhMKUf2_VcMo/edit#gid=2058214336
- Office of Student Access and Completion (OSAC) Update – this includes scholarship and Oregon Promise information http://radmaker.weebly.com/uploads/5/8/6/2/58627543/osac_update.pdf
- FAFSA Information Handout – this has links to many short, simple videos that further explain how to complete the FAFSA http://radmaker.weebly.com/uploads/5/8/6/2/58627543/2016-2017_fafsa.pdf
- FAFSA Night Flyerhttps://issuu.com/mazamahighschoolcounseling/docs/mazama_2016_fafsa_night_flyer
- Oregon Public University System Majors and Minors (this lists majors and minors offered at all Oregon Public Universities)http://radmaker.weebly.com/uploads/5/8/6/2/58627543/opu_majors_and_minors.pdf
- Find more info on my website http://mazamacounseling.weebly.com/
- Like the new Mazama College Club Facebook page for information on all upcoming college-related events https://www.facebook.com/MazamaCounseling/
Thank you to everyone that left us feedback. I will try to address lingering questions and comments:
- Someone asked for more information on choosing a college and more specific college information – The best approach is to think of what you want to study then search for colleges that offer that program or look at a college you are interested in and see what programs they offer – all of this information is listed on college websites. You might also attend one or more of our many college representative visits at Mazama. We are hosting a College and Career Fair in April, this might also help you narrow down your choices. The OPU Majors and Minors sheet (linked above) is a very helpful resource to help you figure out which Oregon college may be right for you. You may also talk to your counselor or Mr. Ojeda at school.
- Someone asked what the difference between in-state and private colleges would be. – In-state colleges typically will cost you less money than going out of state. Private colleges are typically more expensive than public colleges but they do offer many financial aid opportunities to help you cover that cost. If you’re looking to go to college in another state, you might check out WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange) to help you get reduced out of state tuition rates http://wue.wiche.edu/search_results.jsp?searchType=all.
- Someone asked for more information on how to find scholarships for particular nationalities. – I would recommend using one of the many scholarship search engines listed on the scholarship handout provided to you and linked above. There is one titled Hispanic Scholarship Fund that may be particularly helpful.
- Someone asked to cover what students might expect on campus as a freshman. – I suggest attending our college representative visits at Mazama for a first-hand account of what it is like as a freshman at different colleges. We also plan campus visits for students to visit colleges in a group. Those visits will be shared with you via e-mail and on the new Mazama College Club Facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/MazamaCollegeClub/. You might also consider visiting a college on your own or with parents or a group of friends. Colleges offer Preview Days; you can find those listed on most college websites.
- Someone asked for clarification on which colleges would accept students with a lower GPA. – Most four-year universities have a minimum of anywhere from a 2.75 to 3.0 GPA requirement for admission. Sometimes you may be able to meet admissions requirements by taking the SAT and ACT and scoring high. If you have a lower GPA and would like to attend college, apply to any community colleges. If you graduate high school, you will be able to enroll at a community college. You may then transfer to a four-year college with a higher college GPA, if that is the route you would like to take. If you have a 2.5 GPA or higher, you might also take advantage of the Oregon Promise to receive free college tuition at any Oregon community college.
- Someone asked how scholarships would work if you attended an out of state college. – Many scholarships you find can be used at any college in any state. You would need to check the scholarship requirements of each scholarship to see if there are stipulations for where you must use the scholarship.
- Someone asked for more information on how to complete the FAFSA. – You complete the FAFSA as a senior, so if you are an underclassman, you do not need to do this until senior year. The FAFSA Information Handout, linked above, has information on how to complete the FAFSA. You might also very strongly consider attending our FAFSA Night (flyer linked above) to receive help completing the FAFSA.
- I received many comments from seniors indicating that they thought the scholarships should only be open to seniors. It was made clear that scholarships are open to students in any grade. Any future scholarships at College Night will continue to be open to students in any grade. I strongly believe that students in every grade have equal right to earn a scholarship such as the ones awarded at College Night. I hope you reconsider your attitude towards this and take advantage of the thousands of other scholarship opportunities available to you when you do your research. Use the scholarship information and websites linked above and communicate with the college you intend to attend for more financial aid opportunities. You win some and you lose some; that’s how scholarships work. Please try to be happy for your peers who did win.
- Thank you to everyone for your feedback on the sound. It seems that people sitting in some areas of the gym could hear much better than others sitting in different areas of the gym. We will take this into consideration when planning College Night next year. We hope to see you again next year!
- Please feel free to give me any other feedback on what you would like us to cover next year. Please contact anyone in the counseling office with any other questions you have about college.
Congratulations to our 3 $500 scholarship winners: Michael Christensen, Samantha Recino, and Elizabeth Eck!
SENIORS and SENIOR PARENTS: Please attend FAFSA Night next Wednesday, October 19th 6-7:30pm in the library for help completing the FAFSA
SENIOR SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: Oregon Tech will award 1 $500 scholarship to a student who attends FAFSA Night (you will enter your name in a drawing and we will pick one student to win)
Students and parents, please contact your counselor for help planning for college:
10th and 12th Grade: Mrs. Radmaker Reichardt [email protected]
9th and 11th Grade: Mr. Rooney [email protected]
College and Career Pathway Advisor (all grades): Mr. Ojeda [email protected]