Dear Highland Students & Families,
It’s only the second full week of September, but we have been favorably impressed by
the senior students who have come forward to ask about college applications, financial
aid, and scholarships. Here is some advice, some information, and some college-
related events to mark your calendars.
College Applications: The Sequence of Events If you are applying to Idaho colleges and programs:
1) Apply.
2) Get admitted.
3) Apply for scholarships on their website (starting at about the start of the new
calendar year).
The no-cost platform with 10 Idaho colleges, career technical school and programs,
called Apply Idaho opens October 2nd.
If you are applying to Ivy League / selective colleges or BYU Provo / Hawaii:
1) Apply very soon. Each college has its own priority or early decision or hard
deadlines. The BYU Provo / Hawaii deadline is November 1st, no wiggle room.
2) Ivy League / selective colleges want to apply for admission and financial aid at
the same time. These schools have you complete the CSS Profile on the College
Board website (which is a real process).
3) In the spring you will learn about your admission status and your financial aid
award / package.
4) It will cost money to submit applications to these schools (you can always ask for
an application fee waiver) and to request official transcripts for your dual-credit
coursework.
If you are applying to out-of-state schools or programs:
1) It will often cost money to apply, but ask the CCAs if they have a fee waiver
(sometimes we do and sometimes we don’t).
2) Get admitted.
3) Apply for scholarships offered by that school or program, and then look for lots of
other money because your first year at an out-of-state school will be expensive.
In your second year, assuming you have fully established residency, you will be
eligible for in-state tuition.
If you are interested in the military service academies . . .
West Point, Annapolis, the Air Force Academy, the United State Merchant Marine
Academy. Students interested in applying and being considered for admission at any of these
distinguished academies have to start the process at the start of the junior year. Talk to
the CCAs for more information.
Training programs / apprenticeships / study or work abroad:
Just ask the CCAs
Planning on a year or two of service after graduation:
We still strongly encourage you to apply to colleges or training programs in your
senior year and complete a FAFSA before you leave.
The FAFSA
It is being revised, revamped, simplified.
Sigh.
It will not open until December or January, which will put the squeeze on our seniors
and families. But the CCAs will offer events this fall and in the new year to help students
and families get the FAFSA completed and submitted. The Idaho colleges and training
programs cannot award scholarships until the FAFSA is submitted.
Stay tuned for more information on this topic.
Scholarship Monies
We have had students inquire about scholarships before they have applied to any
colleges, which is putting the cart before the horse, a bit.
Students should think about scholarship money as a series of concentric circles. The
first and easiest money (if you have been a good and conscientious student) is found at
the schools to which you’ve been accepted; they want to entice you to come with
scholarship offers. The second grouping of money is offered by the state of Idaho and
by Idaho foundations / corporations / private scholarships. The third pot of money is
national scholarships, which you’ll see at websites like scholarships.com, FastWeb, etc.
In the national scholarship category, you will find lots and lots of money, but will also
face much more competition. It is entirely up to you how you go after scholarship
money, but schools have coffers of money for students – based on GPA, or instrument
played, or program of study, or hometown, or many other factors – that is waiting to be
tapped.
Also any scholarship money is a diminishing pot. The longer students wait to apply for
scholarships, the less likely that scholarship money will come their way . . . the state
only has so much money to give away, colleges and universities have a set scholarship
budget, and foundations (family, corporate, private) likewise have a set amount of
money designated for scholarships.
In terms of deadlines, please ask your college career advisors, but in general:
Apply to the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship as soon as it opens (in October).
Apply to institutions for their scholarships (for start date Fall 2024) beginning on
January 1st , 2024.
Apply to private / corporate / national / foundation scholarships according to the
directions on their website.
College Visits ! ! ! Mark Your Calendars
Colleges are coming to call, so please mark your calendars and don’t miss these
opportunities.
PLEASE NOTE: Students who wish to attend such visits during the school day, have to
speak to their teachers ahead of time, ask nicely for permission to attend, turn in any
work due that day ahead of time, and return immediately to class if the visit concludes
or the student has had his or her questions answered. This is important. Students
cannot – and should not – assume that they will be excused from class if they have not
made arrangements ahead of time. And teachers reserve the right to not excuse
students from class.
University of Oregon
Native American student recruitment
Monday, September 18th
12 noon to 12:36 pm
CCA area, C-36
Boise State University
Friday, September 22nd
11:12 am to 12:27 pm (3 rd hour)
Room B-18 (Ms. Plato’s room)
Utah Tech University Admissions Open House
Formerly known as Dixie State
Tuesday, September 26th
6 to 8 pm
Media Center
Please see the CCAs about pre-registration and preparation.
University of Utah
Tuesday, October 17th
10 am
CCA area, C-36
That is enough for one Monday. Read in the weeks ahead about the new FAFSA, Apply
Idaho, dual-credit coursework, and all kinds of good stuff.
Alice Rowe
Sarah May Clarkson
College career advisors, C-36
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