September 2019

Welcome back and congratulations on reaching your senior year in high school! We look forward to working with you to help you plan your future, apply to colleges, apply for scholarships, and more. If you have not yet signed up for ASPIRE, we encourage you to do so in the near future. Sign-up forms are available in the ASPIRE office.

Please be proactive whenever you wish to meet with ASPIRE. We get increasingly busy during the year, and we strongly encourage you to let us know when you want to meet!

Welcome to the newest members of our ASPIRE team of volunteers: Vicky Philben and Barbara Perez. More new members of the ASPIRE team to be announced in the next newsletter. They join our other great ASPIRE volunteers Kathy Anderson, Mary DeCeault, April Dumas, Jay Guettler, Paula Harrison, Susan Kirby, Tim Lamb, Deena Mitchell, and Bill Perletti.

As you settle in to the new school year, please pay attention to some important deadlines that are approaching soon:

Gates Millennium Scholarships: For minority students who have financial need and a GPA of at least 3.3. Deadline to apply is September 15. https://www.thegatesscholarship.org/scholarship

The annual SHS Scholarship and Financial Aid Information Night will be on October 7, beginning at 6:30 PM in the commons. Please mark your calendars!

The Elks National Foundation is accepting applications until November 5 for the Most Valuable Student Scholarships. https://www.elks.org/scholars/news.cfm?StoryID=119242

Early action applications to the University of Oregon and Oregon State are due by November 1. Applicants will be notified by December 15.

For students planning to enter a health profession, the application period for Kaiser Permanente scholarships opens on September 9 and closes on December 6. The process is different this year, so be sure to check with ASPIRE for details.

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid): You may complete the FAFSA online beginning on October 1. All students who may be eligible for financial assistance to attend college should complete the FAFSA. See the ASPIRE office for details.

Oregon Promise: If you may be attending a community college in Oregon, you should apply for an Oregon Promise grant. The application period opens on November 1. You will need at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA by the end of your senior year to be eligible.

SAT and ACT: The SAT will be offered on campus on Wednesday, October 16. The sign-up process will begin soon. If you wish to take the SAT or ACT at other times, the next deadlines are September 6 to register for the October 5 SAT and September 20 to register for the October 26 ACT.

SAT Prep sessions for seniors will be held in the library during PRIDE on the following days:

· Thursday, 9/26

· Thursday, 10/3

· Thursday, 10/10

There will be a wrap-up review session for all grades (10-12) during PRIDE on Tuesday, October 15.

Please see Bob in ASPIRE if you would also like to arrange for individual review sessions, or if you want to take the SAT on another date (it will be offered at no charge on October 16 at SHS, but you may sign up for other test dates at other locations), or if you want to take the ACT.

If you are debating between the SAT and the ACT, there is a comparison chart available in ASPIRE.

Other news items:

Grade Point Average: Oregon Promise (a grant for students attending community colleges in Oregon) requires a 2.5 cumulative GPA, and the Oregon public colleges and universities generally require a 3.0. If your GPA is below those averages, there may still be time to reach the required level. Please stop by the ASPIRE or counseling office and we can do some calculating. Many scholarship organizations will be looking at your GPA, but they are also looking for steady improvement as well as other factors like SAT or ACT scores and community service.

Speaking of community service, many scholarship organizations and colleges will be interested in the volunteer work you’ve done. If you haven’t done much yet, there’s still time. See the ASPIRE office for a list of volunteer opportunities in the community.

Register to vote: Election Day this year is November 5. The presidential primary election in Oregon will be held on May 19, 2020, and the general election will be on November 3, 2020. You do not have to be 18 to register, but you do need to be 18 in order to vote. Registration forms are available in the ASPIRE and counseling offices.

Lane Community College has a new 2-year degree in Cyber Security. For more information contact lanecc.edu/cybersecurity or the ASPIRE office.