• Important request: If you receive a notice for a meeting with an ASPIRE volunteer, please either attend the meeting or notify the ASPIRE office that you are unable to meet at the requested time.  

• If you have been accepted to a college or trade school, please be sure to notify the ASPIRE office and/or the counseling office. We will publish college acceptances in future editions of this newsletter and on the bulletin board outside the ASPIRE office.  

• When completing applications for college admissions or scholarships, be sure to follow all instructions including the processes for submitting transcripts, SAT/ACT scores, FAFSA reports, etc. In some cases you will need to initiate the process through the counseling office or online via the College Board, ACT, or FAFSA. Check with ASPIRE or the counseling office for more information.  

• We have revised and expanded the Scholarships, Loans, and Grants page on the SiuslawAfterHS website. Local scholarships are now in a separate category. There are new categories for College and University Scholarships, State and National Private Scholarships, and Scholarships after High School. To find the web page, go to  www.sites.google.com/site.siuslawafterhs. Then scroll down the left side until you reach Scholarships, Loans and Grants under Financial Aid. There are about 45 local scholarships listed, and another 40 or so regional and national ones (although there are thousands more if you search the web). Local and regional/national scholarships are now listed (with brief explanations each scholarship’s primary purpose) on a new bulletin board in the ASPIRE office.  

• Approaching deadlines:  

December 7: National Honor Society scholarship applications deadline 

December 8: ACT 

December 10: Rhody Court applications due 

Note: exam week is January 28-31. 

• Plan to work on scholarship applications during the winter break if possible. Writing essays for scholarships would be time well spent. Save your work to Google Docs so you can access your essays later to make revisions and to cut and paste for other essays.  

• A good starting point for writing scholarship essays is to write drafts of the four that you will need for OSAC. Those essay questions are:  

1. What are your specific educational plans and career goals and why? What inspires you to achieve them? 

2. What have you done for your family or community that you care about the most and why? 

3. Describe a personal accomplishment and the strengths and skills you used to achieve them. 

4. Describe a significant change or experience that has occurred in your life. How did you respond and what did you learn about yourself? 

• If you are an academically strong student with financial need, you should apply for a Ford Family Foundation scholarship through OSAC. See ASPIRE for details.  

• New scholarships this year:  

1. The Donaghey Visual/Performing Arts Scholarship 

2. Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Spoomer Memorial Scholarship. There are now three scholarships offered by the SVFR. The newest one is for students entering the medical or emergency services professions.  

3. VFW Merritt Mosby Memorial Scholarship  

• Are you planning to attend LCC after graduation from SHS? There is a free course (for college credit) offered on the Eugene campus called RTEC 101. It is offered once a week on Tuesdays or Wednesdays from beginning at 4:00 or 4:30 PM. Courses begin on January 9, January 15, and February 13. You will learn about the campus, courses of study, college finances, and exploring your goals. Registration opens on December 4. See ASPIRE for details.  

• Summer opportunities at the University of Oregon: U of O offers one-week summer camps in a variety of subject areas to 8th through 12th graders. These camps are free to students with financial need and those who will be the first in family to attend college, or who are members of a minority group. Some camps offer housing on the U of O campus. The program is called SAIL (Summer Academy to Inspire Learning). See ASPIRE for details.  

• On Friday, February 22, there will be a “Future Forestry Workers Career Day” in Eugene. Participants will learn about careers in forestry, reforestation, logging, trucking, diesel mechanics, operating heavy equipment, and wildland firefighting. There will be hands-on activities and exhibits. See ASPIRE or the counseling office for details.  

• If you have not yet completed and submitted the FAFSA, try to do so before the winter break.  

• Not yet participating in ASPIRE? Sign up with a simple form, or schedule an appointment with an ASPIRE volunteer. If you are participating in ASPIRE but have not met with a volunteer recently, please don’t hesitate to ask for a meeting time.