College-bound students who seek admission to any Illinois public community college, college, or university must have completed four years of English; three years each of social studies, mathematics, and science; and two years of music, art, or a foreign language.
Many selective colleges require more than the above.Meeting the MHS graduation requirements does not satisfy entrance requirements to all colleges and universities.
For application purposes colleges require that a minimum of a "C" letter grade be earned for core high school courses (English, math, science, social studies, foreign language, & fine arts).
Senior year timeline:
October - submit college applications (preferably on-line) and request that a high school transcript be sent from MHS
November & December - become familiar with available scholarships - college-specific, local, & national (find help below)
January - become familiar with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
February - complete & submit the FAFSA on-line using completed student & parent 1040 forms for the 2006 tax year
March & April - decide on a college based on the student aid packages offered by each college or university
May 1st - deadline to commit to most colleges - tuition deposit required
Seniors going to Sauk Valley Community College should apply by February, take the appropriate placement tests, and register for classes as early as possible
Students who wish to transfer from one college to another college will be accepted based on the grade point average and coursework from the first college. High school transcripts and ACT scores will not be considered.
For information about transfering college credits go to this site:
www.transfer.org
Sauk Valley Community College has agreed to articulate the following courses with Morrison High School:
Computer Concepts OAS 101 2 credits
Computer Applications II CIS 109 3 credits
Desktop Publishing CIS 143 1 credit
Accounting ACC 100 4 credits
Architectural Drafting
DFT 104
4 credits
Students must earn a B or higher in the high
school courses listed above in order to earn college credit at Sauk
Valley Community
College. There is no tuition charged for these free college
credits and they may transfer to other institutions!
Sauk Valley Community College also awards dual enrollment credits for many of the courses available to juniors and seniors attending the Whiteside Area Career Center. The following is a list of those WACC courses:
Computer Technology, Criminal Justice, Drafting/CAD, Graphic Arts Technology, Machine & Manufacturing Technology, Welding & Fabrication, and Child Care
Students are encouraged to see the guidance
counselor for a list of college course equivalents and credits
available at Sauk Valley Community College for the above listed WACC
courses. This is an excellent way to get a jump start on your
college degree!
When applying to college, high school students
may NOT count Basic Algebra (Pre-Algebra) or Basic Geometry as a year of math even
though the credit earned in these courses will count
towards the Morrison High School graduation requirements. These
courses are also not NCAA
approved.
Seniors may take classes through Sauk Valley Community College and earn both college and high school credit at the same time. Morrison students register for these classes during the late winter of their junior year at the same time that they register for senior courses at MHS. In the past there has been funding available through the "ACE Grant" to pay for half of the tuition. Parents of juniors will receive a letter of explanation in January.
Juniors may also use Ace Grant assistance to help pay for summer school courses at SVCC before their senior year.
Here are some sites to go to if you are
shopping for a college (and ways to pay for it):
www.CollegeAnswer.com (for students)
www.ParentAnswerService.com (for parents)
www.scholarships.com
www.eduregistry.org
www.collegequestions.org
The College Board at www.collegeboard.org. The CB links you to colleges for basic info as well as to apply on-line.
Student Guide to Funding
Your Education at www.studentaid.ed.gov.
This site links to information about all federal aid programs,
including links to the FAFSA and PIN sites listed separately.
.
Fastaid - From the authors
of Prentice Hall's The Scholarship Book comes this site for researching
private sector scholarships: www.fastaid.com.
GoCollege - Go to www.gocollege.com for scholarship
searches and to fill out a profile that matches you to colleges.
ANYCOLLEGE.NET
is a search engine for locating colleges of interest to the individual
student. With AnyCollege.Net you can sort schools by program, state,
school type, sports, and by school name. You can even fill out a simple
scholarship form for $1000.
The Community Foundation of the Great
River Bend has added a scholarship directory of over 350
scholarships to its website at www.cfgrb.org.
Check it out.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association Clearinghouse website. The Clearinghouse serves three main constituent groups: prospective student-athletes, high school administrators, and NCAA member institutions. The following Morrison High School courses are approved for NCAA credit:
English I, IA, II, IIA, III, IIIA, & IV, Creative Writing, Mythology, Practical Communications, Advanced Speech, Women in Literature, American Politics, Current Events, Docu-Drama, Geography, Psychology, US History I, II, & III, World History, Calculus, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra 2/Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry I & II, Environmental Science, Integrated Science, Physics, Physiology, French I, II, III, & IV, Spanish I, II, III, & IV
Log on to the following site for further details:
FINANCIAL AID
SENIORS: AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AFTER JANUARY 1:
FAFSA - The Free
Application for Federal Student Aid is available in paper form through
the guidance office. This is THE financial aid form that MUST be
completed by all college students. It is the basis for decisions about
all forms of federal and state monies. Seniors should be working with
their parents to get this completed as soon as possible after January
1. The application will ask for information from the 1040 income tax
form. The on-line
address for FAFSA is www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Call 1-800-801-0576 will get you information about computer use for the
FAFSA. Note: Always list an Illinois
college first among your choices to
automatically apply for state grants.
Illinois Student Assistance Commission
at www.collegezone.com ISAC
branches into several categories. The site gives information on
selecting a college, academic preparation, college information,
financing
college including getting financial aid. This specific
location allows you to do an early profile of financial need. This
should be done during the fall of your senior year.
"Financial Aid For College Education"
- A short PowerPoint presentation providing a general overview of
financial aid is available for viewing on the web! The Illinois Student
Assistance Commission (ISAC) produced this short program to walk
students and parents through the basic process of obtaining money for
college. See the ISAC website at www.collegezone.com
Fastweb at www.fastweb.com. The screen that
appears starts you on a search for scholarships for which you qualify
based on your answers. You need an e-mail address for return info.
Students.gov is the
national access for a variety of government programs including -- but
not limited to -- planning your education and financing college,
military service and benefits, filing taxes online, registering to
vote, career development, and more.
The Student Financial Aid Information
Toll-Free Hotline is 1-800-4FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). Hours are 8 a.m.
to midnight (Eastern time) seven days a week. They can help with
questions about the financial aid process, particularly the student aid
report.
For tips on college, an on-line financial aid award analyzer,
and scholarship searching, go to www.wiredscholar.com.
Students are also reminded to ask college reps about
scholarships, grants, and employment opportunities available on their
campuses.
Southside Elementary
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