Begin getting your Senior Resume together. You will have to complete several applications, and some will need to request letter of references during senior year, whether for colleges, scholarships or future jobs. Work, volunteer experience, clubs, hobbies, interests, awards, recognitions and school/community involvement, all can strengthen a student’s chances of being accepted or hired. There is still time to gain some of that experience, so get involved.
If you have not yet visited any school campuses, the coming months would be the ideal time to do this with your parents/guardians. If you are unable to make a trip or campuses are not yet scheduling tours, check online, as many campuses now have virtual tours.
Talk with college representatives and military recruiters as they visit KHS during lunch and sign up for information sessions with Ms. Rogans.
Finalize the list of colleges to which you plan to send applications. It is a good idea to apply to your college(s) of choice by the end of September to ensure you meet important deadlines. Many prestigious private schools and Honors Colleges require the ACT writing and/or SAT subject tests and have earlier deadlines, so familiarize yourself with admissions requirements, scholarship and admissions deadlines.
Once you have applied to a college, request a transcript (our process for requesting an electronic transcript is changing, so stay tuned for instructions later in August) or fill out a transcript request form in guidance ($2 fee) and give it to one of our guidance secretaries.
Letters of Recommendation ~ Do not wait to ask for a letter of recommendation at the last minute. Be aware of deadlines and respectfully give the person at least 2 weeks notice or know that last minute requests for recommendations result in a last minute evaluation! Have your resume and/or Senior Brag Sheet ready to assist the recommender (the Senior Brag Sheet can be found in the senior link on the RHS School Counseling webpage).
Scholarships ~ Do not wait to begin searching for scholarships. Our 2020 class earned over $16.7 million in scholarship offers. Start today! Make scholarship searches a regular part of your day. Check the scholarship page on the RHS School Counseling webpage regularly as there are many local scholarships posted as they become available.
Here are additional sites to get you started.
www.collegefortn.org
www.cfmt.org
If interested in attending a Community College or TN College of Applied Technology for free, go to http://tennesseepromise.gov/ to see TN Promise eligibility requirements. Deadline to apply is November 1 and there will be much more info to come.
You have two semesters to work on your final GPA. Make every class count! Keep in mind that rank occurs in late January. This means for ranking purposes, you will only have the fall semester left to work on your cumulative percent.
ACT Registration – www.act.org. The first test date of the year is September 12 (registration deadline is August 14). Check the ACT website for more information, fees and test dates.
If Division I or II college athletics is in your future, you must register with NCAA at www.ncaa.org. There will be an NCAA night, date and time TBD.
After October 1, 2022 file the 2022-2023 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This is the application for all Federal Grants and Reduced Interest Loans, the TN Lottery HOPE Scholarship AND the TN Promise Scholarship. March 1, 2021 is the recommended FAFSA completion date for financial aid consideration (February 1 for TN Promise).
If you are interested in being a TN Scholar, go to the RHS School Counseling Webpage for the requirement guidelines, checklist, application and volunteer form.
We want to know about any and ALL scholarship offers that you receive and will have a scholarship form due to guidance May 1, 2022, so keep those letters and email offers! We also would like to know about honors you have received like Governor’s School or All State Band, please notify Mrs. Harvison or Mrs. Karls
Start saving for all the senior year expenses. Take care of any and all student debts with our bookkeeper, Mrs. Teresa Hughes, immediately, and no later than April 1.
Please update your Facebook, Instagram or other social media pages to remove any offensive or incriminating pictures or posts. Colleges, scholarship committees, and future employers often look at your pages. Be smart when it comes to social media!