September, 2006
Dear Senior Parent:
Well, here it is – the year that you have been anticipating with bittersweet feelings. This year will be filled with deadlines that will keep your child’s head spinning, so we recommend that you get them a planner now, and make sure that they are using it. We met with each senior individually the first week of school and verified that graduation is in order for this year if all courses are completed successfully. This week, we met with the class as a group and discussed their agenda for the year which included such things as SAT Reasoning Test, SAT Subject Tests, ACT, THEA and AP. These test scores should be a part of your student’s record as soon as possible, if they are not already. Applications to universities should be completed now. Colleges recommend that they be submitted electronically by Thanksgiving in order to insure that all items will be submitted by their deadline. Housing applications and deadlines vary from school to school, so that should be investigated now.
If career decisions and future plans are still pending, an appointment should be arranged with Ms. Ahmal Tuck, the Kerr career specialist, in the Career and Life Management (CALM) center. If your senior has an existing Kuder account, he/she can have unlimited access for life, to some vital information to help with career planning. Once a student has set up an account, he/she can access it anywhere and at anytime on the internet. There are free ACT and SAT practice tests as well as a college search/application, scholarship search, career search, worldwide job search, interest inventory, skills inventory and values inventory, as well as a resume writing section. After the student enters his password he can find all of this and more at the web site: www.kuder.com . If students cannot remember their password, they need to see Ms. Tuck to retrieve it. There is also a Spanish translation available for Spanish speakers.
College Night will be October 11 at Taylor High School from 6:30-9:00. Plan to attend with your senior to meet with representatives from over 100 colleges and universities.
The 76th Legislative Session passed a senate bill with a provision that requires Texas state institutions of higher education to automatically admit students who graduate from high school in the top 10% of their graduating class based on their grade point average. GPA’s change each nine week term, so students “on the cuff” should be timely about getting their applications completed in the event that their status might change. If a student qualifies for automatic admit, he/she must still complete all parts of the application process by the university admissions deadline. Texas Common applications are available in the counselors’ office or online. Most colleges prefer it be completed online at www.applytexas.org .
The majority of financial aid comes from the university, so it is imperative that you fill out a FAFSA application online (www.fafsa.ed.gov) as soon after January 1, 2007 as possible. In order to do this, you must calculate your 2006 taxes early. Actual numbers should be used instead of estimated ones, so your child’s FAFSA application will not be selected for verification, and to avoid a delay on the part of the financial aid office in their ability to award money. Parents and students should apply for their PIN now to avoid a delay later by going to www.pin.ed.gov . FAFSA forms will be available in the counselors’ office in December.
Scholarship information received in the counselors’ office is advertised in the scholarship bulletin on Tuesdays. It is very important that your child be responsible for reading these announcements. Sometimes we receive information only a few days before the application deadline. Deadlines are absolute! All scholarship bulletins will appear on the Alief Kerr counselor web page to view at your convenience. Additional sources for scholarships include religious organizations, civic organizations, local businesses, and employers, and there are also many scholarship search resources on the web. If letters of recommendations are needed for scholarship/college applications, a two week notice is required. Transcripts should be requested from the registrar’s office and you should allow five working days for a transcript to be processed. Students may request five preliminary transcripts, to be mailed from the registrar’s office at no charge. Additional transcripts will be mailed at a cost of $2.00 each. Official transcripts must be mailed from Kerr to the college or requesting agency. A student is not allowed to hand carry or mail an official transcript.
Please feel free to call the counselors’ office at any time. We hope this will be a successful and very memorable year for you and your senior student.
Sincerely,
Julie Harbick Charlotte Guettner
Counselor (A-L) Counselor (M-Z)