College Readiness

As high schoolers, it’s important to start planning for your future. Majority of this information regards to seniors, but it’s never too early to know this important college information.

FAFSA

You can start applying for FAFSA on October 1st. FAFSA is federal financial aid that majority of colleges require you to apply for as part of the enrollment process. It’s important that you fill out your FAFSA with your parents because FAFSA needs their tax information. If your family needs help with applying for FAFSA, the student advocates will be providing a class over it on October 18.

Facebook

Many universities and colleges have a facebook message group for incoming students. Joining a facebook group is a great way to find a roommate and get to know some of your classmates before you go to college.

Scholarships

There are plenty of local and national scholarships available to apply for to help relieve college debt. The advocates will continue to update their websites as new local scholarships become available. Many scholarships require a resume and letter of recommendation so make sure you have these items done as soon as possible.

https://www.norwalkschools.org/schools/nhs-advocates/scholarships-important-links/

College Visits

If you don’t have any idea where you want to go to college, plan some visits to a variety of colleges: private, public, large campuses, small campuses, in state, and out of state. It’s important to find a university or college that feels like home to you. Norwalk High School also provides days where college representatives come to the high school to provide information about their institution. Going to these meetings can help you develop ideas about what you want in a college. Look for emails from Mrs. Garrison on updates about what college representatives are coming to the school.

Transcripts

Part of the enrollment process of college is sending your high school transcripts to your future college. To get your high school transcripts, you can ask your high school advisor to get it for you. For people who take DMACC classes, it’s your responsibility to get the transcript from DMACC. You won’t need to request your DMACC transcript until the end of the school year. When that time comes, use this link to request your DMACC credits: https://www.dmacc.edu/registrar/academicrecords/Pages/transcriptrequests.aspx

ACT/SAT

It’s important to take the ACT or SAT by your junior year. There are a few dates available to take the ACT at Norwalk: September 14, October 26, December 14, February 8, April 4, and June 13. For juniors, the school will provide a free ACT test this Spring as well. There are no official testing sites for the SAT in Norwalk, but you can use the link below to find the nearest SAT testing site near you.

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/find-test-centers