Volume 1, Issue 3 Spring 2014

Its time to FINALIZE!

Its finally your year! Youve got just a few short months until you are walking across that stage and receiving your diploma. Time is flying! At this point in the year, you may have some unanswered questions: Where am I going to college? What classes will I take? What is my major going to be? The biggest question of all is most likely: How am I going to pay for it!? Have no fear! The School Counseling Office has several ways to help you finalize your plans! In this issue, youre going to find information about Bright Futures, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and general information to help you plan out the rest of your senior year. Take some time to read this information. As always, if you have questions, see your counselor. We are here to help! MortensenA-GI JohnsonGL-O DAnnaP-Z

Class of 2014

Turn in Scholarship Documentation!!!

If you have received a scholarship award letter, please turn in a copy of the letter to your Arts Director. Even if you do not plan on accepting the money or going to that specific school, please
Inside this issue:
Bright Futures Infomration Getting your BF money Award amounts FAFSA Information How to apply for federal aid How to request transcripts! Scholarship Web Site Searches 2 2 2 3 3 4 4

TURN IT IN! Turning in a copy of the correspondence, letter is a graduation requirement. In addition we will highlight your achieve-

ment during our awards ceremony, as well as looking to get an accurate total count for the Class of 2014!

Spring Senior Points to Ponder

Have you confirmed with a college yet? Keep aiming for that dream school! Stay
focused!

What is your Plan B? Have you applied for Bright Futures? Have you turned in your FAFSA?

Bright Futures Facts and InformationREAD ME!

Fun Facts about Bright Futures YesFUN! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Funded through Lottery dollars

IMPORTANT INFROMATION The district uploads your information twice. Once in February and once in June Your application for Bright Futures is for various grants and scholarships, not just Bright Futures. The monetary amount you receive from Bright Futures is based on a fixed cost per credit hour. See table below. Students MUST APPLY BEFORE GRADUATION! If you havent already, go to myFloridastudentfinancialaid.org! Apply NOW! All your friends are doing it! Students have up to 2 years to access if they return to Florida from an out of state school and have maintained the eligibility GPA. Turn in your community service hours to Mr. Vetsch or Mr. Mahan ASAP! BE SURE TO MAKE A COPY FOR YOUR RECORDS!

Community service hours are required for all 3 award levels Merit based NOT financial need Over 1400 Duval Seniors qualified in 2012 To maintain Bright Futures in college, students must meet GPA and minimum credit hour requirements If you have already applied for Bright Futures, you can check your award status at floridastudentfinancialaid.org. If you need to apply and need directions, go to:

6.

douglasandersonguidance.blogspot.com

Getting Your Bright Futures Money

The Florida Department of Education will: Begin funding your scholarship during the fall term following your high school graduation. The academic year begins in the fall and ends in the summer. Scholarship recipients are not eligible for funding during the summer term immediately following high school graduation. Summer disbursements are only made if funds are available. Check the website each year for summer funding information. Then, they will send the funds to the eligible Florida postsecondary institution of your choice prior to the beginning of each term. The money will then be applied to your account after the last day of the drop/add period at your postsecondary institution.
Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world.

Award Amounts
FAS FMS

Nelson Mandela

FMS @ Public CC

GSV

4 Year
Per semester hour 2 Year Per semester hour $63 $48 $61 *ask your counselor $103 $77 $63 *ask your counselor

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C L A S S O F 20 1 4

Free Application for Federal Student Aid Do you need money for College???
FAFSA What is federal student aid? Federal student aid comes from the federal governmentspecifically, the U.S. Department of Education. Its money that helps a student pay for higher education expenses (college, career school or graduate school expenses). This aid covers expenses such as: tuition, fees, room and board, books and supplies, and transportation. What kind of aid is available? There are three main categories of federal student aid: grants, work-study, and loans. Who gets federal student aid? The most basic eligibility requirements are that you must: Demonstrate financial need, be a US citizen, have a valid SSN, register with the selective service (males between age 18-25), maintain satisfactory academic progress in college/career school, and show that youre qualified to obtain a college or career school education by having a high school diploma, GED or completing a high school education in a home school setting approved under state law

How do I apply for federal student aid?

1. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Need help? Attend College Goal Sunday at the FSCJ Downtown Campus February 24, 2013 from 1:00 4:00 PM. Apply as soon as you can! 2. Review your Student Aid Report (SAR) After you apply, youll receive a Student Aid Report or SAR. Your SAR contains the information reported on your FAFSA and usually includes your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is the number used to determine your eligibility for federal student aid. Review your SAR information and make any corrections or changes, if necessary. The school(s) you list on your FAFSA will get your SAR data electronically. 3. Contact the schools you might attend. Make sure that the financial aid office at each school youre interested in has all the information needed to determine your eligibility. If youre eligible, each schools financial aid office will send you an award letter showing the amount and types of aid (from all sources) that the school will offer you. At this point, compare the award letters from the schools where you applied and see what aid you can receive from each school.

NEED HELP?
StudentAid.gov A college financial aid office studentaid@ed.gov 1800-4-FED-AID (1800-433-3243) 1800-730-8913 (toll free for hearing impaired)

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3

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Your School Counselors KATHY MORTENSEN School Counselor, A Gi Grades 9-12, ext. 119 mortensenk@duvalschools.org Guidance Department Chair
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts 2445 San Diego Road Jacksonville, FL Phone: 904-346-5620

KAREN JOHNSON School Counselor, Gl-O Grades 9-12, ext. 117 johnsonk13@duvalschools.org SARAH DANNA School Counselor, Grades 9-12, ext. 116 dannas@duvalschools.org BRENDA WHITE Part-Time School Counselor, ext. 191 whiteb1@duvalschools.org

Where Art and Academics meet in

excellence!

Follow our Blog!

douglasandersonguidance.blogspot. com/

How do I request transcripts?

All requests go through the Guidance Office! The process is slightly different depending on where your transcripts are going check out the steps below so youre in the know! Request a transcript to go to any other College/University:

Looking for a scholarship? Check out these web site database searches!
www.zinch.com www.fastweb.com www.duvalschools.org/scholarships www.collegeboard.com www.collegenet.com

Request from Guidance the number of transcripts that you need Pick up your transcripts from Guidance. The first three are FREE. Each one after that is $5.00. Personally mail them off.

Request for transcripts to be sent to a FLORIDA Public College/University:

Guidance will send transcripts electronically at no cost to you The college will process your transcripts which can take up to 3-4 weeks. Electronic does not mean instant.*THINK ABOUT YOUR DEADLINES* The college will post if on your application screen. Always follow up to make sure they have received your documents!

FINAL TRANSCRIPT REQUESTS: www.scholarships.com You will receive a form in your Engwww.scholarshipmonkey.com lish Classmore details coming! www.douglasandersonguidance.blogspot.com www.douglasandersonseniors2014.blogspot. Career and College Search Tools com

www.bigfuture.collegeboard.com www.flchoices.org

Want to see reviews on these web sites? Check out this link for more info! www.usnews.com/education/blog