Senior Year Grads Info
Welcome Senior Class of 2022
Graduation June 11, 2022
Dear Seniors and Senior Parents/Guardians,
The tradition of “Senior Sunrise” will continue on Wednesday, September 29th. Students should meet on the football field at 6:15 a.m. to enjoy donuts/maple bars and make memories with their classmates. The sun is set to rise around 6:40 a.m. that morning. Masks are highly encouraged (although we will be outdoors) and we will be practicing social distancing.
Directly after watching the sunrise, seniors are invited to head to the baseball field parking lot with their cars, where Mr. Perry will be taking senior car photos for the yearbook. So, if your senior has a car he/she wants to show off, please make sure they are in the baseball parking lot no later than 7:00 a.m. for pictures.
Please encourage your students to attend these fun events and let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Lori Wilbanks
Senior Counselor
565-3274
FAFSA 2022
Dear Senior Parent,
If your student is considering attending a two year, four year, vocational or training program that accepts federal aid, please be ready to fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), available October 1 for the 2022-2023 Academic Year at
The FAFSA is your best chance to access financial help you may be eligible for in order for your student to attend a college, university, or vocational program in the fall of 2022. Unless you know your student is entering the workforce or military directly out of high school, please plan on completing a FAFSA for access to grants, loans, and some institutional scholarships.
Follow these steps to complete the FAFSA as close to October 1 as possible:
1) Before you complete the FAFSA, you and your student will each need an FSA ID to provide your signature electronically.
2) Start to gather these items in order to complete the online FAFSA application on or after October 1st:
- Social Security Card
- Student’s Social Security Card
- Drivers License (if applicable)
- Alien Registration Number (if applicable)
- Tax Returns for 2020
- No Taxes?
- Records of Untaxed Income
- Child Support paid or received
- Interest Income
- Veterans noneducational benefits
- W2’s 2020
- Information on cash/savings/checking balances
- Value of investments/ real estate (not for the home you live in)
- Business/farm asset value
4) If this is your first time filling out the FAFSA and you would prefer to attend an online information session, please register for one of these opportunities using the attached document.
As always, please email or call me with questions.
Lori Wilbanks
School Counselor
Class of 2022
509-565-3274
SCHOLARSHIPS
DOLLARS FOR SCHOLARS
The Dollars for Scholars Application is not open at this time.
Dollars for Scholars has a local chapter here in Medical Lake which awards thousands of dollars each year to Medical Lake High School seniors. Scholarships are awarded to a variety of students, entering a variety of post-secondary pathways (i.e., 2-year college, 4-year college, technical schools and accredited apprenticeships). Please see the link below to access the Dollars for Scholars account and to start a new account.
Dollars for Scholars has a local chapter here in Medical Lake which awards thousands of dollars each year to Medical Lake High School seniors. Scholarships are awarded to a variety of students, entering a variety of post-secondary pathways (i.e., 2-year college, 4-year college, technical schools and accredited apprenticeships). Please see the link below to access the Dollars for Scholars account and to start a new account.
PARENTS GUIDE TO COLLEGE APPLICATION
Parent's Guide to College Applications
College application deadlines are quickly approaching. Here are some helpful tips to help your student with their college applications:
1. If your student qualified for a SAT or ACT fee waiver they will most likely also qualify for an application fee waiver. Contact an admissions representative from the College or University your student wants to apply and ask for a fee waiver.
2. Find out the application deadlines for the colleges and universities that your student is interested in applying.
3. In general, schools will look at the following factors: high school courses, grade point average (GPA), class ranking, test scores (SAT/ACT), personal essays, extracurricular activities, other personal or special skills, and letters of recommendation. Every college weighs these factors differently and some school's may not require all of them. Your best bet is to read the college/university material and try to get a feel for a particular school's philosophy.
4. If the college/university requires official transcripts have your student make a request with Mrs. Kim Zappone in the counseling center.
5. Encourage your student to get multiple letters of recommendation from teachers (at least one from a core area i.e. Math or English), coaches, and community members. People who know your student the best, can write well, and can speak to their abilities, achievements and growth. There are letter of recommendation forms available in the counseling center that students can give teachers to help write letters. Allow at least two weeks for people to complete letters of recommendation.
6. Not all schools require an essay, but if they do help your student to use it to their advantage. Encourage them to write an essay that will help them shine through to the admissions board. Have them speak to how their presence on that school's campus will make a difference. Offer to edit and review their essay or help them find someone who can give constructive feedback.
7. Make sure that your student makes copies of paper applications, or prints a copy of an online application to keep for their records. They may also want to update schools of any subsequent events such as new SAT or ACT scores, and if they receive any awards or achievements.
College application deadlines are quickly approaching. Here are some helpful tips to help your student with their college applications:
1. If your student qualified for a SAT or ACT fee waiver they will most likely also qualify for an application fee waiver. Contact an admissions representative from the College or University your student wants to apply and ask for a fee waiver.
2. Find out the application deadlines for the colleges and universities that your student is interested in applying.
3. In general, schools will look at the following factors: high school courses, grade point average (GPA), class ranking, test scores (SAT/ACT), personal essays, extracurricular activities, other personal or special skills, and letters of recommendation. Every college weighs these factors differently and some school's may not require all of them. Your best bet is to read the college/university material and try to get a feel for a particular school's philosophy.
4. If the college/university requires official transcripts have your student make a request with Mrs. Kim Zappone in the counseling center.
5. Encourage your student to get multiple letters of recommendation from teachers (at least one from a core area i.e. Math or English), coaches, and community members. People who know your student the best, can write well, and can speak to their abilities, achievements and growth. There are letter of recommendation forms available in the counseling center that students can give teachers to help write letters. Allow at least two weeks for people to complete letters of recommendation.
6. Not all schools require an essay, but if they do help your student to use it to their advantage. Encourage them to write an essay that will help them shine through to the admissions board. Have them speak to how their presence on that school's campus will make a difference. Offer to edit and review their essay or help them find someone who can give constructive feedback.
7. Make sure that your student makes copies of paper applications, or prints a copy of an online application to keep for their records. They may also want to update schools of any subsequent events such as new SAT or ACT scores, and if they receive any awards or achievements.
SENIOR GOOGLE CLASSROOM
SENIOR GOOGLE CLASSROOM
If you and your student want to know more about available scholarships and how to go about applying for them, please join the Scholarships 2020-2021 Google Classroom with the class code lm64kqd.
Scholarships are not just for students going to a four year college, and students don’t have to have a 4.0 to get one! If you are pursuing any education or training past high school, you should be applying for scholarships.
IMPORTANT!
I will also be hosting a College and Career Work Time every Thursday from 2:30 to 4:00 pm STARTING NEXT THURSDAY, October 8, for your senior to virtually drop in and work on college applications, scholarships, job applications and more. This meeting will be held in the Class of 2021 Classroom (class code o6l35ut).
I will be posting these sessions in Google calendar, so please make sure to check that often!
