Welcome to Life After High School!

Polk Education Foundation Scholarship

VERY IMPORTANT! Online Application Deadline:  February 19 11:59 p.m.
All printed material Due to Mrs. Plankenhorn:  February 23  2 p.m.
Application:  www.polkeducationfoundation.org
Requirements:

a) Have at least a "C" in Algebra II or a higher math class
     (class must be completed, not currently taking)
b) Be in line to graduate - have all required credits and have passed
the FCAT or have concordant SAT or ACT scores to do so

Bright Futures Early Evaluation

Financial Aid Parent Seminar

Go Higher, Get Accepted - PCC Registration and Scholarship Event

Date: 2/6/09 7:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Where:  RCHS Media Center

What:  On February 6, we will be participating in Go Higher, Get Accepted – which is a state initiative to get all seniors to apply to the Community College.  The application fee will be waived.  All students are encouraged to participate because even if they are positive they are not going to PCC, they may come back one summer to take summer classes, and they would already be applied and thus would not have to pay the application fee.  And as we all know, sometimes the best laid plans fail.  There will also be assistance with the PCC scholarship and the FAFSA. 

FAFSA - The Next Steps

Once you have completed your FAFSA:

1.  Your FAFSA will be processed and your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will be determined based on the ED’s Federal Need Analysis Methodology and information you provide on your application.

2. Within 1-4 weeks, you and the financial aid offices of up to ten schools listed on your FAFSA  will receive a copy of your Student Aid Report (SAR) that specifies your expected family contribution. The SAR is your record that your FAFSA was processed.

3.  School financial aid administrators use information, including your SAR, to prepare a financial aid award package for you based on the types and amount of financial aid for which you may be eligible. Your financial aid package may include a mixture of grants, scholarships, work-study programs, college-sponsored aid, and/or loans, and will be communicated to you in the form of a Financial Aid Award Notice.

4.  You will typically receive a Financial Aid Award Notice only from those colleges to which you have been offered admission. The notice will include specific information on how to accept and/or apply for any financial aid offered, along with next steps in the process.  Some colleges may require additional forms and/or applications for financial aid; it will be your responsibility to complete and submit these documents.

5.  Students are encouraged to contact college financial aid administrators to determine exact financial aid policies, procedures, and deadlines. Financial aid administrators can tell you when award notices will be distributed, and if any additional forms or applications for aid are required. They will also be able to answer any specific financial aid questions you have.

College and Career Lab - Student / Parent Late Nights

Dates:  Tuesdays 2-5 p.m.

Reminder that the College and Career Lab is open to student and parent walk-ins on Tuesdays from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.  A guidance counselor will be available to assist you with all of your college, career, financial aid, and general guidance needs!

Community Service Opportunity - Little League Baseball

 Haines City Little League umpires needed!  See Coach Rock for details or email Michael.reicheneker@polk-fl.net

HBCU (Historically Black Colleges & Universities) Jump-Off

Paths to $cholarships Workshop in Spanish - AVAILABLE AGAIN!

Free Tuition at Harvard

Harvard University announced over the weekend that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families will pay no tuition.

In making the announcement, Harvard's president Lawrence H. Summers said, 'When only 10 percent of the students in Elite higher education come from families in lower half of the income distribution, we are not doing enough.

We are not doing enough in bringing elite higher education to the lower half of the income distribution. '

If you know of a family earning less than $ 60,000 a year with an honor student graduating from high school soon, Harvard University wants to pay the tuition. The prestigious university recently announced that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families can go to Harvard for free...no tuition and no student loans! To find out more about Harvard offering free tuition for families making less than $ 60,000 a year visit Harvard's financial aid website at:

http://www.fao.fas.harvard.edu/ or call the school's financial aid office at (617) 495-1581.

PCC Spring Schedule Available

Download Junior Class Conference Powerpoint

Download notes from the Junior Class Conference presentation 10/21/08.

Meet with your counselor individually:

Redmond  10/22-10/23

Sityar 10/28-10/29

Goble  11/6-11/7

USF to Visit Ridge

New College Website

The U.S. Dept. of Education has launched a new website, www.college.gov,
which provides relevant, comprehensive information about college and other
postsecondary education programs.

Download Senior Conference Powerpoint

Senior Group Conferences Meetings

Tuesday, September 9th

Senior Conference Individual Conferences with Guidance Counselor and College and Career Counselor

Cranston - 9/15 - 9/16

Plants - 9/17 - 9/18

Harvie - 9/22 - 9/23

Make-up - 9/24 - 9/25

Career Lab Open Tuesday Evenings

Tuesdays* (Closed September 9 and October 7)

2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The Career Lab is now open for walk-ins on Tuesdays from 2:00-5:00 p.m. 

• Speak to a guidance counselor
• Use computers for college research, to register for SAT or ACT, etc.
• Guidance on college and career plans

Volunteer Needed in Career Lab

Time:  2:05-2:45 p.m.  and/or 6:45-7:00 a.m.

Days: Flexible (1-2 days per week)

Requirements:  Must be reliable, have attention to detail, computer skills a plus!

Duties:  filing, copying, stapling, faxing, etc. 

Contact Mrs. Plankenhorn in the Career Lab.

Upward Bound Now Accepting Applications

Volunteers Needed in Ag Department

Community Service opportunity working in the RCHS groves. 

See Mr. Frost in Bldg. 11 for details.

Early Priority Deadlines for Universities

Florida State University

Priority Deadline  October 15

University of Florida

Priority Deadline  November 1*

*All applications submitted after November 1, will be considered on a space available basis only

Top 5 Ways to Impress a College

Disclaimer:  The information on this website regarding the NCAA, Collegeboard, ACT, and all colleges, scholarships, and other outside organizations has been taken directly from their corresponding websites or provided literature with the intent of being useful to Ridge Community High School students as general information.  It cannot at anytime be guaranteed to always be accuarate and/or up to date, as Ridge Community High School nor Mrs. Plankenhorn has any direct affiliation with the NCAA, Collegeboard, ACT, colleges, scholarships or any other outside organizations.  Always verify important deadlines and rules with the actual company or organization.

Images on this page are property of Mrs. Plankenhorn, RCHS, or have been legally obtained through wikicommons.