Winter break is an excellent time to relax, reflect, and de-compress from all the hard work of first semester.  It is also a perfect time to work on completing scholarship applications.  Seniors should have their applications completed and be waiting to hear back from schools at this point.  Now should be when you are visiting the PSHS scholarship blog and completing as many scholarship applications as possible.

For those of you out there who are juniors and who are looking to get a jump start on this process, I have also attached the Junior Interview Packet to the Frequently used documents part of the blog.  There is a ton of good information there for you to get started on your college & career journey.  We will get more into this information during second semester

I hope that everyone has a restful break and spends some time with family, with scholarship applications, and with college & career thoughts in mind.

Many schools and agencies offer programs over the summer for interested high school students.  This can be a great way to learn a new skill, hone a talent, or develop leadership capacity.  Often, these programs are offered for students who are intested in a particular field to get some hands-on experience.  Attached is a list of a few summer programs that I have come across.  Keep in mind that many colleges offer programs, so if you do not see something that you are interested in, you may want to check the websites of local colleges for other opportunities.

Indiana University is offering a $500 scholarship to an incoming male student.  Criteria includes: GPA of 3.2 or higher and qualities of leadership and community service.  For more information or to apply, please visit: http://arete.kintera.org/IU

The New York Times is going to launch its first College Life Fair here in Chicago on May 31, 2012!  Please check out the attached flyer for more details.  This looks like it will be an amazing opportunity for current sophomores and juniors to find out more information about the college process.

We had a great turnout for our financial aid program last night.  Families from around the district came out to see Frank Palmasani speak.  His program revolved around conquering the challenges of college costs.  There has been a major shift in the way that students are able to search for colleges within the last year due to net price calculators.  Families can now see whether a school would be affordable before visiting, checking out their programs, and otherwise becoming emotionally attached.  This is a huge change.  Every college is now required to have a "net price calculator" on their website so that parents can determine their affordability range.

Also discussed was the idea that students should broaden their college search criteria to include the following different types of colleges: in state and out of state flagship, in state and out of state non-flagship, highly selective, mid-size private, and private.  These seven different types of schools will all offer different financial aid packages.  You may be surprised to find which schools are affordable.

I highly encourage students and parents to view the videos on Frank's site: www.managingcollegecost.com   There is a wealth of information that can help in college planning.  Most importantly, the conversation must begin with the student and the parent, discussing what is financially feasible before students get set on choosing schools.

I came across this year-round program offered through IIT called the Boeing Scholars Academy.  Program is for students interested in STEM fields and offers many different opportunities for research, leadership, etc.  Application is due Jan 31.  Informational session is on Jan. 12 from 6-8PM at IIT's campus.  More informatin can be found here: http://blogs.iit.edu/boeing_scholars/?cm_mid=1117902&cm_crmid=%7B8F126EB6-861F-E111-932A-00155D0B3207%7D&cm_medium=email