Act Prep Classes

Webster University is offering ACT Prep classes on Saturdays throughout the 2009-2010 school year from 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM. Workshops will include:  explanation of the ACT, diagnostic and intensive reviews of english, mathematics, reading and science portions, overview of the writing portion of the ACT, and lunch. The cost to attend is $20 per class. You must register online to at explore.webster.edu/actworkshop to attend. The class dates are:

• April 24

FAFSA Completion Workshops

The Missouri Association of Student Financial Aid Personnel (MASFAP) and the Missouri
Department of Higher Education (MDHE) are partnering closely to bring an expanded College
Goal Sunday (CGS) program to Missouri for 2010.

Historically, CGS has occurred on the first Sunday following the Super Bowl. For 2010, we are
expanding the program to three main dates, and a few sites are offering additional date(s).
Because not all CGS events will be on Sundays, it may be confusing to use the name "College
Goal Sunday." The MDHE and MASFAP discussed naming options with the MDHE's High School
Counselor Advisory Committee, and decided to use the name "FAFSA Frenzy" for 2010. Please
see the table below for the expanded locations and dates:

Hosting Organization	City/Region	Date(s)
Ritenour High School	St. Louis	Feb. 21 2-4:00 p.m.
St. Louis College of Health Careers	Fenton	March 21 2-4:00 p.m.
St. Louis Comm. Coll-Forest Park	St. Louis	March 10 5:30-7:30 p.m.
St. Louis Comm. Coll.-Meramec	St. Louis	Feb. 21 2-4:00 p.m.
University City High School	St. Louis	Feb. 21 2-4:00 p.m.
YMCA of Greater St. Louis (Monsanto Family YMCA)	St. Louis	Feb. 21 2-4:00 p.m.

What do I bring?
• Your parents, if available. Plan to attend even i f they cannot .
• 2009 Tax returns - i f they're ready.
• W-2 forms .
• Your student and parent PINs. Apply for your PINs at www.pin.ed.gov.

What do I bring i f I haven't done my taxes yet?
• Last paycheck received in December 2009 by you and your parents showing year-to-date earnings .
• 2008 tax forms .
• 2009 statements of interest earned.

Youth Writing Challenge

Positive Impact Magazine a new online magazine is hosting a Youth Writing Challenge for elementary, junior high, high school and college level students.  You are invited to challenge yourself to find and tell the stories impacting the world in a positive way. Stories that tell about the who, what, where and hows creating a positive impact on our world.  They are the stories that touch others and inspire them to take action, the way your first book, your first song your first word, our your mentor - inspired you. The results will be announced for the individual age group categories. The stories will be published on Positive Impact Magazine's web site.  For more information, or to submit your writing, please visit their web site at www.positiveimpactmagazine.com.

Engineering Careers for Women

Thinking about a career in engineering, but don’t know if it is engineering is right for you? Check out www.EngineerYourLife.org. On this site you will find information on the various engineering fields and hopefully discover if engineering is a career you’d love!

Engineer Your Career @ the University of Kansas Engineer Your Career is a half-day program on May 7, 2010 that lets junior high and high school girls learn about the fun of engineering and computer science.  Participants meet KU students and learn about engineering disciplines.   Cost is $25 and includes lunch. Contact Florence Boldridge, director of Diversity & Women's Programs for the School of Engineering fboldridge@ku.edu, or 785-864-3620.

SWE Weekend of Engineering The KU Society of Women Engineers Weekend of Engineering is an opportunity for high school women to experience the University of Kansas campus and learn about career opportunities.  The weekend program is packed with activities and information sessions as well as fun college events including Big 12 sports. The SWE Weekend of Engineering is geared toward juniors and seniors and will be held March 6-7.  Cost is $95.  For more information, contact the Office of Diversity & Women's Programs, at women-engineers@ku.edu, or 785-864-2989.

College/University Open Houses

Missouri Baptist University-Christian High School Day at its West Saint Louis County campus on March 25, 2010. Students will get to tour the campus, find out about numerous activities and sports opportunities, attend a campus-wide chapel service and learn more about the college admission and scholarship process. If you are interested, please contact the Office of Admission by Friday, March 19th at 314-392-2295 and register to attend.

Southeast Missouri State University-School of Polytechnic is hosting an Open House on Saturday, March 27th from 1:30-3:00 p.m. This date is also a Show Me Day for the entire University. If you are interested in attending the Show Me Day, or the Polytechnic Open House please register at www.semo.edu/admissions/specialevent.htm.

Harris-Stowe State University is hosting A View of Harris-Stowe State University on Saturday, March 6, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Please RSVP for this event by telephone at 314-340-3300 no later than March 1, 2010.

University of Tulsa is hosting a Junior Day Visit on Monday, April 5th. To register please contact the Office of Admission at 800-331-3050, or log on to www.utulsa.edu/admission/visits. 

Rust College is hosting a Visitation Day on Saturday, March 13, 2010 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for juniors and seniors.  This year's event will be full of fun and excitement. All departments on campus will have their chairperson and faculty representatives on hand to meet and discuss academic majors and requirements. Students will be able to apply for admission and discuss financial aid and scholarships availability while visiting the campus. Please contact the Office of Enrollment Services at 888-886-8492 ext. 4058 or 4059 to register to attend. 

Kansas State University has set dates for their spring 2010 events. If you would like information on the events, please visit their website at: consider.k-state.edu/specialevents.  The dates are:

• Junior Day Friday, March 26
• Junior Day Monday, April 12
• Junior Day Monday, April 19
• Open House Saturday, April 24
• For Sophomores Only Saturday, April 24
• Junior Day Monday, May 3

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is hosting an Engineering Open House on March 12-13, 2010. For more information, please visit their web site at http://eoh.illinois.edu.

Maryville University has posted their 2009-2010 Campus Visit Programs. The programs are:

• Saint for a Day - Admitted students are invited to experience a day in the life of a Saint. Bring your sleeping bag and a pillow and spend Sunday evening on campus. Wake up Monday morning and shadow your Maryville host.  The dates are:
  • March 14-15
  • March 28-29
  • April 11-12
• Big Red Day - It's never too early to see what it takes to become a SAINT. This program is designed for high school sophomores and juniors. 
  • Saturday, April 17

Register for a visit program at maryville.edu/visit or call 800-MARYVIL

Chamberlain College of Nursing has set dates for upcoming campus events.  For updates on events, visit chamberlain.edu/events.  The dates are:

• March 24-Experience Nursing Day 9:00-12:00 PM
• April 17-Open House 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
• April 22-Experience Nursing Day for Juniors and Sophomores 9:00-Noon.
• May 11-Open House 5:00 PM-7:00 PM

Exponent @ the University of Kansas an exclusive two-day look at engineering and computer science and the career potential they offer for high school juniors and seniors March 5-6, 2010. This interactive camp brings students on the KU campus for fun activities and a chance to meet KU Engineering faculty and students. Cost is to be determined and includes housing and meals. Contact Florence Boldridge, director of Diversity & Women's Programs for the School of Engineering, fboldridge@ku.edu, or 785-864-3620.

Truman State University has set dates for their 09-10 Showcase Events. These events are designed to provide at introduction to the University for high school students who are beginning their college search. Please register online to attend the remaining date at: http://admissions.truman.edu/visit/.

• Saturday, April 24

Ranken Technical College has set dates for their 09/10 Open Houses. If you are interested in any of the dates listed below, please contact Rankens' Admission Office at 314-286-4809, or online at www.Ranken.edu. 

• Sunday, Mar 7 - Spring Open House
• Thursday, Mar. 18 - Shadow-A-Tech Day
• Thursday, Apr. 8 - Shadow-A-Tech Day
• Wednesday, Apr. 21 - Automotive Shadow-A-Tech Day

Scholarship Information:

Bright Flight Scholarship Changes 2009-2010 The Bright Flight scholarship is changing for high school seniors graduating in the class of 2010.  Beginning in the fall of 2010, students whose ACT or SAT composite scores are in the top 3 percent of all Missouri students taking those tests will be eligible to receive an annual award of up to $3,000, while students who score in the top 4-5 percent on those tests will be eligible to receive an annual award of up to $1,000.  (Award amounts are conditional on sufficient state appropriations.)  The ACT scores to strive for are a 31 (top 3 percent) or a 30 (top 4-5 percent).  The qualifying SAT scores for 2010 graduates are not yet available.  Seniors must achieve a qualifying score by the June 2010 test date.

Cappex Scholarship Opportunities Cappex is a scholarship web site students can use to assist them in their scholarship search. This site does not have scholarships exclusively for high school seniors; juniors and sophomores may find scholarship opportunities here as well. All you will need to do to get started is fill out a Cappex profile at www.Cappex.com/scholarships.

MeritAid.com is the first comprehensive Web site dedicated to helping students discover merit aid scholarships before they apply to colleges. This site will match students with merit aid opportunities at colleges based on their interests and accomplishments. Please visit their web site at www.meritaid.com for more information, or to start your search.

Washington University is eliminating need-based loans as part of the undergraduate financial aid packages to low- and middle-income families.

Specifically, this means that both entering freshmen and full-time returning undergraduate day students who have parental incomes of less than $60,000 will not be expected to take out need-based loans; instead, they will receive grants from the University that will not need to be repaid. Also, families with parental income somewhat higher than $60,000 may receive additional student loan relief based on demonstrated need and their financial circumstances.

The goal of this loan relief is to increase the ability of students from low- and middle-income families to attend Washington University.

Harvard University announced that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families will not have to pay tuition. To qualify, the student must be an honor student and meet Harvard admission requirements with a family income of $40,000 or less a year. To find out more about this program, please visit Harvard's financial aid web site at: www.fao.fas.harvard.edu or call the school's financial aid office at 617-495-1581.

American Dream Grant-Northwest Missouri State University Receive a college education and pay only $1,500/year for the first two years. Northwest will fill the gap between the cost of tuition, room and board, primary textbooks and the use of a computer for qualifying students. To qualify, students must:

• be accepted to Northwest as a first-time freshman
• apply for and receive a Federal Pell Grant
• have a parents' combined taxed and untaxed income of $30,000 or less for dependent students
• apply for all federal, state, institutional and athletic scholarships or grants that he or she might be eligible for
• earn 2.0 GPA and 24 hours to be eligible for second year.

There are only 150 grants available. They are awarded on a first come, first served basis. Once the limit is reached, no more awards will be made for that school year. If you think you may qualify, be sure to speak with your Admissions Representative about this grant.

Clemson University along with several other HBCU's has a program entitled the Call Me Mister program. This program was developed in an effort to address the critical shortage of African American male teachers in our school systems. If you are a black male student interested in becoming a teacher, and apply to this program, if accepted the program will pay for your education.

The Call Me Mister program combines the special strengths and resources of Clemson University with the individualized instructional programs offered by four historically black colleges in South Carolina: Benedict College, Claflin University, Morris College, and South Carolina State University. To provide even greater opportunity and access, students have the option of first attending one of several two-year partner colleges before transferring to one of the four-year institutions to complete their baccalaureate degree. In addition, the project has limited enrollment in the middle school Master of Art in Teaching program. If you would like more information, or an application, please visit their web site at www.callmemister.clemson.edu.

Summer Programs

Summer Opportunities Fair:

John Burroughs School is hosting a Summer Opportunities Fair on their campus (755 South Price Rd.) on Saturday, January 30 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Representatives from camps, clubs, learning centers, outdoor educational programs, summer schools, athletic camps, tutorial services, travel programs, advanced education programs, dance schools, art camps, and many more will be on hand to provide previews of summertime experiences that can have a positive impact on your child. Some of these camps are local. Others are national or international.

For would-be campers and their parents, the fair is an unbeatable way to prepare for summer. No amount of Internet searching beats having a live conversation with camp representatives.

At the end of the fair, this web site will be launching a "Virtual Camp Fair” allowing parents and children an additional opportunity to revisit some of the camps that had booths at this years event.

For more information, please visit the Summer Opportunities web site at http://www.summeropportunitiesfair.org.

 

LHSN is updating all academic enrichment programs along with summer programs on Naviance.  You may find the programs on Family Connection in the “About College” section, click on Enrichment Programs.  There you will find information about the programs we are aware of.  This list will become more populated as the year goes on and programs get under way.  Please check back from time to time for additions to this page on Naviance.