Guidance Department

  • The Guidance Office is open from 7:15 am to 2:40 pm every day. Appointments are made before or after school. Counselors provide educational guidance, course information, career awareness and help with personal problems.

    Reference materials, college catalogs, financial aid forms, and selected college applications are available in the guidance office.

    Military recruiter contact information can be obtained in the guidance office.

    Job opportunities will be announced when available. Career information is in the guidance office.

    HOW TO APPLY FOR A COLLEGE:

    1) Get an application.
    Applications are available from the colleges and universities. Most local applications are available in the counselor’s office. It is the student’s responsibility to write or call the university to obtain an application. Addresses are available in the counselor’s office. See your School Counselor if you are having a problem obtaining an application.

    2) Fill out the application.
    It is the student’s responsibility to completely fill out the application for college. School Counselors are available to assist students and answer any questions but they can not complete applications for students.

    3) Bring the completed application to your School Counselor with a STAMPED envelope. When you have completely filled out the application return it to your School Counselor in an envelope addressed to the college.

    All APPLICATIONS for colleges and/or scholarships should be turned in to your School Counselor no later than 7 days before the deadline. Applications must be complete and include a STAMPED envelope. At NO TIME can a student have an Official Transcript. Due to the volume of applications, applications due January 1, 2009 must be turned into your School Counselor by December 7, 2008.

    • SUNY APPLICATIONS: You can apply up to six New York State schools on a single application. You must return the application to your School Counselor with a stamped envelope ADDRESSED to each school you are applying to. The addresses are in the application guidebook with the application.

    4) What if I want to apply ON-LINE ?
    Many colleges will now accept applications over the Internet. Applications filled out in this way are likely to get a quicker response than the traditional paper application because your information goes directly into the college’s system. You must still provide a stamped addressed envelope to send a transcript. Colleges will not process your application until they receive an official transcript from our school. You must provide the counselor with stamped envelopes to send transcripts even if you do all your applications over the computer.

    5) Application Deadlines
    It is the student’s responsibility to know the specific deadlines for each college he or she applies to. Early Admissions deadlines can be as early as October. Make sure turn in your completed application at least 7 days prior to the deadline. As a rule of thumb, REGULAR ADMISSIONS APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED BY DECEMBER 7th OF YOUR SENIOR YEAR.

    OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION:
    Financial Aid forms:
    The main form that every student should fill out is the FAFSA. The FAFSA is used to apply for all of the various types of financial aid. Students can apply in two ways: online at: www.fafsa.ed.gov or obtain a paper FAFSA by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).
    ** The FAFSA website uses a different format than the paper form. Make sure to use the FAFSA on the web worksheet for your calculations when applying on-line.

    TAP:
    TAP is aid granted by New York State. To be eligible you must attend a college in New York State. When you fill out the FAFSA form a pre-printed TAP form will automatically be sent to you. If you apply for FAFSA on line be sure to click on the link to NYS TAP on the last page.

    SCHOLARSHIPS:
    Scholarships are monies awarded by private foundations or schools. They are competitive and usually require an essay, letters of recommendation in addition to the application form. There are literally millions of scholarships available. Students should research and apply to as many as possible. Some students win scholarship money simply because they are the only person to apply. Starting in October - June there will be scholarship postings in each senior homerooms and the Hutch-Tech Library.
    Other useful sites:
    •    www.scholarshipcoach.com
    •    www.studentaid.ed.gov
    •    www.collegeview.com
    •    www.finaid.org
    •    www.fastaid.com
    •    www.scholarship-page.com
    •    www.scholarships101.com
    •    www.collegeboard.org (Go to “Paying for College”)


    CAN I REUSE A SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY?

    Yes, absolutely!! While it would be unethical to submit the same paper to two different classes, there is no rule against submitting the same essay to several scholarships. If the scholarship has a specific essay topic you must submit that topic.


    Scholarship applications:
        
    Scholarship applications are available in the Guidance Office and can be picked up before or after school.

    AFSA forms are available in the Guidance Office. If you will be completing the FAFSA form on line, students and parents can apply for their pin number at www.pin.ed.gov. The pin number is your electronic signature. You can view the new FAFSA form on line at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Remember, there is never a charge for completing the FAFSA form. At the end of the FAFSA form be sure to click on the NYS Tap (Tuition assistance program) link. NYS TAP provides funds for NYS residents in NYS Colleges.

    Scholarships:  Interested in Scholarships?
    Here are some links:

    Here are some links:

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