The MHS Mirror
MHS seniors prepare for collegeFriday, December 16, 2011 By Javiera Green
One of the biggest events of high school seniors lives began this past September: applying to college and for scholarships. For some, this task is more persistently tackled than for others. According to Macy Golladay, MHS senior, she has applied to Savannah State and over 20 other schools. On the other hand, for senior Jacob Gates, it hasn’t been so easy. “I’m procrastinating,” he said, in admitting why he hasn’t applied to any colleges yet. With senior year in full swing, students are planning for their futures. “To get into the colleges, [students] have priority deadlines,” said Heather Workman, an MHS guidance counselor, who added sometimes applying earlier can help students get into their first choice of school. Along with the stress of students trying to get into the school of their dreams, they are also worrying about the cost of college. Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) is available Jan. 1, 2012, and for Workman, financial aid is her biggest concern for seniors. “FASFA needs to be filled out as soon as possible,” she said, adding that parents’ 2010 earnings estimates can be submitted, then once 2011 taxes have been filed, the student can update and make corrections to their FASFA. Despite most local scholarships not being available yet, that hasn’t stopped some seniors from applying to national scholarships. According to Golladay, she has applied to three. Some seniors have even received scholarship money. “[I won] The National Science Foundation Boost Stem Scholarship,” said Emily Bolen, an MHS senior who will be majoring in chemistry at Lake Land College. For students who have yet to start the scholarship process, new scholarship notifications are made in the MHS announcements and information regarding them can be found in the Student Services Office. The school website also has this information. Scholarship binders with details on both school and local awards are in composition, government and economics classes as well. To further assist seniors in making college decisions, university representatives visited throughout September and October, and counselors scheduled “College Planning Days” in the lab. These planning days consisted of students applying to colleges, looking for scholarships or browsing career options, which happen to be widespread for the class of 2012. According to Crystal Hanton, she plans on becoming a physician assistant, whereas Jessica Kenton hopes to become a Kindergarten teacher. Yet no matter the area of study, deadlines need to be considered. “Don’t put it off,” said Workman. |