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College and Career Counseling

Beth Anderson, College & Career Advisor

Be sure to watch for announcements with reminders about the various opportunities and deadlines mentioned below.

Career & College Advisor Notes

December 2021

Happy New Year, Students and Families!
 
What a (snowy) start to 2022! The year kicks off with even more ways to explore career paths and prepare for life beyond high school. Please let me know if you’re interested in any of the upcoming opportunities and/or have questions about how to participate.

HCA Partnership with Jaime’s Place

Are you interested in a career in healthcare? MVSD and Jamie’s Place Adult Home are teaming up to offer students the training to become a certified health care aide (HCA) this spring semester during regularly scheduled school time. It all starts by signing up for a job shadow at Jaime’s Place this month: sign up using this Google Form. (You must be logged into your methow.org gmail account to access form.) For more details view/download the HCA flyer, and check out Scrubs Camp in the Upcoming Events section for another opportunity to explore careers in healthcare!

Emerging Rural Leaders

The Emerging Rural Leaders program at the University of Chicago allows select high school freshmen and juniors from rural and small-town high schools across the United States to take advantage of two fully-funded summer programs during their Summer Session. Each program gives students the chance to explore a college-level course, develop their leadership skills, and learn more about what life is like on a residential college campus. Emerging Rural Leaders from last year shared some of their thoughts on the program with future applicants in this video.
 
While Emerging Rural Leaders has been entirely virtual the past two summers, the program is planning on going hybrid this summer, with both virtual and in-person components to the programs. All expenses, including air travel, are completely paid for by a generous grant – check out their flyer for more details.

SAT Prep for Juniors

Ms. Anderson will be offering a test prep series on Wednesday afternoons starting in early March and leading up to the School Day SAT at Liberty Bell on April 26. More details, including a full schedule of sessions, will be emailed to juniors and their families in February. Students may also choose to take advantage of the wide variety of SAT (and ACT) prep resources available online and in the library:

  • Khan Academy offers free SAT prep and practice tests.
  • Online ACT prep resources are also available.
  • Stop by the LBHS Library or Ms. Anderson’s office if you’d like to borrow hard copies of test prep books.

Both Ms. Anderson and Mrs. Spellman would also like to encourage students to consider applying to schools with test-optional admission. What does “test-optional” mean? Good question! The short answer is that you can apply without taking the SAT/ACT or you can submit your application without test scores, even if you have taken the test. Many colleges and universities plan to continue their test-optional admissions policies. You can check out a current list of test-optional schools at FairTest: The National Center for Fair and Open Testing.

Connecting with Community & Technical Colleges

Washington’s Community and Technical College system is a fabulous option for learning a professional trade or getting a transfer degree. This flyer provides a helpful chart with admissions & financial aid deadlines, placement testing information, and on-campus housing availability for all of Washington’s community and technical colleges. Please talk to Ms. Anderson if you’d like to arrange an in-person tour of a school to meet with staff members in a particular program!

Placement Testing

For students who are planning to transition from high school to a community or technical college in Washington state, there are a number of options to determine your placement in core subjects. First, you might qualify for college-level coursework based on existing test scores (Smarter Balanced Assessment or SAT results, if you have them). Or you might qualify based on 11th/12th grade classes: for example, if you take Bridge to College Math or English and receive a “B” or higher, you will automatically qualify for college-level math/English. Or, you can schedule a time to take the college’s placement test (either Accuplacer or similar) before you register for classes at the school of your choice; see Ms. Anderson to discuss the details.

Please stop by my office, send me an email, or leave a voicemail if you have any questions.

Wishing you all the best in the new year,
Beth/Ms. Anderson

College and Career Advisor
Methow Valley School District
banderson@methow.org
(509) 996.2215, x4175

 

 

Upcoming Events & Deadlines

Saturday, January 29 • Virtual Scrubs Camp
Virtual Scrubs Camp, hosted by EWU’s Health Education Center and led by healthcare professionals, is an awesome opportunity for high school students to explore careers in healthcare. Students will experience hands-on activities in three different rotations: behavioral health, suturing, and pharmacy. Space is limited! You must register and fill out the release forms by January 15 in order to allow time for the materials to be shipped to you: https://inside.ewu.edu/ewahec/programs/students/scrubs-camp/.

A postage-paid kit with all the materials you’ll need to participate will be sent to you in advance, and the Camp itself will take place online. 
 
Monday, January 31 • Leadership 1000 Scholarship Application Due
Seniors, if you’re considering attending a 2- or 4-year college or university in Washington state and meet the income eligibility guidelines, apply for the Leadership 1000 Scholarship. The award is $5,000 per year and it’s renewable for 4 years ($20,000 total). The application does include several short essays, but all students who meet the income criteria are encouraged to apply—it’s worth your effort! 
 
Wednesday, March 2 • Washington State Opportunity Scholarship Application Due
Washington State Opportunity Scholarship is another great funding opportunity for seniors who are planning to major in healthcare or STEM fields at a 2- or 4-year college or university in Washington. Income limits are quite high—a student from a family of 4 with an income of $133,750 or less would qualify for the award. See Ms. Anderson with questions about whether your chosen program qualifies for this funding.
 
Ongoing • Finish the FAFSA
Seniors & families: there’s still time to complete your FAFSA application in order to receive financial aid at many post-secondary institutions for the fall of 2022. If you’re a member of the Class of 2022 and haven’t had a chance to fill out the FAFSA, please see me next week—even if you’re not planning to continue your education next year, I’d encourage you to fill out the FAFSA because it will give you the opportunity to access the funds you need if you change your mind!

 

Helpful Resources

Application Process

  • College Board
    The College Board website provides you with all the information you need for applying to college. It allows you to compare colleges. It provides you with GPA and SAT information to how you compare with other students. It provides financial information about the cost of schools and how they distribute their financial aid. This website also has a Expected Family Contribution and a Net Price Calculator available.
  • Common Application
    Start your Common Application.

Career Exploration

  • Naviance
    Career and college research tools available to all LBHS/ILC students. (*Coming soon* – sign in with your methow.org Google account!)
  • ReadyWA
    Career exploration & financial aid resources for students and families.
  • Find Your Grind
    Research careers based on your lifestyle assessment; free to all LBHS students.

Financial Aid & Scholarship Information

  • Watch the Recording of Paying for Post-HS Education Night: Ongoing
    The Zoom presentation by financial advisor David Aramaki is still available. Watch the recording. (You’ll be prompted to enter this case-sensitive passcode: A3+c278W)
  • FAFSA Checklist & Financial Aid Timeline
    FAFSA checklist and timeline displayed in an easy to follow format.
  • FAFSA
    Official site for the 2022-23 FAFSA. Opens October 1, 2021.
  • Washington Student Achievement Council – financial aid resources for all Washington families, and the new home of the WASFA (Washington Application for State Financial Aid), which is the financial aid application for WA residents who do not qualify for federal aid due to immigration status.
  • Fastweb
    “Leading online resource for finding scholarships to help you pay for school.”
  • Scholarship Training Guide – Washington Apple Education Foundation (WAEF)
    “Twenty-six years ago, members of Washington’s tree fruit industry formed the Washington Apple Education Foundation (WAEF) to develop, promote and manage the industry’s charitable works. The foundation has increased support for college-bound students annually. This year 310 students are on college campuses with help from $1 million in WAEF scholarships.”
  • The College Solution – “Guide for Finding the Right School at the Right Price” by Lynn O’Shaughnessy (website & Book)
  • Unigo/Scholarship Experts
    “Sign up to get matched to scholarships that are perfect for you.”
  • WashBoard
    “Looking for scholarships? We connect Washington students of all types with Washington scholarship providers….for FREE.”
  • Western Undergraduate Exchange Tuition Reduction
    List of all schools in the Western Undergraduate Exchange. Students who are residents of WUE states are eligible to apply for a reduced tuition rate of 150% of resident tuition at participating schools.

School Lists & Virtual Tours

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About the College and Career Counseling Program

The goal of our College and Career Counseling program is to provide students and their families with the information and resources necessary for them to make well-informed choices about their post-secondary education. Liberty Bell recognizes the diversity in our families and understands that what might be right for one student may not be a good fit for another.

Therefore, we work individually with students and their families to help them successfully develop and achieve their post-graduation goals – whether that is applying to a 4-year, 2-year or technical college, designing a productive Gap Year plan or entering the military or workforce. Some of the specific services that we offer include:

  • Educating students and parents about the post-secondary educational choices available to them.
  • Meeting individually with juniors, seniors and parents to help them with their college lists, the application process, college essays and financial aid needs, including the FAFSA, the Profile and College Bound Scholarship, as well as with SAT/ACT prep and registration.
  • Holding college information evenings for students and parents to make sure that they have all the resources and support they need to reach their goals.
  • Working with the guidance counselor to ensure that 9th and 10th graders take the necessary classes to be eligible for college admissions.

Applying to college should be a fun and exciting process; but at times it can be a bit overwhelming. If you find yourself feeling stuck, or if you have questions about any part of the application process, contact our office at (509) 996-2215.

We would like to thank the Public School Funding Alliance for their generous support of this program.

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Our Mission

To expect, encourage and facilitate the pursuit of excellence in our students, preparing them for a world in which life-long learning is critical to their success and happiness.

A Vision for Methow Valley Schools

Working in partnership with our families and community, we develop curious, creative, compassionate, competent, action-oriented citizens prepared to change the world.

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Friday, January 28, 2022: MVSD Professional Development Day • All MVSD Schools and the District Office will be Closed to the Public.