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... June - August 2021
Dear Students and Families,
Summer is almost here! The graduates of the Class of 2021 are off and running, students are turning in their last assignments, teachers are wrapping up instruction, and we’re celebrating together as we reflect on the unusual ups & downs of the 2020-2021 school year.
As the school year comes to an end, I want to leave you with a few ideas for post-high school planning. Obviously your first priority for the summer should be to de-stress, decompress, and be outdoors as much as possible! But summer is also a great time for students to: take on a part-time job where you can learn new skills, reflect on your learning experiences and think about goals for next year, and dream about what the future holds. These are just a few resources to help you along the way…
Local Summer Job Opportunities
Many employers in the valley are still looking for seasonal help in food service, retail, housekeeping, construction, farming, and more. The Methow Valley News Classifieds are an excellent way to see what jobs are available! Either find a paper copy of this week’s paper or use the link above and select “Employment” from the drop-down menu to see the current list of open positions at local businesses.
Rising Seniors
The summer months are a good time to get a head start on post-high school planning tasks. During my May visits with 11th grade history classes we reviewed the attached slideshow, view which contains suggestions and links to resources related to planning for senior year and beyond.
The list below is basically a condensed version of the slideshow; all these things can be accomplished on your own time, at your own pace!
- Take the Lifestyle Assessment from Find Your Grind—it will get you thinking about how your interests align with possible career paths.
- Complete the Game Plan survey using your Naviance account.
- Make a list of potential careers and the education/training you’ll need to achieve your goals (use Naviance, paper & pencil, or whatever app works best for you).
- If your plan includes applying to 4-year colleges, create a Common App account and start entering some of the basic information into your profile.
- Brainstorm topics or even write a rough draft of your personal essay. Email me (banderson@methow.org) if you’re interested in attending an early fall essay workshop with Hilary Kaltenbach at The Bush School (dates TBD, probably Wednesday afternoons in September). Another helpful online resource is the College Essay Guy.
- Gather information related to financial aid—the 2022-2023 FAFSA will be available on October 1, 2021.
You can also consider whether test prep will be on your list of summer tasks. There are many test-optional colleges and universities, and if you choose to apply without submitting test scores you can focus your energies on excelling in rigorous coursework and writing stellar essays. However, the decision to test or not to test is ultimately personal; Ms. Anderson and Mrs. Spellman are available to discuss your options. We are planning to offer another School Day SAT in October 2021.
ReadyWA – Career Exploration Resources for Students & Families (Grades 8-12)
Ready Washington is a coalition of more than 20 state and local agencies, associations, and advocacy organizations focused on providing career planning resources for all students in Washington state. They have a list of grade-specific suggestions to help students continue to plan for their futures during the summer months.
Whether you’re a graduating senior or a continuing junior high or high school student, feel free to email me with any questions or concerns or interesting updates about your lives, even after the school year ends. 🙂
Have an amazing summer!
All the best,
Beth
Beth Anderson
MVSD College and Career Advisor
banderson@methow.org
(509) 996-2215, x4175
Career Exploration Resource List
CareerConnectatHome YouTube channel
Interviews with workers in Washington state
College & Career Compass
A new tool from the Washington Student Achievement Council with resources to help you explore educational pathways and find supports for your individual needs.
Explore Washington’s 34 Community & Technical Colleges
Search by location or area of study.
Find Your Grind
Research careers based on your lifestyle assessment; free to all LBHS students.
Find Your Grind Lifestyle Assessment
Quick quiz that connects your interests to potential careers.
NACAC College Spotlights
Collection of 10-15 minute videos highlighting a variety of colleges & universities.
Naviance
Career and college research tools available to all LBHS/ILC students.
ReadyWA
Career exploration & financial aid resources for students and families.
Virtual Tours
Visit colleges around the world without leaving home. (Spreadsheet of links)
Other Helpful Resources
Paying for College
If you missed the live “Paying for College Night 2020” Zoom presentation, please watch this recording. The information shared here applies to all students who are planning to attend a trade or technical school, 4-year college or university, community college, or any other career training program.
We tackled questions related to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is the foundation of the aid process. Other topics we covered include: calculating the net price of attendance, exploring the four main types of financial aid available to students, and navigating the aid process in the time of COVID.
General Information
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. www.CollegeBoard.org
FairTest lists all of the colleges that do not use SAT/ACT scores for admitting students.
www.FairTest.org
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.
https://www.wiche.edu/tuition-savings/wue/
Common Application
Start your Common Application.
FAFSA Info
This is the official site for the FAFSA.
Scholarship Info
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.”
View/download Guide
WashBoard
“Looking for scholarships? We connect Washington students of all types with Washington scholarship providers….for FREE.”
www.WashBoard.org
Fastweb
“Leading online resource for finding scholarships to help you pay for school.”
www.Fastweb.org
Unigo/Scholarship Experts
“Sign up to get matched to scholarships that are perfect for you.”
www.ScholarshipExperts.com
Books
Fiske Guide to Colleges
Best guide to colleges and universities.
The College Solution – Guide for Finding the Right School at the Right Price
Lynn O’Shaughnessy
Great book on the financial aspects of college. Her website is also extremely helpful. www.thecollegesolution.com
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.