https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa


Email Correspondence for 2022-2023 Financial Aid Parent Meetings:

From: Nicki Holbert <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2022 6:56 PM
To: Nicki Holbert <[email protected]>
Subject: Important Senior Information

Dear Senior Parents:

We have had a busy fall semester so far! I have a TON of important senior information that I want to share and have included below. I am also including a handout with important SAT/ACT testing dates and registration information that you can find here: https://tinyurl.com/msdbcz3d. I also wanted to share this handy senior checklist to help you and your senior with reminders for important senior tasks: https://tinyurl.com/2s8xacav.

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) opened on October 1 for seniors. This is a financial aid application that is required by most colleges to be completed and submitted in order for your student to be eligible for any type of financial aid including scholarships, grants, and loans. Completing the FAFSA is a graduation requirement for your senior. To help you with this, Henrietta High School will be offering a parent information session on Monday, October 24 at 5:30 pm in the High School Media Center. The first part of the session will be an informational presentation over the types of financial aid available to students. The last part of the session will be a work session on the computer where you can work on completing and submitting your student's FAFSA. You will need to bring your 2021 tax return information and W-2s to have the information needed to complete the FAFSA during the work session. It would also be helpful if you set up your FAFSA login (FSA ID) before the meeting so you can access and complete the application because it can take up to 3 days before you can use your FSA ID. Here is a helpful link to review before the meeting: https://studentaid.gov/articles/things-you-need-for-fafsa/.  If your student does not plan to attend any kind of college or training after high school, you can submit an “Opt-Out Form” which will allow your senior to graduate without completion of the FAFSA. (see link here: https://tinyurl.com/2p94k49c)

Midwestern State University Applications

Seniors set up accounts with ApplyTexas.org and submitted applications to Midwestern State University in their senior English class on September 22. The admission counselor waived the $40 application fee so that all Henrietta seniors could apply for free. Your senior should be getting an email and letter in the mail about their application. If your student is accepted, they will have information on next steps if they are interested in attending MSU in the fall.  If they are considering MSU after graduation, there are a couple of things you need to know. First, there is a scholarship that many of our Henrietta students have been awarded in the past. It is the Bryant and Dorothy Edwards Scholarship and Kirk Edwards Scholarship for $10,000 - $12,000. The application is short, so do not miss out on this opportunity. You can find the application here: https://msutexas.edu/donor-services/_assets/files/edwardsbanddandkirkedwardsapp2019.pdf. Please have your student complete this application and mail, fax or email it in as soon as possible. The funds are first come, first served – so don’t delay if you think there is a chance your student might attend MSU in the fall. Second, MSU gives another generous $4,000 scholarship to our seniors that complete an MSU college class in the spring of their senior year (and have a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher). This could be from a selection of college credits including Art Appreciation, Music Appreciation, or Theatre. The cost of the class is $250 and the student would receive college credit for their course that can transfer easily to any Texas college or university. Most college classes cost over $1,000, so this is a great deal, and if they continue to attend MSU they will automatically receive the $4,000 scholarship.  If you are interested in your senior taking an MSU class in the spring, please let me know. I can help them with the application and class selection.

College Applications

Your students have set up ApplyTexas accounts, so if they want to apply to other Texas colleges or universities, they can do so within that application. If your senior needs help with college applications, please let me know or have them come see me!

Transcripts

Your senior can request a transcript for personal use or to be sent to a college at the following link: https://hs.henrietta-isd.net/campusdirectory/counselor/transcript_request.

Scholarships

Your senior should also be looking for scholarship applications on their college’s website. For example, MSU has scholarship opportunities posted here:  https://msutexas.edu/donor-services/scholarship-apps.php. I also have scholarship opportunities posted on my website at: https://hs.henrietta-isd.net/campusdirectory/counselor/Scholarships.

College/Military Visits

Your senior is allowed 2 days during their senior year to visit a college or a military recruiter. Your student will need bring a letter from the college or military recruiter that they visited to the attendance clerk when they return for it to be properly accounted for.  The letter must be turned into the office within 5 days so that the absence will be coded correctly and will not count towards their attendance. This is a great opportunity for you and your student to have a fun day away from school and to help students and parents make important decisions about plans after graduation.

Visit a College/University:
Midwestern State University https://msutexas.edu/admissions/university-tours.php
North Central Texas College https://www.nctc.edu/tour-guides
Tarleton State University https://www.tarleton.edu/welcome/campustours.html
Texas A&M University https://visit.tamu.edu/register/in-person-campus-visits
Texas State Technical College https://www.tstc.edu/visit-campus-form/
Texas State University https://recruit.admissions.txstate.edu/portal/visit
Texas Tech University https://www.depts.ttu.edu/admissions/visit-events/index.php
University of North Texas https://tours.unt.edu/tour-signup
University of Texas at Arlington https://www.uta.edu/admissions/visit
University of Texas at Austin https://admissions.utexas.edu/visit
Vernon College https://www.vernoncollege.edu/tour-campus-form

Contact a Military Recruiter:
Army https://www.goarmy.com/locate-a-recruiter.html
Navy https://www.navy.com/local
Air Force https://www.airforce.com/find-a-recruiter
Marines https://rmi.marines.com/

I know this is a lot of information! If you have any questions or I can help you through this senior year, please let me know! ALSO - Senior Tux & Drape pictures will be at the high school this Thursday, October 13!

Thank you,

Nicki Holbert
Counselor
Henrietta High School