2008
Hot Topics for High School Students

Dakota Corps Scholarship Priority Date Reminder

Web Site to Know: College Goal Sunday

Web Site to Know: FAFSA4caster

The site provides three sections:
A - Understand the basics of getting started with financial aid.
B - Use the FAFSA4caster.
C - Learn what to expect next.

Web Site to Know: Mapping Your Future

And if you have been there before, be sure to check out Mapping Your Future’s all-new look!

It’s About the Bottom Line

Use EAC’s “Compare Award Packages” worksheet at https://www2.eac-easci.org/resources/awardcalc.pdf and see the complete picture.

Understanding the Types of Degrees

• Certificate/Diploma – Earned upon the completion of a short-term course of study.
• Associate’s Degree – A degree earned after about two-years of full-time study, or 60 credits.
• Bachelor’s Degree – A four-year degree, if you attend full time, or 120 credits.
• Master’s Degree – An advanced degree earned after a Bachelor’s. May vary from 36-60 credits.
• Doctorate – Advanced and intensive study. This is the degree earned by doctors, lawyers, and other advanced professionals.

Web Site to Know: Your College Web

• Financial aid
• Your field of study
• Your extracurriculars, such as athletics or music pages
• Housing/Meal plan information
• Helpful services, such as counseling and tutoring

Registration, Orientation, and Housing

• Gone through the registration process. Do your best to get into classes that will move you closer to completing your degree, but be sure to explore areas that interest you too!
• Signed up for on-campus orientation, which will give you a chance to know your college a little better, plus you’ll meet your new classmates.
• Completed your housing applications, if you’ll be living on campus. If not, make sure you have housing lined up.

Parents: Help Your Child Prepare for the ACT or SAT

• Provide information on the tests (ACT and/or SAT) and explain why they are important:
  • www.actstudent.org
  • www.collegeboard.com
  • Make it to College – Taking the ACT/SAT - http://www2.eac-easci.org/HSStudent/2004HotTopics.shtml#ACTSAT
  • ACT vs. SAT - http://www2.eac-easci.org/HSStudent/2005HotTopics.shtml#actvsat
• Encourage them to take advantage of free practice tests:
  • www.actstudent.org/testpresp/
  • www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/newsat/prep/prep.html
• Accompany your child on campus visits, which helps the future come into focus.
• Help your child study in whatever way works best for him or her.
• Ask the school counselor for help and advice.

Money Management – How to Save Money

• Have a goal – Whether you want to save enough for your first semester of college or just enough to cover your textbooks, have something to work toward.
• Have a plan – Decide before money shows up how much of it you’ll save. How about 25% of your paycheck? Or half of your birthday gift money? Or all of your change? Every little bit adds up.
• Cut back – Skip lattes on Fridays. Wait for those jeans to go on sale. Then put the extra cash into savings.

You’ll never regret having money in savings, especially when the college expenses begin.

Money Management – Small Savings Add Up

One of the great “secrets” of the financial world is something called compound interest. That means whatever amount of interest your savings account earns this month is added to the total amount in your account. It is that total amount on which next month’s interest is figured. The more you add to your account, the more that amount grows.

The website www.finaid.org provides some great calculators to help you see how your savings can grow. Check out the Savings Growth Projector at http://www.finaid.org/calculators/scripts/savingsgrowth.cgi today!

2007