College planning

How Your MEF College Advisor Can Help You and Your Family

Your Collge Advisor can help you with:

• College & Career Planning

• Financial Aid Search: Including FAFSA/TAFSA & CSS

• FAFSA Workshops

• Scholarship Research & Applications

• Essay Writing

• Individual Appointments

Prior to Starting Senior Year:

1. Take the SAT, ACT or both. Most students take these tests during the junior year of high school. CLICK HERE to see if the college or university you are considering requires an SAT or ACT. If you are in the free/reduced lunch program or in AVID, see your MEF Advisor about a possible test fee waiver.

Click here to register for the SAT:www.collegeboard.org
Click here to register for the ACT:www.actstudent.org

2. Research and visit colleges and universities where you’re interested in applying. College Navigator, College Board, and College Data websites all provide excellent tools for research:
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/
http://www.collegedata.com/cs/search/college/college_search_tmpl.jhtml

3. Familiarize yourself with the common application types. If you use the Apply Texas or The Common App to apply, you can apply to more than one school with the same account.  All Texas public schools, as well as some private schools, use the Apply Texas App: www.applytexas.org

More than 400 private and public schools across the nation use the Common App: www.commonapp.org.
If you’re not sure, go directly to the school’s website to learn which application to use.

4. Apply for scholarships now! You do NOT have to wait to be accepted to a school. MEF Advisors are always adding new scholarships into Naviance. Families can log into their student’s account, click the COLLEGES tab, and select SCHOLARSHIPS and MONEY. See our OUTSIDE SCHOLARSHIPS to learn more about applying for scholarships. There are lots of resources out there!

Senior Year: Fall

– Retake the SAT or ACT if necessary.

– Write your admission essay(s) for the schools where you plan to apply. Have someone you trust edit your college essay(s). You should have at least two people edit your essay(s). *Not all schools require an essay.

– Ask for letters of recommendation if you need any. 

– Complete college applications for each school where you are interested in attending. Have someone you trust edit your application. For Texas public colleges/universities, use www.applytexas.org For more than 400 public and private colleges/universities across the nation use: www.commonapp.org If you are not sure where to go to apply, go to the college or university’s website.

– In Naviance, request your official high school transcript to each college where you plan to apply. If you are taking Dual Credit courses, send your official college transcript to each college where you plan to apply.

– Continue visiting colleges. If you are unable to visit a college, try this virtual tour website: www.campustours.com.

– Apply for as many scholarships as possible. The colleges and university-specific scholarships are usually offered in the fall. Students are encouraged to check each college website for details. 

Congratulations on taking the first step to your future! MEF College Advisors on each McKinney ISD high school campus can assist you with applying to college as well as finding money for college. This website provides most links you might need along the way. Be sure to sign up for an appointment with your College Advisor. 

Paying For College

Did you know you do NOT have to wait for a college acceptance letter to start applying for scholarships?

Actually, the majority of scholarship money is offered in the fall. Below are a few places to get started looking for money!

Outside Scholarships

Students are encouraged to apply to one to two scholarships every week. Everyone is usually eligible for at least a few scholarship opportunities, even if it’s “just” an essay contest.

Naviance lists all of the scholarships that come across anyone’s desk in MISD – national and local opportunities. We even list the institutional (college) scholarship deadlines when we know about them. This is truly one of your best tools to find scholarship opportunities. Don’t wait until the end of your senior year to realize the value of this tool.

Other websites to search for scholarships are listed below. Each of these websites will ask detailed questions about you. The more time you put into the questionnaire at the beginning, the more likely you are to find good scholarship opportunities.

www.fastweb.com – TIP: Create your account first.

www.scholarships.com – TIP: Create your account first.

www.niche.com 

www.unigo.com

www.goingmerry.com – TIP: Answer the Quick Match questions.

www.studentscholarships.org  

MEF Scholarship(s)

This particular scholarship is one of the ways MEF gives back to the community. The scholarship application will open in November of Senior Year and close in December of Senior Year. Make sure you read your emails from your Advisor or check this website for full details.

FAFSA

Each family is encouraged to apply for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in October of your senior year of high school. MEF Advisors are available to assist families with the application. Be sure to follow the steps below so you don’t miss anything. This can be a challenging and overwhelming process, but it’s worth it!

5 Steps to Apply For FAFSA

FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Since this is a government form, you should be sure to only apply for this on the government website listed below. The FAFSA is what you’ll use to apply for federal and state grants, loans, scholarships and work-study. 

See the 5 easy FAFSA application steps below:

Step 1: Gather all of your family’s tax forms (including the student’s if eligible). Your most current taxes should be filed in order for the FAFSA process to go smoothly. FAFSA requires the student’s form be linked to the IRS website or your family will need to submit a tax transcript later.

Step 2: Create your FSA ID (Personal Identification Number). The student and one parent both need an FSA ID in order to electronically sign your FAFSA.

Step 3: Go to www.fafsa.gov to begin your FAFSA.

Step 4: Check your email for your Student Aid Report from the Department of Education. Verify that all of your information is correct. If anything is incorrect, immediately go back to the FAFSA website and make corrections.

Step 5: Check your personal and new college email accounts for your financial aid award letters from each school you listed on your FAFSA. You will need to accept or decline each award package you receive.