School Counselor Information

Take the PSAT (practice SAT) in October. It is only given once a year. It provides feedback to students regarding strengths and weaknesses in both Language Arts and Math. It also provides students with free services that they can use on the College Board website. Some 9th graders who are accelerated in Science might consider taking the SAT II Subject Test in June. Consult with your high school counselor regarding this decision.

As previously mentioned, the PSAT in October is a great practice and preparatory test. Now students are compared to other 10th Graders across the country. The College Board website has many tools to interpret results and feedback regarding strengths and weaknesses. Some 10th graders might consider taking the SAT II Subject test in Science…again, consult with your high school counselor.

It is highly recommended that juniors take the PSAT in the fall of their 11th grade year. The test will compare you to 11th graders across the country—in other words, the students with whom you will be compared during the college application process. Also, 11th graders are automatically put in the running for some national scholarship programs which include the National Merit Scholarship competition. In the spring of 11th grade, we recommend that students first try the actual SAT I Reasoning test. Based on the results, you can decide to take it again in the fall of your senior year.

Students have the opportunity to take the SAT in October, November, May and June if there is a need to improve scores. Scores will be reported to colleges on their transcripts as long as the Guidance Office gets a copy of their scores by coding in KHS when registering for the test.

• In order for a student to receive financial aid, both parent (contributor) and student (if they received a W2 in the prior prior year), must fill out the free federal form, FAFSA. The website for this form is https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa

• It is highly recommended that these forms be submitted online.

• Financial Aid is based on information from tax returns from the prior prior year.

• Aid is based on the prior prior year’s tax records. We recommend that you utilize the IRS Retrieval Tool if possible when completing the FAFSA. Doing so will reduce the chances of your student’s FAFSA being flagged for verification.

• Students and parents will need an FSA ID in order to access the FAFSA website. Students and parents can request this FSA ID now on the website.

• If a student is applying to schools in New York State, they may also be eligible for TAP (Tuition Assistance Program) from the state of New York. At the end of the FAFSA application, there will be a link at the bottom to the TAP application at https://www.hesc.ny.gov/pay-for-college/apply-for-financial-aid/nys-tap/apply-for-tap.html

• Students will receive an Financial Submission Summary from FAFSA, which will have an SAI (Student Aid Index), which will determine how much aid you will be eligible for. · Both collegeboard.com and studentaid.gov have Financial Aid Calculators where families can use tax records to estimate the aid they may be eligible for.

• There is a financial aid application that does cost money called the CSS Profile. Some private colleges and universities use this form to give out private money they have in endowments. This application can and should be filled out and submitted right away.

• SUNY Ulster encourages all parents to call the Financial Aid Office for questions even if they are not planning to attend SUNY Ulster. They can be reached by phone at 845.687.5058 or by email at financialaid@sunyulster.edu. Several workshops are held to help families.