During the Fall 2020 semester, TS-SM held a Webinar Series with great college and career preparation workshops, and students had the opportunity to earn prizes! For each webinar, we had a live zoom meeting the day of and an activity for students to complete if they weren't able to attend the live event.

Student names were entered into a prize drawing for each webinar they participated in/activity they completed. We gave out a prize two weeks after each webinar, and a grand prize to the student who participated in the most webinars/completed the most activities!

The Fall 2020 Grand Prize for the VIP, Very Involved Participant, winner was announced on Monday, November 30th.

Scholarships- There are all types of scholarships out there and lots of money to obtain for college. There are scholarships for specific hobbies, special interest in the field you want to study, academic merit and many others.

Familiarize- make sure you are aware of the money that is coming in for college, whether that be gifts from family members, money earned from work, and/or a savings account.
Know and be in touch with your financial aid office at the schools you are interested in in order to feel more comfortable when you need to ask questions and be up to date with important information.

Communicate- Be sure you and your parent or guardian are on the same page when it comes to college and financial aid. It is important to let them know how you are doing and feeling.

The advisors in the College and Career Center are a great resource for you to use whenever you have issues, questions, or anything related to college. Ask them any questions you may possibly have. No question is "stupid".

Cost of Attendance- it is important to note that COA is for both fall and spring semester.

TASFA- If you know that you are ineligible for federal financial aid and you are thinking about attending a school here in Texas, apply for this application. It does not hurt to apply for this as well.

FAFSA- Apply. Apply. Apply! Whether you think you are eligible or not it does not hurt to fill out the application. You can get an opportunity to receive grants, which is free money!

FSA ID- It is important to note that when making an account you should make sure the information is accurate. This will serve as your legal signature when filling out FAFSA. Your legal parent or guardian will also be required to make an account because they will be required to sign the application as well.

*All links will be made available at the end of the activity.
If you google COA of any school, their main website should their cost of attendance as an incoming freshman. I have included a screenshot of an example such as UTSA.

The college scorecard is a great tool to find more information on schools and comparing schools. Average cost is the amount a student will pay after they are awarded the financial aid for that year.

Note that the average cost is just an average and could be more or less based on your parents/guardian's income and the financial aid (grants, scholarships, etc.) you receive.
 

*All links will be made available at the end of the activity.
Grants- this type of financial aid is free money, and it is based on financially needy students. This is money you don't have to pay back and will be awarded to you when you fill out FAFSA or TASFA. There are state and federal grants that you may be eligible for. That is why it is important for you to fill out FAFSA first.

Scholarships- This is also free money!! You don't have to pay it back and every penny counts. Again, there are many opportunities out there for you to get scholarships. DO YOUR RESEARCH!

Work study jobs- These are jobs that are offered to you when you receive your award letter (what financial aid you are eligible for) from your financial aid office from the school you are interested in. This is a way to earn money to pay for school. Your school will be able to work with the hours that you'll need and what job you will be eligible for.

Loans- This type of financial aid is borrowed money in order to pay for school. More information on types of loans are in the next couple of slides. I advise to use loans as the last resort to help pay for school because you don't want to have a lot of debt when you are out of school. Loans are helpful but be careful. :)

Aid for International Study- If you plan on studying abroad at any time during school OR if you plan on getting a degree in an international school there is good news! There is financial aid for that as well! Check with your financial aid office at your school for more information on that.

Aid for military families- If you are a child or spouse of a veteran there is also financial aid available for those families. Again, check with your financial aid office for more info and talk with your families.

Deadlines sometimes are different in other states so make sure you keep that in mind of you are thinking about going to a school out of state!