College Information

What are my next steps after high school?

You always hear everyone talking about the word college. But what does “college” look like? We refer to college as any type of education or training beyond high school.

Each student will take a slightly different path, but can include one of the following……..

4-Year University/College- BA/BS Degrees

Community College- 6 months to 2 year programs- Certificates, Programs, AA Degree

Military (basic entry, ROTC, Academy of all branches)

Trade School

Apprenticeship

On the Job Training

Education opens the door to a world of opportunity. A 4-year Bachelor’s degree will increase your salary by 85%! Besides the financial incentive, attending college will allow you to discover who you are, explore new ideas, and make new friends.

What to do to prepare?

Take AP or Dual Credit Classes at BHHS next year
Take the ACT or SAT (SAT @ BHHS October 1st- register online)
Get involved in extracurricular activities
Visit Colleges
Apply to the schools of your choice
Keep your grades up!

TRIPS & VISITS

Sign up for Trips (bussed to other schools/programs) and Visits (representatives come to BHHS campus) in the Bruin Career Center and the Counseling Office. We also encourage students to contact a school/program and inquire if they are permitting in person tours or are offering them virtually.

COLLEGE PREP & ADMISSION

COLLEGE INFORMATION

The information provided by the BHHS Counseling office is based upon information from the Oregon University System. This information is broad based to cover all institutions but information will vary from college to college, public to private, from state to state. For very specific requirements use the Bruin Career Center’s catalogs and on-line resources to review the individual college’s requirements, or contact a college admission adviser directly.

RECOMMENDED HIGH SCHOOL COURSEWORK

Note that the recommendations are for YEARS in high school not credits. Courses, even high school credit given, are generally not viewed by colleges as counting towards college prep requirements. The expectation is that each year you are in high school you would be taking at least one, if not more, of these core classes. In addition, colleges say they want to see at least a ‘C’ grade in core classes. For more information on how colleges view your transcripts and course work read the articles and FAQ links on this website or speak to Ms. Fulton, Ms. Hendrix, Ms. Fowler, or Ms. Pruitt.

English: 4 years, including literature and one year of composition/writing
Mathematics: 4 years, including algebra, geometry, algebra II and pre-calculus
Science: 4 years, including biology, physical science, chemistry,
Social Studies: 3 years, including US history, government and economics
Second Language: 2-3 years of a single language
CTE/Fine Arts Electives: advanced and rigorous (challenging) 2 years

COLLEGE ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

No one pattern of preparation will invariably meet admission requirements at all colleges. A four-year comprehensive and balanced program in the major academic subjects is strongly advised and will meet most college requirements and/or recommendations. Colleges look at what BHHS offers and compares it to what you selected. Did you choose rigorous courses or take the ‘easy’ classes senior year? Students need to refer to computer programs and college catalogs in the Career Center for information on specific colleges. Go to the admissions page of the University you are interested in to view the admission requirements:

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Eastern Oregon University
Oregon State University
Oregon Tech (OIT)
Portland State University
Southern Oregon University
University of Oregon
Western Oregon University

PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Private schools have varying entrance requirements but are mainly looking for students who avail themselves of the opportunity to take as many academically rigorous and enrichment challenging courses as BHHS offers.

Some Oregon private schools are:

Art Institute of Portland
Corban University
George Fox University
Lewis & Clark
Linfield College
New Hope Christian College
Northwest Christian College
Pacific University
Reed College
Willamette University

HIGHLY COMPETITIVE COLLEGES

Students considering highly competitive colleges should give special attention to their selection in mathematics, social studies, science (including two of these: biology, chemistry, physics), second language, and English, including a year of composition/writing. In addition, some schools require a fine arts credit and computer competency. Highly competitive colleges will expect a student to have taken a rigorous selection of courses. For further information, please contact the college of interest and a BHHS counselor.

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Start Thinking…….College Applications!

Check on websites for colleges that you are interested in attending for application deadlines.

Many 4- year institutions will close February 1st and most community colleges are open enrollment meaning you can enroll right up into the fall. Be sure to keep the dates straight so you don’t miss one!

Early Decision- plans are binding- a student who is accepted must attend the college or possibly forfeit all financial aid.

Early Action plans are nonbinding- students receive an early response to their application but do not have to commit to the college until the normal reply date which is usually May 1st.

COLLEGE APPLICATIONS

Using guidelines established by the majority of post secondary institutions, each post secondary application usually needs to be accompanied by a copy of the high school transcript. Log into your Parchment account to send a transcript.

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

Two weeks (10 school days) prior to the application deadline submit the following materials to the BHHS Counseling office.

Recommendation information or form to be filled out. Stop by the counseling office to pick up the form.
High school Activity Chart – Either CIS or from personal portfolio
Resume
Due date of the recommendation

BHHS Counseling will mail, e-mail or return the information to the student based upon the request by the due date.

OFFICIAL HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPTs

Log into your Parchment account to request your official high school transcript. Sne to one or several colleges, programs, or scholarship requests. In order to be considered “official” it must remain in a sealed envelope. It is important to plan ahead if a deadline has to be met.

$$ Financial Aid $$ How Do I Afford My Next Steps?

There are ways to pay for your higher education…….

Where can you get money?

Federal Aid- Grants, work study, and loans
State Aid
Institutional Aid
Scholarships- Local, Regional, National
Loans- private
Part Time Jobs
Savings Accounts/Programs
Family Assistance

Here are just a few ways to prepare.

Federal Student Aid-

Complete the FAFSA in October at Student Aid This will determine if you can receive Federal Aid (up to 5,900 if you qualify)! Even if you know you won’t qualify for federal funds, still fill it out because some institutional aid can only be awarded if the FAFSA is completed! Once completed they will send you a Student Aid Report (SAR) which should include your Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) which is how much financially you are expected to pay.

Types of Federal Student Aid

Grants, Loans, and Work Study. For more information on the different types of Federal Student Aid go to Student Aid Resources

FAFSA

We encourage seniors to complete the FAFSA in October! Early birds get the chance at more money. The FAFSA opens up on October 1st! You will need to apply for an FSAID before you can fill out the FAFSA.

FSAID Directions

Step 1 https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch

- both you and parent/guardian(s) will need to sign up for ID

Step 2 https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa

You will need the following to complete your FAFSA application:

Social Security Number
Birth Date
Prior Years Tax Information
Drivers License

Oregon State Aid

Complete the OSAC- This will determine if you can receive State Aid. (up to $2,900 if you qualify). www.oregonstudentaid.gov

Institutional Aid

There is money at the school you plan to attend. Be sure to fill out their scholarship application (if different from their college application- check websites) by the due date.

Senior Year Local Scholarships!!!

Apply, Apply, Apply

Start your essays and update your activity chart now!

November Release

ELKS

December Release

BHSF

Bruin General

Masonic Garvin

Masonic Stanhurst

BHEA

HFR

Other Local Scholarships

Curry Student Success Fund

Coos Curry Electric

Rogue Credit Union

Lions Club

Curry Anadromous Fishermen

Curry County Republicans

Grange Co-op

Keep Looking…..

Employers

Religious Groups

Clubs

Community Organizations

WUE- www.wiche.edu

Looking at options out of state but don’t want to pay the out of state tuition? If you want to attend an out of state school look for possible assistance through the WUE. Check out this website for schools in the northwest, south, and midwest to see what type of scholarship/grant relief they can provide.

Private scholarships

Websites- Check these out!

https://bhhs.brookings.k12.or.us/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1472644&type=d&pREC_ID=1625387

Collegeboard.org

CIS

Fastweb.com

GEAR UP

Zinch.com

You should never pay for a scholarship!
Follow all instructions!
Watch out for Scams….go to:

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/scams

Private Loans

You must repay loans so be sure to assess what you or your family can take on. There are many options out there in addition to Federal Loans including Sallie Mae Student and parent loans, Wells Fargo, and Discover Student Loans. Check each one out carefully.

Additional Opportunities

Part time jobs, savings accounts, and family assistance are other ways to assist in affording your next steps!

Helpful Websites:

Need information about the affordability and value of different colleges and universities in the United States? Go to:

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/

http://www.collegeresults.org/

https://oregoncis.uoregon.edu/Portal.aspx

College Research

Log into your CIS account and choose school sort or specific schools to find valuable information about each one. You can also go to each school's website and look up this information.

While researching consider the following:

Size
Public or Private
Environment
Location
Student Life
Does the school have the major or degree program you want

*Community Colleges offer many types of training programs, certificates, AA degrees as well as the 2-year transfer degree program that will allow you to transfer right into a 4-year college or university once you complete the program.

*Colleges typically offer Bachelor degrees but some also offer Masters.

*Universities offer Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate degrees. Some schools offer ROTC programs. These programs can help offset or pay for your college education.

What are Colleges Looking For?

Two of the most important considerations for college admissions and academic scholarships are GPA and ACT/SAT scores. Some colleges weight AP, Honors, and Dual Credit Courses so if you score a B+ it will count more like you got an A-. Turning your GPA around in your junior and senior years if needed will have an impact on your admissions. If you have a learning disability or something else in your life that has hurt your academics, you should mention it in your personal essay or have one of your recommendations write it in their letters. After you are accepted to a college, don’t slack off the rest of your senior year! Many college acceptance letters are contingent on you maintaining your current GPA and courses that you listed on your application.