Welcome to Senior Year!

I am Abby Lyons. I am your college advisor from an organization called Advise TN and I am so excited to be working with you this school year! I have worked closely with students and their families for many years navigate the college admissions process and want you to know that I am here for you! It's an exciting year, but it can be overwhelming. I am here to help you navigate this senior year to ensure that you reach your goals. We have some awesome things in store for Hancock County High School this year and I want make sure you stay connected. Senior year will move extremely fast and I do not want you to miss any of the important deadlines. I know that graduation sounds far in the future, but I promise that May 2025 will be here before you know it!!

I am truly excited to help each of you find your path to your own passions, dreams and goals. Remember, I'm here to help when needed.

I have an open door policy and I'll be sure to help in anyway that I can. My office is located in room 316. We will have many opportunities to meet and discuss your plans and work through all of your concerns and questions. My job is to help you understand and walk you through all the steps that MUST take place for you to achieve your dreams of what comes next after graduation. We will use our texting service to communicate. You can also email me at abigail.lyons@tn.gov. If you ever have any questions, concerns, or need help, text (more information to come at a later date) or email me and we can set up a meeting to figure things out. Either way, I will respond quickly and we will work on scheduling you in to meet as soon as it is possible.

Senior year can be very overwhelming with trying to keep up with everything that needs to be done. Applying for colleges, applying for scholarships, figuring out the FAFSA...it can all seem very impossible.

To keep everyone on track, we will be taking one step at a time. It will also be helpful that we will try to focus on one task a month. For this month, we will just simply focus on the first two steps.

Step 1: One-on-one Planning Meeting

During August and September, every senior will have a one-on-one meeting with me to discuss your goals for after high school. This is a very important first step as it will set a foundation for the rest of the year. It doesn't matter if you plan on attending a four- year university, community college, trade school, military or going into the workforce. This meeting can help us form a plan for your future.

Step 2: Apply for TN Promise

TN Promise will be a crucial step that all seniors will need to take. TN Promise is a scholarship, mentoring, and community service program that covers tuition and mandatory fees not covered by other state and federal financial aid.

There will be several steps that you must do in order to remain eligible for the TN Promise scholarship like attending a mandatory meeting in the fall and submitting 8 hours of community service. However, the most important thing is that we apply!

We will be having a TN Promise Application Day on August 21st from 8:00AM - 11:30AM in the high school library. This will be a perfect opportunity to sit down with me and apply for the scholarship!

Septemeber will be the month where we will focus on applying to any and all of your college and technical school choices. We are doing this all month long, so you have plenty of time to apply.

September 16th - 20th will be our College Application Week. There will be various colleges who will be stopping by the school so that you may ask any question that you have and receive help applying.

This year, if you would like to retake the ACT free of charge, you must obtain a voucher from the guidance department. The date for this test is October 1st, and will be administered at the high school.

Once the vouchers are available, Ms. Abby will let everyone know and will help sign you up at www.actstudent.org.

The Gates Scholarship- Full cost of attendance Deadline: September 15th

The Gates Scholarship is a highly selective, last dollar scholarship for outstanding, minority (African-American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian & Pacific Islander American, and/or Hispanic American), high school seniors from low income households. You must have a minimum of 3.3 GPA and must be Pell eligible.

The Gates Scholarship: Scholarship Main

Coca-Cola Scholarship- $20,000 Deadline: September 30th

This scholarship recognizes seniors for their capacity to lead and serve, as well as their commitment to make a significant impact on their schools and community. Must be planning to pursue a degree at an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution. Must be able to verify a minimum overall 3.0 GPA.

https://www.coca-colascholarsfoundation.org/apply/

Chick-fil-A Scholarship- $25,000 Deadline: October 30th

This scholarship is for seniors planning to enroll in full-time undergraduate studies at an accredited two-year or four-year college/university, or full-time study at an vocational-technical school. Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and be involved in community service, extra curricular activities and/or leadership roles in the 12 months prior to application date. Examples of community service is volunteering for non-profits, helping others less fortunate, tutoring/mentoring, etc. The student must also be willing to participate in Chick-fil-A's Scholars Program (a one year experience of mentoring, activities, and professional development) if selected. Chick-fil-A Team Members are not eligible to apply.

Chick-fil-A Community Scholars - Scholarship Guidelines (scholarsapply.org)

ACF Visionary Scholarship- Varies Deadline: December 1st

Fill out the registration form on the link below. You will receive an Application Packet via email within 2 weeks from the time that you register.

American College Foundation - ACF Scholarship Details

College for TN: https://www.collegefortn.org/

College for TN is a free one-stop resource for college and career information in the state of Tennessee.

Big Future: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/

Big Future is a free online resource that can help you plan for college, scholarships, and explore careers. Plus, when you complete steps, you can earn the chance to win $40,000 scholarships.

Fastweb: https://www.fastweb.com/

Fastweb allows you to search for scholarships, internships, and more.

UNIGO: https://www.unigo.com/

UNIGO has multiple ways to search for scholarships and explore various colleges.

Become: https://www.learnhowtobecome.org/

Interactive guide that helps you learn about career paths associated with various careers and understand what it takes to get the career by picking the college/classes to climbing the company ladder.