April Senior Newsletter

Apr. 9 - Senior Exit Survey Distributed--Must be completed by ALL graduating seniors

Apr. 9 - Helping Students with Disabilities Navigate College @ 6:30-7:30pm(webinar)

Apr. 11 - Coleman Post-Secondary Hub Ribbon Cutting @ 3-3:30pm (Learn More)

Apr. 15 - FAFSA Week of Action begins

Apr. 18 - University of Northwestern Ohio Admissions Representative Visit

Apr. 19 - FAFSA Week of Action ends

Apr. 24 - Supporting Seniors with Financial Aid Award Letters @ 9-10am (webinar)

May 9 - SENIOR DECISION DAY CELEBRATION @ 1:25pm (Parents and families welcome!)

May 10 - Drive Your Tractor To School Day // Senior's Last Day // Mr. Zink will be at Coleman

May 15 - Senior Honors Night @ 6pm

May 19 - Class of 2024 Commencement Ceremony @ 2pm

May 24 - Mr. Zink will be at Coleman

As you know, this year has been an incredibly challenging one for Federal financial aid. FAFSAs are slowly being processed, and the Institutional Student Information Records--which is what gets sent to the colleges--are finally starting to be sent out.

What does this mean?

This means that your student should be logging into their Federal Student Aid account to see the status of their FAFSA. It should say processed. If they need to make corrections, that feature is anticipated to open up mid-April. Once open, they should go into the application, and fix any of the necessary corrections.

If your student logs in, and see that there are no corrections that need to be made, then they should receive an email from Federal Student Aid or US Department of Education, saying that their FAFSA was sent to their colleges.

If your student is selected for verification, then they will to have to verify some of their information with the college or university that has requested verification. This process is often random, so please don't get discouraged if you're selected for verification. Please reach out to me, and I can help you through that process! Click here or here to learn more about how to navigate the verification process.

Financial aid packages are estimated to be delivered to your household or to your student by the end of April, to anytime in May.

I will be here to support you and your students during this time! We are on an unprecedented college-going journey, and support during the summer months will be more critical than ever.

School ends on May 31st. What if my student or I need assistance after that?

I will be working ALL summer long, with various and sporadic hours. I am willing to do meetings online, at the Post-Secondary Hub, the High School, or anywhere that is easy access for you!

My student has received their financial aid package, but I don't know what any of it means.

Every college and university is entitled to publish their financial aid packages however they want. They can use whatever abbreviations, wording, and formatting they wish to use to get their point across. This can cause MAJOR disparities between financial aid packages from schools just down the road from each other. I AM HERE TO HELP ANALYZE, COST COMPARE, or any other assistance you may need, while reading the financial aid packages. PLEASE don't hesitate to reach out. You may also use this website to help calculate the cost of college.

Okay, my student received their financial aid packages, reviewed them, and has decided on where they want to go. But now what?

NOW it's celebration time! Celebrate your student for the long journey they have traveled. The hardest part is over. Then, refer to your college to understand how to "accept" or "deny" the grants, scholarships, loans, and work-study. This process should be covered in your orientation, or say on your financial aid award letter.

Is that all?

NO! There is still a lot to do! You must attend orientation, register for classes, submit a housing application (if applicable), tour campus (recommended), submit insurance forms and medical records-including immunizations, and more. I encourage you to reach out to your admissions representative if you are stuck on a step, or confused how to proceed. However, I am here to help through ALL of this. Both now and during the summer months.

While scholarships and grants may be free, loans require repayment.

It is MY recommendation that you and your student take out zero dollars in loans. However, if you absolutely must, then there will be three main different loans that schools may offer you.

Subsidized Loans: These loans are the MOST PREFERRED. Based on financial need. Loan repayment begins six months after you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment status. You may take out less than what the school offers you, but you may NOT take out more.

Unsubsidized Loans: NOT PREFERRED. NOT based on financial need. Your school determines the amount you can borrow. Interest accrues from the moment the loan is taken out.

Parent PLUS Loan: LEAST PREFERRED. The loan requires the parents to apply. This is not based on financial need, but based on credit history.

Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized

Federal Work Study provides part-time jobs for students with financial need, allowing them to earn money to help pay college expenses. The program encourages community service work and work related to the student's course of study.

Jobs can be either on or off campus.

The amount you can earn depends on when you apply, your level of need, and the school's funding.

You earn an hourly wage with a restricted amount of hours.

***If you are offered Work Study in your financial aid package, then you can choose to accept or deny it. If you accept it, you don't need to take a job right away, but it allows the opportunity for any point during the academic year. If you deny it, then you lose the chance until you file the next year's FAFSA.

If your student applied to the Midland Area Community Foundation Scholarship Portal, then you should have received a letter in the mail by now.

Thank you to all those who submitted their scholarship applications for the Coleman scholarships!

Enrollment deposit deadlines are ever changing. Stay up to date here.

If you're planning to enter into an Apprenticeship, or other Straight-To-Work program, like the Greater Midland Construction Academy, Police Academy, Armed Forces, etc., then you SHOULD start to move forward in that process. Just before you turn 18--if not already--you need to start connecting with the coordinators in those spaces, to make sure you have a smooth transition.

This is the time of year to be JOB SEEKING, if you are NOT planning to enroll in college. I'm here to help with resume and cover letter drafting, mock interviews, job searching, etc.!

I have created a multitude of different ways for students and parents to stay connect with me, and the career/college happenings. Please utilize any of the following:

Remind.com: code @3habdc4

Google Classroom invite code: iurpfbl

As always you can email me at szink@colemanschools.net or call my office phone at 989-465-6171

You may also reach out to Mrs. Hamina--our Student Support Specialist--for questions in regards to Dual Enrollment, Early College, Graduation Requirements, as well as anything career and college access related!