Connections Newsletter

Does your college require a mid-year transcript? Check your college portals to see if they require it. If required, go to Naviance, then Manage Transcripts, and request it. As you requested the initial transcript, you are now clicking the mid-year transcript box. Come to Connections with any questions.

FAFSA Federal Student Aid has new resources for the 2025-26 FAFSA, including Pro Tips for Completing the FAFSA Form, Federal Student Aid YouTube Channel: FAFSA Videos, and FAFSA guides for non-English speakers.

Scholarship and financial aid deadlines are your next big thing! Be sure you are watching for and applying before those dates. Scholarships do not give extensions for applications. Remember to request letters of recommendation from a teacher or Ms. Peters before the deadlines.

Letter of Recommendations If you have a February 1 deadline for a college or scholarship application, you will need to complete these four steps by January 17 for teachers and January 10 for Connections.

1. Ask the letter writer in person
2. Update your resume in Naviance
3. Complete the Letter of Rec/Form Profile in Naviance
4. Add the teacher request into Naviance (this permits us to release information and you the opportunity to clarify what you need in the letter. Fill out green form for Ms. Peters.

We work while you work so your application does not need to be completed by these dates, only by the app deadline. Stop by Connections if you need any help with these steps.

Scholarship reminder: Some colleges automatically give you merit scholarships based on your GPA/test scores. Some colleges have a scholarship application that sends your information to multiple scholarships. Some colleges provide links to outside scholarships. Even though you have been admitted (congrats!), there are still more steps to go. Apply for the money. You don’t know if you don’t apply! Read your emails.

In class next week, we will be introducing a trend in college admissions. This tool has been around for several years but has recently been integrated into our Naviance tool. Basically, it is a tool to flip the admission process called Direct Admissions.

Here is the basic information.

• Colleges review an anonymous version of your profile and send you genuine offers of admission. Colleges do not receive your personal information until you indicate interest in an offer.

• Offers include specific program options based on your academic interests and career goals.

• Students on the platform typically receive multiple admission offers with most offers including estimated scholarship awards.

Click to Learn more about Match powered by Concourse

Please discuss this opportunity with your teen as we are introducing Direct Admissions as an option for students. We, of course, will continue to teach students how to choose colleges (if that is their path) that are a good fit, emotionally, academically, socially, and financially. This does not replace the college search process; it broadens opportunities.

At TCA

Thursday, January 16, 8:40: Career Talk – Joy Fine, Nurse Practitioner

Thursday, January 23, 8:40: Career Talk – Shawn Sawyer, Space Force

Tuesday, January 28, 1:15: Bethel College

Application Deadlines

Application: 2/1/25; Connections Rec Ltr: 1/10; Teacher Rec Ltr: 1/17

Application: 2/15/25; Connections Rec Ltr: 1/25; Teacher Rec Ltr: 1/31

In the Community

Thursday, January 30, 6:00 - 8:00: Construction Trades Open House, Denver

Friday, February 7, 7:00-2:00: UNC Future Teacher Conference, Greeley. Spots fill quickly.

Saturday, March 8, 9:00-11:00: RMACAC Spring College Fair, Pine Creek HS

Saturday, March 9, 1:00-4:00: RMACAC Spring College Fair, Cherokee Trail HS

Knox College offers the Know College Colorado Alumni Scholarship, award of $3,000 per year ($12,000 over four years) to students from Colorado. Deadline to apply is January 15.

The APIA (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander (AANHPI) student) Scholarships amounts range from $2,500 one-year awards to $20,000 multi-year awards. Deadline to apply is January 15.

CoAccess Scholars Program at MSU Denver offers financial and programmatic support to students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Social Work (BSSW) degree followed by a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree via the MSU Denver Advanced Standing MSW Program.

As part of the University of Binghamton University Honors Program, they offer, First-year Research Immersion (FRI) program, Binghamton University Scholars program, The Source Project, PricewaterhouseCoopers Scholars, and EY Student Leaders program.

Clarkson University offers the Solinksy Engineers Program, a $5,000 award per year, for up to four years; and the Ignite Presidential Fellowship, a merit-based scholarship covering all tuition costs for four years of study.

Clark University offers more than 20 different 4+1 Accelerated Master’s Degrees with a full tuition scholarship for the fifth year of graduate study.

The US Department of Defense offers scholarships for STEM students.

Rochester Institute of Technology offers Performing Arts Scholarships that start at $2,000 over four years and performance opportunities.

Explore these links to learn more about each school’s summer programming. As a student, participating in a summer program is a great way to further explore your interests, get a taste of what it is like to be a college student, visit a college campus, and learn more about topics that interest you.

Amherst College - The Common Young Writers Program

Barnard College - Multiple pre-college programs

Bentley University - Multiple pre-college programs

Boston University - Summer Journalism Academy, Five distinct pre-college programs

Carleton College - Carleton Summer Liberal Arts Institute

Carnegie Mellon - Multiple pre-college/January virtual Discovery programs

Clark University - Summer Game Studio

Columbia University - Multiple pre-college programs

DePauw University - The Gateway to Gold: A DePauw Summer Experience

Duquesne University - Multiple pre-college programs

Emory University - Pre-College: A Taste of College Life

Hope College - Awakening: Building Emerging Worship Leaders

Illinois Institute of Technology - Elevate College Prep Summer Programs

Ithaca College - Summer College for High School Students

John Carrol University - Summer in The Heights

Johns Hopkins University - Summer at Hopkins

Kenyon College - Camp 4

Le Moyne College - Summer Scholars Program

Loyola Marymount University - Multiple pre-college programs

Maryland Institute of College Art - Open Studies

National Security Agency/Central Security Service – Cybersecurity, Foreign Language, Code Breaker Summer Camps

Northeastern University - NU Accelerate Pre-College Programs

Northwestern University - The Cherubs at Northwestern University, School of Continuing Studies

Pace University - Precollege Summer Immersion Program

Princeton University - Princeton Summer Journalism Program

Rhode Island School of Design – Multiple pre-college in-person/online programs

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology - Operation Catapult, Project Select, Rose Accelerate, Rose Power

Rutgers University New Brunswick - Multiple pre-college programs

Skidmore College - Summer Classes for High School Students

Smith College - Multiple pre-college programs

South Dakota Mines – STEM Summer Camps

Stevens Institute of Technology - Multiple pre-college programs

Stockton University - Multiple pre-college programs

Stony Brook University - Multiple pre-college programs

Syracuse University - Multiple pre-college programs

The College of New Jersey - Multiple pre-college programs

University of Chicago - Multiple pre-college programs

University of Delaware - College Readiness Scholars Institute and Edge Summer College Program

University of Michigan - Discover Ross

University of Notre Dame - Multiple pre-college programs

University of Rochester - Multiple pre-college programs

University of Southern California - USC Bovard Scholars

Vanderbilt University - Vanderbilt Summer Academy

Wake Forest University - Summer Immersion Program

Washington University in St. Louis - College of Arts & Sciences Pre-College Programs

Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Launch, Frontiers, and College Credit Jumpstart, Multiple pre-college online summer courses

SUMMER INTERNSHIPS

National Security Agency/Central Security Service – High school work studies

Entegris – Paid summer internships

SAT fee waivers are available to low-income 11th- and 12th-grade students in the United States. A student is eligible if they enroll in or are eligible to participate in the federal National School Lunch Program (NSLP), or their family's annual income falls within the Income Eligibility Guidelines set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service. Be sure to look at the current year's guidelines to verify.

The next SAT testing date is March 8, 2025. Register by February 21, 2025.

Additional test dates: May 3, 2025

Schoolhouse offers freeSAT Tutoring Bootcamp

March2Success offers free online SAT, ACT and ASVAB test prep

More test prep resources available on our Connections page

The next ACT testing date is April 13, 2025. Register by March 8, 2025.

Additional test dates: March 8, May 3, and June 7, 2025

Katina Dahl, Advisor - Freshmen, Sophomore, AP, PSAT/NMSQT

Jodi Hoffman, Office Manager - College & Career Visits, Community Service

Email: tcavisits@asd20.org
Website: tcatitans.org/Connections
Location: 975 Stout Road, Colorado Springs, CO
Phone: 719-484-0091 1104