JUNIORS: Scholarship & Testing Info

My name is Heidi Clairmont and I'm the GRHS Scholarship Coordinator.

My job is to notify you of scholarship opportunities and deadlines, announce when military and college reps will be visiting the high school and I help with testing and communications from the counseling department.

My office is in the counseling office or you can contact me by email: hclairmont@isd318.org or phone 218-327-5760 x41544

Many important announcements will come via email to your school email account. Make a habit of checking it daily or at least weekly! Scholarships will come out from announcements like this weekly or bi-weekly and will include time sensitive information and deadlines! You don't want to miss out on something because you didn't check it!

***PSEO STUDENTS!!! Your school gmail account is still active and is the way that the school will communicate all kinds of information to you! If you don't remember your email and password, please reach out to me or Amy in the counseling office to get the information!

Notices of Local, National, Regional and State Scholarship Opportunities are available on the "9th-11th Scholarship Opportunities" Page. These are updated as I receive new ones.

**However, this is not an exhaustive list... there are endless amounts of opportunities - be sure to research additional scholarships on your own**

Juniors & Seniors will receive email updates through their school email. To receive them to a personal or parent email address, sign up on the Scholarship Notification List.

**This initial message is going out to all parents/guardians of Juniors as a courtesy. However, if you want to continue receiving these emails about scholarships, you MUST sign up to be on the notification list! Students may also sign up to receive the email to a personal email address.

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) will be administered at Grand Rapids High School on Thursday, October 24th. The deadline to sign up is Thursday, October 16th. There is no cost to take the ASVAB. You will take the test then after the break will complete the interpretation on the same day. Plan on being out of class most of the day.

Although the ASVAB is a military entrance assessment, there are many benefits to taking the ASVAB outside of entering a branch of the military. Taking the ASVAB does not commit you to anything, but a military recruiter may contact you. The ASVAB can help you determine your own interests and aptitude, even if you are not planning to enter the military or are undecided. It can help you choose courses for college and make your personal career decisions (https://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/asvab/asvab-questions.html).

FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO SIGN UP, CLICK HERE

Planning on taking the ACT this year? There are many opportunities & options for taking the test and for Test Prep.

• Take the ACT on a National Test Date (Saturday). This is typically given at ICC & HCC. The 24/25 test dates are Oct 26, Dec 14, Feb 8, April 5, June 14, July 12. You will need GRHS ACT code: 240990 to sign up. Fee Waivers will be available in counseling in October for free/reduced lunch students.

• The benefit to take the ACT on a national test day in April or June is that you can purchase Test Information Release (TIR) which allows you to receive a digital copy of the multiple-choice test questions, your answers, a copy of your answer document, the answer key, and the conversion table used in determining your ACT scores. If you took the optional writing test, you will receive a copy of the writing prompt, the writing test scoring rubric, and your essay scores. However, the cost to take the test on national test day is more, and the TIR service costs $32 if you sign up before you test. The fees for national test dates can be found on this link but this might be very valuable to help improve future scores if you plan to test more than once.

• The ACT will be offered at GRHS on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. We will not be offering the writing portion; many colleges/universities do not require it but check with any you are considering attending or need it for scholarships. Do I need to take the Writing portion? Cost is $55.50 and will be able to be paid through check or cash or online prior to taking the test; it is waived for students who have completed the Free/reduced lunch application and were approved for the current school year. (Please note: the district offering of ACT in April does NOT give your answers back. You MUST test on the national test day for this service**) More information will be available in January.

Other opportunities to take the ACT are available at act.org as well as FREE test prep.

Talk to your counselor if you have additional questions.

Heidi Clairmont, Scholarship Coordinator, is considering offering an in person ACT information/Prep session at GRHS to give Juniors and parents of Juniors insight on the ACT process, answer questions AND give students a free prep resources to help you prepare take the ACT this spring on either Thursday Oct 17th OR Friday Oct 18th. I anticipate the class would be 2 hours max.

If you are interested, please indicate interest by filling out the form on this link by Oct 2nd @ 3pm

If there is enough interest, I will send follow up message directly to your personal email and by text to verify date, time and GRHS Room on October 3rd.

If you are interested, but not available over MEA, you can still fill out the form to get the resources during a study hall or recharge or other ways. Contact Heidi Clairmont at 218-327-5760 x41544 OR hclairmont@isd318.org with questions.

During junior year, I encourage you to do four main things:

1. College research: Learn about different colleges and which ones might be a good fit. Potentially begin going on campus visits. Many colleges now offer virtual campus tours.

2. Study for standardized tests: If you’re considering a college that requires the SAT or ACT, it’s normally wise to take the test in the Spring. This way, if you’re unhappy with your score, you have time to retake it at the beginning of senior year.

3. Learn about financial aid: Once senior year rolls around, you’ll be too busy doing college applications to research the financial aid process. So focus on understanding that (and taking note of deadlines!) now. To start, here’s a good primer on how college financial aid works.

4. Apply for scholarships. High school juniors are eligible for plenty of scholarships, and it’s never too early to begin earning money towards your college tuition! Plus, it’s pretty easy to turn common scholarship essays into college essays, when the time comes. To find and apply for scholarships, I recommend you sign up for Going Merry.

I know that may seem like a lot to keep track of though, so you might also find this Junior Year Calendar/Checklist to be quite helpful. Print it out, and check things off as you complete them!

College & Military Reps come to Grand Rapids High school to talk with students about what their organization has to offer. Juniors & Seniors can attend. Sign up to get a pass to come down to the counseling conference room during the scheduled times: SIGN UP FOR A PASS

Scheduled Reps will be at GRHS from the following schools:

• Concordia College at Moorhead, MN Mon Oct 7th at 9am
  

• College of St Scholastica Mon Oct 14 9am

• Lake Superior College Tues Oct 15th at 1pm
• Northern Michigan University Mon Oct 21st at 2pm

Reach out to me or to your counselor for help as questions come up. We are here to help you!

GRHS Counselors (Remember that students are assigned to counselor by last name not by grade)

A-D: Tanis Henderson

E-KL: Nate Elsen

KN - RH: Teresa Stephens

RI - Z: Sheila Anderson

Scholarship Coordinator

Counseling Office at GRHS

Email: hclairmont@isd318.org
Website: https://www.isd318.org/domain/129
Location: 800 NW Conifer Dr, Grand Rapids, MN, United States
Phone: 218-327-5760 .41544
Facebook: facebook.com/grandrapidshighschoolcounseling
Twitter: @GRCounseling