The US Department of Education and the Obama administration have introduced several reforms aimed at making college more accessible to low and middle income families. The Free Application for Federal Student Ad (FAFSA) is being revamped to make it "shorter, simpler and more user friendly". Effective in May 99, the DOE also began giving students instantaneous approximations of their Pell grant and loan eligibility. Other student aid changes include: 1) The Recovery Act which increases Pell grants by $5000 to $5350/year, 2) The act also includes the "American Opportunity tax credit," a $2500 credit towards four years of tuition, and 3) The "Perkins" loan Program will be expanded to 2600 extra schools and 2.7 million more students.

SIGN UP IN THE COUNSELING OFFICE
Location: Chaparral HS Room: C226
Tuesday, May 1 - 3:15- 4:15 PM

January 23	December 15
March 13	February 18
May 1	April 8
June 5	May 13

February 6	January 6
April 10	Mar 5
June 12	May 7

Jan 13	8th Grade/Future Firebird Night	Auditorium - 6:30PM
Jan 28	Counselors At Cocopah MS	All Day
Jan 29	Counselors At Copper Ridge MS	All Day
Jan 27	8th Grade Parent Open House	Auditorium - 6:30 PM
Jan 19 & 21	Juniors to be Seniors	All Day
Feb 1 & 4	Sophomores to be Juniors	All Day
Feb 8 & 10	Freshman to be Sophomores	All Day
Feb 16 & 17	Open Enrollment	All Day

For more information on the following - click here.
Peterson's StudentEdge
Free College Tuition
The Campus Visit
Rating Colleges: What you should investigate?
10 Rules I learned Applying to College (Trends for the College Admission Counselor 9/07)
Advice from Admission Officers
College Essay Information

The ASVAB is being offered to Junior and Senior students on Tuesday, September 23. The ASVAB test measures student’s skills in 16 academic areas and includes an interest inventory which provides students with multiple career options in 6 major career domains e.g. Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, etc.

A practice PSAT is being offered to students on Saturday, September 19th, in the Media Center. The cost is $5/student payable in the bookstore beginning on September 4th 2009. Registration for test begins at 7:30 AM in the Media Center and the test will begin at 8:00AM.

Scores reports will be reviewed with students on the evening of Thursday, September 24th in Media Center with a review session hat begins at 5:30 and ends at 7:00PM.

The PSAT/NMQST is scheduled for Saturday, October 17th in the Media Center. The cost is $20/student payable in the bookstore beginning September 15, 2009. Registration for test begins at 7:30 AM in the Media Center and the test will begin at 8:00 AM.

The PSAT/NMSQT measures skills important for college success and provides students with the tools they need to start planning for the future.

National Merit Scholarship Corporation uses the PSAT/NMSQT as an initial screen of entrants in its annual academic competition for recognition and college scholarships.

Check the Guidance Calendar on School Fusion for registration and test dates

The Chaparral HS school code is 030-397. The code is utilized when submitting materials for scholarships, college admissions, when registering for college admission test with the NCAA clearinghouse. Request for official transcripts should be directed to www.docufide.com and not to counselors or the recorder.