Cochran's Corner

See below: I have copies in the office! Dear Guidance Counselors, Teachers and School Officials: 2020 has been a difficult year for students, teachers, and staff. The Smith Scholarship Foundation will continue providing full and partial scholarships for Alabama high school seniors needing assistance to attend college. We need your support for the J. Craig and Page T. Smith Scholarship Foundation (“The Smith Scholarship Foundation” or “Foundation”) applications. Applications were not received from several counties last year. The Smith Scholarship Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit Foundation established by Mignon C. Smith. Miss Smith, who never had children of her own, wanted to give students who had helped others in their community, or their families, a chance to receive a college education. The Foundation has awarded over 300 scholarships and is the largest private scholarship provider in the State. This is a “Last Dollar Scholarship” providing up to $15,000 per year, ...

Since we are limited in terms of in-person visits to high schools and college fairs this fall, I have set up a series of virtual meetings using Zoom to provide admissions information to interested students. If you have students who may be interested in obtaining information on The University of Alabama, I'd appreciate it if you could share this registration link for a virtual opportunity on Monday, October 5, at 5:00 pm.: https://adm.ua.edu/register/Chilton-County

I’ve gotten a few requests for digital recruiting information to send out to students or post on Google Classroom, so please see attached for a few PDF’s and see the link below for a 5-minute admissions overview video! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QaPiAYm-mJQHZxvZpWKVz9EzlAdAhWoc/view?usp=sharing Please let me know if your students would be interested in a virtual visit with me! I’m happy to meet through Zoom or Google Meets. If they would like to set up a meeting with me individually, they can set up a meeting through my Calendly link ( https://calendly.com/olemisslaurenh/rebel-chat-with-lauren-hughes ). Please feel free to reach out if you need anything from me! Hotty Toddy! Lauren Lauren Hughes Regional Admissions Counselor (located in Hattiesburg, MS) The University of Mississippi Office of Admissions P.O. Box 1848 145 Martindale O: +1-228-327-6413 | F: +1-662-915-1831 University, MS 38677-1848 U.S.A. lmh@olemiss.edu | www.olemiss.edu Instagram: @O...

We're writing with a reminder that only 71 days are left until the December 1 admission deadline for scholarship consideration at The University of Southern Mississippi. This means that any student seeking freshman scholarship consideration from Southern Miss must be offered admission on or before December 1. Our academic scholarships are available to students with a 21 ACT or higher with a 3.0 core GPA, with annual amounts ranging from $2,500 to full tuition. A complete application consists of payment of the $40 application fee, submission of ACT or SAT scores, and submission of the student's transcript. We have sent a similar reminder to students and parents about this approaching deadline. It would also be helpful if you would make announcements, etc., to your students about this important upcoming deadline. If you would like a list of students from your school whose applications are incomplete, just reply to this email and we'll get you that info as quickly as possibl...

The YYGS application is now open, and we encourage students in grades 10 or 11 (or international equivalent) from all around the world to apply! We hope you will help share this opportunity: YYGS invites eligible students to join us this coming July! Experience life as a university student at Yale while attending an academic session of your choosing. Here's what you need to know: Meet peers from over 130 countries around the world (including all 50 U.S. states), and join discussions where students offer global perspectives. We provide over $3 million USD in need-based financial aid equally to both domestic and international students, offered as discounts covering up to 100% of tuition costs. Apply by our Early Action deadline and hear your decision back by late December. If the fee poses a financial burden, submit a fee waiver to make your application fee $0 USD. While YYGS is excited to host on-campus sessions, we will notify students by March 5, 2021, if that is not possi...

College can be an exciting new life chapter, right? But, where do you start? Join us for an engaging and interactive conversation about college admissions. Ms. Mayfield will give a general overview of this multifaceted process, using questions from the audience as a starting point for conversation. Get insights from someone with years of experience in this industry. Please RSVP so you can get your questions in ahead of time! ___________________________ Ms. Mayfield learned from her father who was a college guidance counselor, and then she went on to get an MA in counseling, working as a high school counselor for several years before starting her own business. Now she works with clients across the area and visits 25 colleges per year. RSVP now! Special thanks to our Wonder Woman Sponsors The Thompson Foundation Facebook Link Website

As you know, the Alabama Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers has suspend all in-person fall 2020 college fairs. However, we are hosting three Virtual College Fairs for students, parents, and counselors. At your earliest convenience, will you tweet, post, share with your students and parents the upcoming ALACRAO Virtual Fairs? Live virtual fair options are: September 17, 2020 9:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. October 20, 2020 9:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. November 17, 2020 9:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. The events are free to all students and parents but they must be registered to attend. To register, visit https://alacrao.swoogo.com/virtual. Students will be able to apply for admission to the College, receive financial aid and scholarship information, and chat live with college representatives.

The 2020 dates have been updated on Congressman Palmer’s website, www.palmer.house.gov. If you have a senior or junior student interested in the academy process and would like for me to come to your school to meet with them please let me know. October 8, 2020 – Academy Night – *Please note location and attendance changes for 2020. MASKS will be required. Academy Night is open to all Sixth District students in the eleventh and twelfth grades who are interested in attending an Academy. Each student will be permitted to bring only one parent/guardian to accommodate social distancing. The event will feature speakers representing each Academy. 6:00-7:00pm Vestavia Hills Civic Center Dogwood Room 1973 Merryvale Road Vestavia Hills, AL 35216 Seniors Only: September 1, 2020 – Nomination Application Goes Live November 2, 2020 – Completed Application Packets Due to the District Office by 12PM NOON CST December 2020 – Formal Interview with Academy Advisory Board January-February 2...

Army ROTC provides full tuition and fees (or $10K for room and board) scholarships to over 2000 high school students each year. We intend to continue to sustain that same level of commitment into 2021. In addition to the tuition and fees, the scholarship pays $1200 annually for books and a stipend of $420 per months (for up to 10 months a year.) I have provided links to several resources that you can use to assist in counseling your students. One is the Army ROTC overview. It explains, in general terms, the basic eligibility and benefits for the program. The other two items are a resource that you can use to assist the students in preparing for the ACT/SAT as they wait for the tests to be conducted. These tools provide a great way for students to use their spare time to improve test scores. All are easily downloaded by clicking the links below. (I can email the information to you if you are interested!) Scholarship Eligibility Requirements  Be a U.S. citizen.  Be between the ages o...

If students prefer to schedule a virtual visit experience as well as view our virtual tour they can visit this link: https://www.montevallo.edu/admissions-aid/undergraduate-admissions/campus-visits/virtual/ We are still offering in-person visits at this time and is limited to one family per session. We will do a zoom information session ahead of time and then a student tour guide will give them a tour of campus. We do require that all campus visitors wear a mask. If they would like to schedule a campus visit they can visit this link: https://apply.montevallo.edu/Ellucian.ERecruiting.Web.External/Pages/events.aspx

On our end, Huntingdon IS allowing in-person visits to campus. If you have a student interested in scheduling a campus tour, please ask them to call 334-833-4497. We do not have an online scheduling option this Fall. Face coverings and temperature checks will be required. Our Fall 2021 application is now online and it’s always FREE to apply. I'm also attaching several links in case you're utilizing a virtual platform for your Seniors. New Official Virtual Tour for 2021: https://vimeo.com/450243090 Click Tour: https://spark.adobe.com/page/QMVsncOfEbvmb/ Virtual Tour: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17Fqj6UtvLghfO5by1SKPplnoIzh2O2oq/view Youtube Virtual Tour:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o_ZONgdRbqo "At a Glance": https://vimeo.com/295054694 As we all adjust to our "new normal", please let me know how I can be of assistance to you and your students. I look forward to working with you again this year! Hawk ‘Em! Jenny --...

Greetings from Southern Miss! I hope all is well with you and this finds you healthy! I wanted to reach out virtually to touch base with you at the start of what is sure to be an unconventional fall. We realize that the current state of things is not conducive to the normal schedule of college fairs and visits to your campus, and we may have to get creative in order to give your students access to information about Southern Miss. If you have plans or any ideas about alternatives to college fairs and in-person visits, we are definitely interested in knowing those and partnering with you so that we can serve your interested students. For instance, our admissions counselors would be happy to connect with your students virtually (Zoom, Skype, etc.), and we could likely facilitate similar virtual interactions with other Southern Miss representatives if there are certain areas or topics that your students want to know about (for example, the Honors College, housing and scholarships, etc.)....

The Auburn University fall 2021 admissions application is open! Here are a few things you should know: Auburn University has joined the Common Application. Auburn University launches the Common Application on Monday, August 17. (The Auburn University freshman admissions application opened on our website August 15). Our process is flexible. Applicants will receive a holistic review and be evaluated with the either a test score or another supplemental component. If applicants have tested and feel the score will be a positive supplement to their application, they may submit it as their supplemental document. If applicants do not have ACT or SAT scores to send to Auburn University, their admissions application will not be penalized. Applicants will choose one supplemental document for review. A completed application file includes an admissions application, an application fee or waiver, an unofficial high school transcript and one supplemental document for revi...

For high school seniors applying to Auburn for the Fall or Summer of 2021, our application will open at www.auburn.edu/apply tomorrow, August 15th. We will also be available on the Common Application this year. However, we will not open on the Common Application until Monday, August 17th. Students can apply to Auburn through either option, and will not have an advantage or disadvantage either way. A completed application file this year will include the following: · Submitted Admission Application. · Paid the $50 non-refundable application fee or application fee waiver (ACT/SAT fee waiver, NACAC fee waiver or free or reduced lunch program). · Uploaded copy of an applicant’s high school transcript(s). · Uploaded copy of one of the following Supplemental Documents: o Graded Writing Assignment § The graded assignment should include the student’s full name, the date the paper was submitted and the grade earned, along with the teacher’s recommendat...

From Billy Fisher (our admissions rep):Good Morning! I hope you and your families are all doing well with everything going on in the world! I apologize that I have yet to send out an Auburn University Admissions update for rising high school seniors applying for the Fall 2021 semester! Due to COVID, we are working to be as flexible and reasonable as possible with students. However, there are a lot of logistics to get figured out prior to finalizing everything. While our Fall 2021 Freshman application will open this Saturday, August 15th, I don’t have 100% of the details of what our policies, dates, deadlines and process will look like just yet. Our Administration will meet again prior to this Saturday, and I hope to have more information for all of you later this week.

Early Release/CoOp (SENIORS ONLY) Form - PLEASE READ If you *qualify, are you interested in Early Release? This means that you would only take the core classes that you need to graduate. You would only come to school (or take virtually) those required classes. ***TO QUALIFY, you would have had to benchmark a section of the ACT that you took at school, credentialed at Career Tech or took a Dual Enrollment class last year. If you select that you are interested in Early Release - I will check to see if you benchmarked and let you know by email if you qualify.*** PLEASE START CHECKING YOUR SCHOOL EMAIL AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK If you didn't benchmark - don't forget that you can still participate in CoOp - as long as you have a job. If you passed your interview at Career Tech in the Spring - that has already been built into your schedule. Please email me with your questions - I'm working on your schedules now. cscochran@chiltonboe.com This is the form you need to fill out! https...

From Mrs. Emmerich, Our fall classes are still set to start online Friday, August 21. If dual enrollment students have not received a confirmation email that have been registered for classes, then they need to contact us asap! (Jeff State's number is 205-280-8200) If you still want to sign up - here is the information! Dual Enrollment High School Program Students completing dual enrollment classes receive both high school and college credit. The courses available are determined by the contract with the high school. Students must meet all course prerequisites prior to registration. Prerequisites may be met by achieving required minimum scores on the placement test or ACT Test. See placement testing for additional information. Most dual enrollment students take courses at their high school. Students may take dual enrollment courses at one of Jefferson State’s locations when it is outlined in the dual enrollment agreement. Students may apply online. Refer to these registration dates...

From Faith Baker at the University of Mobile: I wanted to update everyone on the University of Mobile’s current plan. As of now, pending any change from our governor, we will be proceeding with caution but able to provide full assistance to your students. We have scheduled preview days for this fall and spring, all subject to change, but are hopeful that due to our smaller size will be able to accommodate if adjustments are needed. Those dates are included in a poster attached to this email. If your students will be in person this fall, I would appreciate those dates being posted for their awareness. If your system will not be in person, the poster attached can be used as a virtual advertisement.     Another option for students unable to visit the campus in person is our  virtual personal tour with a counselor . Any form of visit, including virtual will make the student eligible upon admission for a $2,000 visit scholarship. Any student can sign up for any type of visit u...

I also wanted to make sure you know our current application requirements and updates: - We generally accept students with a 19 on the ACT and a 2.5 GPA - We now super score for admissions and scholarships - We are hoping to start campus tours back in the next few months

As you prepare for the upcoming fall, I want to remind you of a few important dates and processes at TROY. Admissions Applications We are currently accepting applications for fall 2021. All applications are online.  During August we have a campaign for your seniors who submit their application and use TCFA21 for their promo code, their $30 application fee will be waived. We will also admit students without a test score if they have a minimum 2.5 GPA (6 semesters of work), IF they submit their application and transcript during the month of August. After August, ACT/SAT scores will be required for admission.  ACT/SAT scores are required for scholarship eligibility. Scholarship Applications Our fall 2021 scholarship applications will open online September 1st.  Scholarship applications are required to be considered for scholarships.  Priority deadline for fall 2021 scholarships is December 1st. Campus Visit Opportunities Tours are offered most weekdays at 10 a.m., 12 p....

Invite your students to the Junior League of Montgomery's 36th Annual College and Career Fair This event will host three live-stream expert presentations for students and families and a concurrent virtual college and career fair with fully interactive booths.  Students can  chat live  with college admissions and career representatives, helping to find a fit after graduation.   Video About This Event Students and families have lost opportunities in their college and career search due to COVID-19. This event is free-of-charge to attendees and is designed to help students, colleges, and careers connect safely during the COVID-19 crisis.  The event will be live for three days, with informative sessions about the college decision process.  During those three days, students can also browse interactive college and career fair booths, chatting live with admissions and career representatives and attend live presentations....

Voyager Sopris Learning ®  has enjoyed a rewarding partnership with Alabama educators. To celebrate that partnership and continue supporting the work teachers do, we are offering the Class of 2020 an opportunity to compete for the Aspiring Teacher Scholarship. This $1,000 cash scholarship will be awarded to a graduated high school senior who plans to major in education at an in-state institute of higher learning. These funds will help defray costs associated with first-year student expenses and fees. The application submission deadline is July 21, 2020 . The 2020 Aspiring Teacher Scholarship winner will be announced  August 3, 2020 . https://www.voyagersopris.com/info/al-scholarship/?utm_source=news&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2020_Q3_REG_SE_AL/MS_Scholarship

ACT Prep Books  ACT Overview, Tips, & Tricks :   This free guide was compiled by the UWA Office of Admissions to provide FREE support for ACT testing.  Take Action on the ACT : A free guide to study tips, test-taking strategies, and practice questions for all subjects on the ACT. Online Practice Tests Practice tests give you a taste of what it is like to take the ACT. These test are usually free and mirror ACT content. You should take as many practice tests as possible -- these will be your most reliable way to predict the content of your exam. Use them to identify weak spots and areas that require you to spend too much time looking for an answer. ACT :  ACT offers a free downloadable study guide and full-length practice test with answers. PowerScore : This site features four full practice tests modeled after previous exams. 4Tests.com : This site offers updated practice EXAMS covering the four required sections. PrepScholar : This site provides mu...

Take a minute and check out this free resource! Infobase: Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center A comprehensive resource for career exploration & planning that allows users to quickly find the valuable career information they need, whether it’s industry & professions articles, school planning resources, or skills & career advice. Trial access available through AVL until 7/21/2020   Username: ALSDE-user Password:  digital Click the image to login!

Free Sallie Mae Webinars: We are excited to offer our live, Understanding Paying for College webinar that is available for counselors, students, parents and peers!  Please share the information below on your social media sites and via email:   Understanding Paying for College :   This presentation will cover: Average cost of college Managing the costs & resources to pay for college Understanding the cost of a student loan Wednesday, July 15: 1:00pm-2:00pm CST  Register here Wednesday, July 15: 5:00pm-6:00pm CST  Register here Thursday, July 16: 5:00pm-6pm CST  Register here  

Central Six and partners at Jefferson State, Lawson State, 58 Inc, CAPTE, and the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship have collaborated to offer manufacturing pre-apprenticeship programs in welding, machining, and industrial maintenance beginning this upcoming fall. Participants in the pre-apprenticeship programs will learn the fundamental skills needed to succeed in a manufacturing environment and will have the opportunity to interview with participating apprenticeship employers in the summer of 2021.  Do you know a recent high school graduate or someone looking for the start of a new career? A manufacturing pre-apprenticeship could be the perfect opportunity! Please see the attached flyer and feel free to share it and the following information with anyone who may be interested. You can visit our website –  www.centralsix.org/ manufacturing-pre- apprenticeship/  - and read  this Bham Now article on the pre-apprenticeships  to learn more about each program and appl...

Create a Brag Sheet: https://www.kuder.com/blog/downloads-resources/high-school-juniors-have-you-completed-a-brag-sheet/ \ High School Checklist: https://www.kuder.com/blog/college-career-readiness/spring-must-dos-for-collegebound-high-school-students/

Jefferson State Community College - Fall 2020   The health, safety, and well-being of students, counselors, faculty, and staff remain the top priority here at Jefferson State Community College. We hope by making the required adjustments early, we can project better for the Fall Semester and continue to help students complete their educational goals. We hope these plans will best prepare students, counselors, and their families for the Fall Semester experience.       JSCC Fall Courses will be conducted online.   We are accepting Dual Enrollment/CTE Course requests for Fall 2020.   Please provide your Dual Enrollment/CTE roster, if you have not done so.   Fall Registration:   June 15 th   – Fall Registration begins for Dual Enrollment Students.   Testing:   All placement tests for students registering for English and/or math classes for the Fall semester will be administered remotely via Zoom.     There will be no in-pe...

Lawson State Admissions Live Q & A Sessions: Chat with an Enrollment Specialist The Lawson State Admissions & Enrollment Services department is offering  live Q&A sessions  every Tuesday & Thursday. This activity allows prospective students to come and ask general admissions and programmatic  questions about attending Lawson State during the Summer 2020 and Fall 2020 semesters. Name: LSCC Admissions: Chat with an Enrollment Specialist   Starts: May 12, 2020 10:00:00 AM CDT   Repeats: Every  Week on Tuesday & Thursday   Guest link: https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/ 84dd6386c319416e93a9645f282aa5 05 Session dial-in: Call in anonymously. Attendees using this PIN appear as anonymous callers in the session. •  Dial-in: +1-571-392-7650 •  PIN: 4044001362

We wanted to share with you a few updates as we head into the summer months: We have made our application free until June 15.  Students can apply to the University of South Alabama without an application fee by using the code  SOUTHFORME . For this, they will use our application, which is  here . We have launched a virtual visit credit.  Students will receive $100 if they meet with our recruiters over Zoom and then enroll at South.  This is available until July 1. Students can sign up  here . Also, we plan to offer a visit credit for campus tours and our USA Day open house events, once normal operations resume. We continue to offer generous merit and need-based awards to all new applicants, and plan to do so well into the summer. South is strong . Very strong. It remains a great option for your students, now and far off into the future. We hope this makes you excited to join our community – which is full of  spirit,   opportunity,   beautiful...

Dear Counselor, We hope this finds you and your family well during this uncertain challenging time. TROY will be hosting our annual Worldwide Open House event this Thursday, April 23. This is a virtual event that your juniors and seniors can participate in to learn more about the many opportunities for them at Troy University. Students who participate in our Open House on Thursday will be provided an application fee waiver. I ask that you share this information with your students so they are able to participate and benefit from the application fee waiver. We will not be refunding application fees to any students who have already submitted their application and the fee waiver will be active for 48 hours only. Interested students can register to participate online at   www.troy.edu/openhouse If you or your students have questions, our Admissions Representatives will be available via phone at  800-414-5756  or via email at  admit@troy.edu . We look forward to connecti...

Dear educators:             I hope that you and your family are safe during these very unique and challenging times. I realize that just about everyone’s world has been turned upside down during these last several weeks and even though the students are not physically attending classes, you are all very busy, I’m sure. At Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, we also took steps in order to make sure that we were doing our part to flatten the curve, so to speak. Beginning on March 23 rd , we temporarily shut down production for a period of 5 weeks with a return scheduled for Monday, April 27 th .   The closing of all high schools, within the State of Alabama, also impacted our recruiting efforts in reference to our awesome student training programs. Our application process is still open for the 2020 programs, but is scheduled to close at the end of this month. Even though the current situation has created some challenges for i...