General Scholarship InformationThere are many types of scholarships including Merit based scholarships, Athletic Scholarships, scholarships for special abilities in music, art, theater, etc and Need based scholarships. There are also institutional scholarships, community and school scholarships and corporate scholarships. Students and parents should first understand that scholarships are for students who excel - either generally in their academic course of study or in a specific area. By the time a student begins their senior year, they should have established a superior academic record, superior record in leadership, community service and/or performance or developed a portfolio in some other area in order to be competitive for scholarship competition. Scholarship donors (companies, individuals and community organizations) establish the criteria for their own scholarship competition. Students should be sure they meet the established criteria before applying. DEADLINES are extremely important in the scholarship process. To allow adequate time for processing, there are dates the scholarships must be turned in and deadlines for the guidance office to submit the final information. ALL deadlines should be closely followed.
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Where to find scholarship informationStudents and parents should be certain they are following the scholarship announcements for their own high school as some scholarships are only open to specific high schools and deadlines are established at each school. In addition to school sites, students and parents should check with employers, churches and the colleges to which they are applying for additional scholarship opportunities. A list of general scholarship websites is also published on this site. Parents and students should be VERY careful NOT to pay anyone to do scholarship seaches for you. THIS IS A SCAM. All scholarship information is FREE and readily available. Scholarships that sound TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE - probably are! At SHS, read the scholarship lists monthly as posted on the link above. Sign up for scholarships by the posted deadline. Student will then be given scholarship applications with specific information as to what is included in the application and when it is due.
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Financial Aid
The Financial Aid process begins in October of the senior year. There are several reasons for this. The FAFSA application opens October 1. Parents and students will use tax information from the prior, prior year - the year before the current year - to complete the FAFSA form. For example for students entering college in the Fall of 2018 - use the FAFSA for 2018-19 and use tax forms for 2016. After tax forms are submitted, the FAFSA can link directly to IRS - which saves the parent and student a great deal of time and documentation in the financial aid process. Financial Aid includes Grants (federal and state), Scholarships, Loans (Student and parent loans) and Work Study. A financial aid award will likely include all or most of these types of aid. The family then has the option to accept or deny each of the options offered.
More about financial aid and how to apply will be presented in October to students and parents.
More about financial aid and how to apply will be presented in October to students and parents.