As fall settles in, so does the application season for seniors at Ida B. Wells High School. This can be a stressful and confusing time for many students; luckily, our staff at the College and Career Center (CCC) is here to help.
Our CCC is located across the main office. Inside, you will find our college coordinators, Kelly Milford and Winston Rivas. Their jobs are to help answer any college and career-related questions students may have. The CCC is open to students of any grade level.
Individual help with applications and college questions is available any time the CCC doors are open. The best times to come in are during first and last periods if a student has a late arrival or early dismissal, or during flex. CCC is closed during the third and seventh periods, but open during lunch.
It’s important that if a student wants to apply for college that they don’t procrastinate. “The biggest help you can do for yourself is give yourself enough time,” says Milford.
College applications are long and detailed, so students must give themselves enough time to go through the process stress-free and be able to take full advantage of the support they have.
Great places to stay up to date on upcoming college and career opportunities are the Guardian Gazette and Career Newsletter that all IBW students have access to, as well as following the CCC’s Instagram.
For students interested in applying to college this fall, the CCC is hosting many events and workshops to support them.
“Paying for College Night” will happen on Sept. 30 in the IBW cafeteria from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. It will be run by Jen Satalino from “The College Place” and is a workshop focused on helping students fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
The FAFSA is a form that students applying to college fill out to determine their eligibility for financial aid. FAFSA submissions open on Oct. 1, so this workshop is a great way for seniors to receive guidance through the application process and to get their submissions in early.
The “Literary Arts College Essay Workshop” will be hosted on Oct. 2 in the cafeteria from 2:12 to 3:34PM. “Literary Arts” is a nonprofit library organization that works to support youth readers and writers in Portland.
The workshop at IBW will have one-on-one support to help seniors talk through ideas and write their college essays to take them to the next level. “[It’s] because Literary Arts trains and sends over 20-25 volunteers,” says Milford.
Another great opportunity provided by the CCC is college visits. These are presentations from faculty of colleges around the U.S. who come to IBW to share information about the school with students.
College visits are happening almost every day in October, usually during first period. To see which colleges are visiting, be sure to check Trivory regularly. Students can sign up for a specific visit using their MaiaLearning accounts.
In the spring, there will be two college nights for freshmen and sophomores on Jan. 29 and another for juniors on March 5. These are information sessions for parents of underclassmen who want to help their kids get started early on preparing for college.
At this point in the year, seniors thinking of going to college should be solidifying their college lists. “Financial fit is one of the biggest things that will reduce stress,” says Milford.
Few schools are giving merit-based aid, so it’s important that students find schools they will actually be able to attend if they get admitted. One of the best ways to find the cost of attending a college would be to look up its net price calculator. Every college is legally required to have one on its website.
Another great way to assess college fit is to take advantage of the “Opportunities Guide” available to all students who request it at the CCC. The “Opportunities Guide” is a booklet full of college and career preparation information for students of every grade level.
For sophomores and juniors, or seniors still looking at potential schools, good places to research colleges are: Niche, Appily and Maialearning. They all have great college search features with filters based on student interest. It’s also a good idea to visit campuses of potential colleges in person to get a feel of what life there would be like.
