[BHS etree] COLLEGE|CAREER: Advisor's Bulletin for Tues., Feb 5, 2008

[bhs at idiom.com]

CONTACT:  Ilene Abrams  iabrams at berkeley.k12.ca.us  or 644-6804

College Advisor's Bulletin
Tuesday, February 5, 2008

SAT WORD OF THE DAY:  EMACIATED – extremely thin.  After three months  
of a broth and celery diet, I became emaciated.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES
*Summer camp jobs – City of Berkeley, Echo Lake Camp near South Lake  
Tahoe is hiring for maintenance and kitchen staff as well as  
counselors.   Most staff work 8 hour days.  Counselors work about 8  
hours each day through the week and have weekends off.  Shifts vary  
depending on department.  For more information, go to http:// 
www.cityofberkeley.info/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=8752 or call  
510-981-5140.

Zirana (www.zirana.com),  a Web 2.0 company, which provides local  
news and information with a focus on local schools.  Zirana is  
looking for interns with good communication and writing skills to  
work as School Correspondents and Photo Journalists.  These  
correspondents will be expected to write articles and/or take  
pictures about the activities in their school including reports of  
inter-school games and other newsworthy events. Interested students  
may also cover other events of community interest such as holiday  
parades, local festival celebration and so on. Any high school  
student may apply and students can work from home.  Interns will  
learn reporting skills, website design, and marketing.  For more  
information, contact Sanjiv Sahay at  (408) 366-9001 or   
sanjiv at zirana.com .
  FOR JUNIORS
Nordstrom Scholarship Program – Open to juniors in the Bay Area with  
a minimum unweighted GPA of 2.7 who has made a substantial  
contribution to community service, is involved in school activities  
and demonstrates the financial need for a scholarship.  Five $10,000  
scholarships will be awarded.  Applications available in D221.  
Deadline:  May 31.

EXPERIENCE BERKELEY PROGRAM – This FREE summer program includes  
panels with students, faculty and alumni, personal statement  
workshops, academic planning, financial aid sessions and more.   
Students stay in the UC Berkeley residence halls during the program.  
There are two separate programs – one for high achieving African  
American students (either July 10-12 or July 31-August 2) and one for  
high achieving Latino students (June 19-21).  This is an excellent  
program.  Pick up your applications in D221.  Deadline for Latino  
student program is February 29, for the African American student  
program it is March 14.

*TODAY - COLLEGE INFORMATION NIGHT FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS OF JUNIORS –  
Tuesday, February 5, 6:30-8:30 pm in the Berkeley High library.   
Enter at 1980 Allston Way.  Angela Price and I will provide an  
overview of all aspects of the college admissions process.  This  
meeting is for adults only since the students will be receiving this  
information in their English classes.  Come with all of your questions!

Ms. Price and I will be speaking to the junior English classes this  
week, ending on Monday, February 11.  February 12 at 8:00 am is the  
first day that students may come in to sign up for an appointment  
with their College Advisor.  Sign-up sheets will remain available for  
the rest of the semester.


FOR SENIORS
*FIRST SEMESTER GRADES – if you applied to any UC’s or private  
schools (and some Cal States), you must inform them in writing if you  
received any D’s or F’s first semester.  The letter should include  
information on why your grade(s) dropped and what you did or are  
doing about it, as well as what you have learned from it.  If you  
want to discuss your situation or have your letter reviewed, please  
see me or Ms. Price as soon as possible.

If you are considering attending a Cal State campus, you must sign up  
to take placement tests – ELM for math and EPT for English.  However,  
students who score 550 or higher on the SAT math or 23 or higher on  
the ACT math are excused from the math test.  Students who score 550  
or higher on the SAT critical reading section or 24 or higher on the  
ACT English are excused from the English placement test.  You must  
have the results from the placement tests before you can register for  
classes, so take the earliest possible test.  You can take the test  
at any Cal State campus and the results will be sent to all CSU  
campuses.  To sign up at Cal State East Bay, go to  
www.testing.csuhayward.edu/eptelm/eptelmhome.php .  To sign up at San  
Francisco State, go to www.sfsu.edu/~testing/ee.html .  If you do not  
have a SF State ID number, enter your social security number.  The  
fee for each test is $18, which can be paid on the day of the test.

CAL STATE DEADLINES – March 1 is the application deadline for these  
campuses: Dominguez Hills, East Bay, San Bernardino, Bakersfield, Los  
Angeles, Sacramento State, and Monterey Bay. After March 1, due to  
budget cuts, you will not be able to apply for admission to any Cal  
State campus for the fall 2008 term.  If you and need help with your  
application, please see me or Ms. Price as soon as possible.

FINANCIAL AID – Now is the time to work on your application for  
financial aid. All colleges require the Free Application for Federal  
Student Aid (FAFSA).   I strongly recommend that you apply online at  
www.fafsa.ed.gov . This is the only official site for filling out the  
FAFSA.  Beware of other sites that charge money to fill out the  
FAFSA.  In order to file electronically, you will need two PIN  
numbers – one for one parent and one for the student.  These are your  
electronic signatures.   You can apply for the PIN numbers at  
www.pin.ed.gov   If you haven’t done so already, I recommend that you  
do so now.  You can start the FAFSA while you are waiting to receive  
your PIN numbers.

FINANCIAL AID WORKSHOPS – We will be holding workshops on filling out  
the FAFSA both before and after school in the Berkeley High library.  
The next two workshops are:
Thurs., February 7, 7:30 am
Wed., February 13, 3:30 pm
Please sign up in advance in the College/Career Center so that we  
have enough computers for everyone.  Prior to the workshop, pick up  
the FAFSA on the Web Worksheet so that you can prepare the necessary  
information.  For a complete list of workshops, go to http:// 
bhs.berkeley.net/index.php?page=workshops .

CHECK FOR FINANCIAL AID DEADLINES AND REQUIRED FORMS FOR EACH SCHOOL  
– Although all colleges require the FAFSA, some schools require  
additional forms.  Financial aid deadlines vary from school to  
school.  The deadline to file the FAFSA for all UC’s, Cal States and  
community colleges is March 2, although I recommend that you file  
sooner if at all possible.  The financial deadline for each college  
can be found on its website or by calling the financial aid office.   
Make a list of each school’s financial aid deadline and the forms  
they require.  We have a form available in the College/Career Center  
to help you keep track of this information.  If you don’t file by the  
deadline, you are likely to get less financial aid.  The most  
important thing is meeting the deadline, not having the exactly  
correct information.  You can always go back and update your  
information once you complete your tax forms.

CAL GRANTS – Cal Grants are free money from the state of California  
based on the student’s GPA and family income. The money may be used  
at any accredited California college, public or private. Applying for  
the Cal Grant is very easy – just fill out and submit the FAFSA by  
March 2 listing a California college to receive the information and  
fill out the Cal Grant Information Release Form, available in D173  
and D221.  This is a very simple form which takes less than 5 minutes  
to complete.  DEADLINE EXTENDED TO FEBRUARY 12.

SAT/ACT TEST DATES – February 7 is the late registration deadline for  
the March 1 SAT tests. March 7 is the regular registration deadline  
for the April 12 ACT test.  Subject tests are not offered on this  
test date.  Fee waivers for low income students are available in D221.

SCHOLARSHIPS
For the complete list of applications available in the College/Career  
Center, go to http://bhs.berkeley.net/uploads/career_center/ 
Scholarships_2007-2008%20for%20website.doc

Burger King Scholars Program – Open to seniors with a minimum  
unweighted GPA of 2.5 who work an average of 15 hours per week, 40  
weeks per year, are actively involved in community service  
activities, have financial need and are enrolling in an accredited  
two or four year college or vocational or technical school in the  
fall.  Apply at www.bk.com/scholars .  Up to 700 scholarships of  
$1,000 each will be awarded.  Deadline:  February 15.

Lend A Hand Foundation – Open to all graduating seniors.  $500  
scholarship.  Deadline:  March 1.  Applications available in D221.

New American College Fund – Open to foreign-born graduating seniors  
planning to enroll in a two or four year college in fall 2008 who  
have financial need, have lived in California for three or more years  
during high school, have community or extracurricular involvement and  
have a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0.  Scholarships of up to $5,000.   
Applications available in D221 and at http://www.e4fc.org/ .  
Deadline:  March 5.

eQuality Scholarship Collaborative – Open to graduating high school  
senior residing in northern or central California who applied to a  
two or four year secondary institution, including trade schools and  
has promoted awareness and equality for the gay/lesbian/bisexual/  
transgender community.  Scholarship:  $5,000.  Applications available  
in D221 and at http://www.pge.com/includes/docs/word_xls/about_us/ 
community/scholarships/equalityscholarshipapplication2008.doc .   
Deadline:  February 15.

Hispanic Heritage Youth Award - Graduating senior planning to enroll  
in college in the fall who is a US citizen or permanent resident, has  
at least one parent of Hispanic heritage, minimum unweighted GPA of  
3.0 and is willing to travel to the awards ceremony in your area  
(Northern California).  Grants of $1,000 to $3,000 will be awarded.   
Applications available at http://youthawards.hispanicheritage.org .  
Deadline:  March 14.

Japanese American Citizens League Scholarship – Open to high school  
seniors who are members of the Berkeley Chapter of the Japanese  
American Citizens League and will be attending college in Fall 2008.   
Deadline:  March 1.  Scholarships:  Up to $1,200.  Applications  
available in D221.

Community Network, Lewis Latimer – Open to African-American seniors  
with a minimum GPA of 2.5 who plans to attend a two or four year  
accredited college or business school (majoring in computer science  
or relating to the telecommunications industry).  Scholarships of at  
least $500 will be awarded.  Applications available in D221.   
Deadline:  February 29.

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES
Information on many more programs is available in D221.

Visions 2008 Service Adventures – A blend of service work, cross- 
cultural living and learning and adventurous exploration.  Programs  
in Alaska, Montana, Australia, the Caribbean, West Indies and South  
America. Open to students ages 14-18.  Financial aid is available  
(deadline March 15).  For more information, go to  
www.VisionsServiceAdventures.com .

*New to the bulletin today.