Guidance
The goal of the ESTEEM Academy Guidance Department is to provide our students with small group and individualized academic and college/career counseling. Below are some helpful links:
Tips by grade level for college & career planning:
9th Grade
Take the most rigorous courses you can successfully handle. Colleges want to see academic rigor. Start volunteering and keep track of your service hours. You can turn your service hours into your guidance counselor and work towards your Florida Bright Futures service requirements. Sign up at your home high school to take the PSAT. This is the practice SAT. This will help prepare you for your college entrance exams. Take an interest inventory and start planning for your future early! Florida Shines website
10th Grade
Continue to step up the number of rigorous courses you take and continue to turn in service hours. Try some honors and maybe even an AP Course. Build your weighted and unweighted G.P.A. Colleges will look at your weighted G.P.A. for entrance purposes. Plan to take the PSAT, even if you took this test in 9th grade. You can sign up by contacting your home high school. Begin preparing for the SAT and the ACT.
11th Grade
This is the year you should start taking the SAT and/or ACT college entrance exams. These tests are offered at high schools throughout Orange County. You can sign up online at the links listed above and/or contact your zoned school to participate in the SAT school day.
This is also the last year to build the G.P.A. you will apply to college with. This should be your most challenging year. This should also be the year to create a list of at least 5 colleges you are interested in attending. You should consider G.P.A. requirements, college test score requirements, college majors offered, size and location of the campus when determining the best fit for you.
Last but not least, get those service hours completed and turned in to your counselor.
12th Grade
This is the last set of classes a college will see on your transcript. Take a manageable but rigorous load of classes. Retake the SAT and/or SAT early in the fall, if you are not satisfied with your test scores.
Meet with your counselor to ensure you are on track for graduation, Bright Futures, college, etc. Fall of your senior year is the time to start applying to colleges. Have a list of 5 schools you would be happy attending. Apply to each, if you can. Each college has their own application deadline. Visit the websites of the colleges you are interested in to learn more.
Look for scholarships. You can look at the website of your home high school and there are free search engines that can help. Fastweb is one.
Have your parents complete the FAFSA The FAFSA is the free application for federal student aid. Each year the new application opens up in the fall. The sooner you sign up, the better.
Starting in October, apply for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship.
April- ALL online courses need to be completed! Seniors finish their school year before all other students and we need to make sure your online courses are on your transcript.
January-May….work hard. Senioritis is not something colleges want to see. Remember, the college you plan to attend WILL receive your final transcript and they CAN rescind their acceptance offer.
FINISH STRONG!