It's FAFSA time again!

Some quick links and updates about FAFSA
Not only is it the start of the New Year, January 1 also marks the first day college-bound students and their parents can fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2012-2013 academic year. FAFSA is a standardized application used to determine eligibility for government financial aid. The FAFSA form has seen a simplification in the past years and now has fewer questions to answer and a online process, allowing students and their parents to fill out the application with greater ease.

The "FAFSA Updates” section of the Federal Student Aid Information for Counselors site at www.fsa4counselors.ed.gov/clcf/FAFSAUpdates.html includes links to the FAFSA application, the Worksheet, the PDF FAFSA, the demonstration site (great for your financial aid info sessions!), the EFC formula guide, and more. Most 2012-13 FAFSA items are now final and have “gone live” online.

*NEW!* On the home page of the counselors site at www.fsa4counselors.ed.gov, under “What’s New,” we’ve recently introduced a section called “In Other News…” This is where we share useful information that isn’t quite urgent enough to warrant its own headline in “What’s New.” Check it out – and keep an eye on that area in future. (I’d love to get an RSS feed or Twitter feed so you could subscribe and then get those announcements automatically, but we’re not quite there yet. Meanwhile, if you have a preference for one of those options, or a better suggestion, feel free to contact me via e-mail.)

Completing the FAFSA at www.studentaid.ed.gov/completefafsa includes information about every question on the FAFSA. Here’s where you find those arcane bits of knowledge you’ve been seeking…

“Finding Money for College” at www.fsa4counselors.ed.gov/clcf/PlanningAFinancialAidNight.html is a PowerPoint presentation that introduces the basic concepts of financial aid. It is particularly useful for you to present to juniors or younger students who don’t need much detail yet. Yep, the presentation has been updated for 2012-13 (and the Spanish version should follow within a couple of weeks).

The  2012-13 Counselors and Mentors Handbook at www.fsa4counselors.ed.gov has updates about financial aid (look for the “NEW” symbols) and lots of fact sheets at the back that you can distribute to your students. (Due to our severely reduced print budget, the Counselors Handbook is no longer printed, so you’ll need to download the PDF.) Note that the current PDF is labeled “DRAFT.” That’s because our Office of Communications and Outreach has not finished proofreading it; so you might find a typo or two. However, the information in the book was fact checked, so there shouldn’t be any problems as far as accuracy goes.

The Federal Student Aid Publications Ordering System, or FSAPubs, allows nonprofit entities such as schools and libraries order bulk quantities of our free financial aid publications (to learn about FSAPubs, visit www.fsa4counselors.ed.gov/clcf/freepublicationsmailinglist.html ).
The Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (remember, they can answer your questions as well as your students’)

Happy Holidays!

GEAR UP Ky offices will be closed for the holidays.

The office will reopen
Tuesday, December 27.

Something for our students to try ?!

New Doss shop offers visions of what a College Access Centers could be

A new lunchtime booth across the hall from the Doss High cafeteria is becoming increasingly popular among students because it serves up a special treat.

The Doss College & Career Shop is open each school day and features financial aid information, college representatives, and quick assistance with postsecondary options. The questions fielded by college access resource teacher Jamie Baldwin range from general to specific. Students are sated with information, applications, and encouragement.

"They are so hungry for information," Baldwin says. "I don't think they've had this available to them before. I'm another resource. I'm helping these students get focused on options after high school."

The idea for the College & Career Shop was adopted from a similar operation at Grady High in Atlanta. A team of four Doss educators—Marcia Carmichael-Murphy, Tami Slaughter, Brian Davis, and Jason Toler—toured Grady through a High Schools That Work (HSTW) partnership. Slaughter, who coordinates student involvement with Doss's Class Act Federal Credit Union Branch, observed the operations of Grady's highly successful magnet program.

All four were amazed with Grady, especially the school's college and career shop, which attracted a steady supply of parent and community volunteers, says Carmichael-Murphy, coordinator of the Small Learning Communities (SLC) Grant at Doss. Upon returning, the team approached Principal Ken Moeller with a proposal to start the College & Career Shop at Doss, based on Grady's model but adapted to fit the needs of Doss students. The idea from district leaders is not just to adopt a program working elsewhere, but adapt it to best fit the school, Carmichael says.
"It's been great so far," Carmichael-Murphy says. "It's in a perfect location. [Baldwin] is rocking it out down there. She has gotten two or three colleges each week to say that they'll come."

The College & Career Shop's cozy digs were transformed from an old bookstore and custodian's storage room. Baldwin, a former middle and high school teacher, received her new assignment on a Sunday in July, and, by Monday, she was e-mailing colleges to gather information.

Since school began, Baldwin has distributed information about financial aid and hosted college representatives from Bellarmine University, Morehead State University, St. Catharine College, and Eastern Kentucky University (EKU). Baldwin maintains shelves of plastic bins with school applications and pamphlets for interested students, and she gathers customized information for students. When one student expressed an interest in mortuary school, Baldwin gathered information about a nearby program.

Students are familiar with the larger state schools, and Baldwin hopes to show them that a variety of options exist. Baldwin has contacted each Kentucky college, and news of the school's College & Career shop has spread to Ohio State University, which contacted Baldwin with an offer to visit.
"It's exposing the students to places and things they may not have heard about," Baldwin says. "It just lets them know there are choices. I want them going into a career, not just some job."

Visiting college representatives often waive the application fees of $30 to $50, and several students seized on the opportunity to submit applications to EKU during a personal visit from Kim Merritt, EKU diversity recruitment specialist, on Mon., Sept. 19.

The setup at Doss helped the conversations with students be more personable, Merritt says. Often, college representatives are placed in a noisy cafeteria or secluded in a distant office. Doss students were interested in the different majors and entrance requirements, she says.

The current operation is on a shoestring, but future plans include computer access so that students can apply or explore colleges online. Carmichael-Murphy hopes to eventually attract parent/guardian volunteers and current college students to work the booth, and she would like to make military representatives available for the students who are interested.

"I think that the College & Career Shop is a great idea," Carmichael-Murphy says. "And every school could make it their own, no matter what sorts of students they have … schools could customize it to fit their needs."
The SLC grant funds Carmichael-Murphy's and Baldwin's positions, and the grant's purpose is to provide students with personalized educational experience and support. Carmichael-Murphy works with the teacher groups while Baldwin runs the shop and designs the advisory curriculum.


All Doss students benefit from an advisory class, which responds to student needs that surface but are not easily addressed in the tight schedule of a class. Doss students use the classes to discuss financial aid and résumés or even register to vote.

Baldwin has taken a select group of sophomore girls under her wing to provide weekly targeted guidance and encouragement. Baldwin is also preparing student trips for upperclassmen to the campuses of UofL, Morehead State, and the University of Kentucky (UK) in October and November.
"I want to get them out," Baldwin says. "I want as a many as possible exposed to campuses and college life."

Waiting ....

The grant cycle for GEAR UP Kentucky II has officially ended and while we wait for a funding decision for the next grant cycle, a scaled-back continuation grant at five host sites will be providing limited student services to our remaining 11th and 12th grade students.

Strategic planning for GUK 3.0 continues as Executive Director, Yvonne Lovell travels the state meeting with potential GUK 3.0 schools to review grant framework, staffing structure, as well as program goals and requirements.

A decision on future funding is expected in late September, with funding anticipated to begin almost immediately. GUK 3.0 student services are scheduled to begin in January, 2012.

July 4

Please note that GEAR UP offices will be closed on Monday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day. 

May 27 and May 30 Office Closings

Please note that the GEAR UP office in Frankfort will be closed on Friday, May 27, for a furlough day, a budget-balancing measure. The office will also be closed on Monday, May 30, in observance of Memorial Day. 

We will reply to messages upon our return.