|
Page Last Edited
04 January 2009
What Resources are Available in the Career Center?
College Information
—Software programs to help search and explore the 2,000+ colleges &
universities in North America, college admission representative visits,
college catalogs and videos, statistical information on Oakton graduate
college admissions, lists of helpful Web sites, many free publications
with articles and tips concerning post-secondary planning, SAT and ACT
information, and a friendly Career Center Specialist ready to help you
find resources and information!
Career Information
— Interest inventories, software program to help explore career areas and
gain facts about 900+ careers, Career Cruising subscription (fantastic
career exploration Web site—find out OHS’s user id and password today),
lists of helpful Web sites, resume tips, part-time jobs board, and a
friendly Career Center Specialist ready to help you find resources and
information!
Financial Aid Information —
Information about the general process for seeking financial aid, FAFSA
forms, CSS Profile forms (required by many private colleges), scholarship
file with applications for listings in the Fairfax County Public Schools
Scholarship Database (Fairfax
County Public Schools Scholarship Database- Registration Page ), lists
of financial aid Web sites, local scholarship information (most are in the
spring), and a friendly Career Center Specialist ready to help you find
resources and information!
Back to Top of Page
Students are free to stop by
during breaks, at lunch, after school, and any time with a pass from a
teacher during the school day. The usual hours are 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
(more often 4:00 p.m.) Monday through Friday. Evening hours are available on
the third Thursday of each month. Parents are welcome any time, but it is
helpful to call ahead to be sure someone can help you once you are here!
Marian Kendrick
E-mail:
Marian.Kendrick@fcps.edu , Telephone: 703-319-2816.
Parents of all levels of OHS
students: a great index of Web sites about all future paths (college, work,
military, apprenticeships, and trade/technical schools) is the Career
Connections site:
www.fcps.edu/DSSSE/CareerConnections/index.htm . If you have questions
about any of the paths your children can take beyond high school, check on
this site first—bookmark the address the first time you visit the site so
you can visit often.
http://www.fcps.edu/ss/CareerConnections/index.htm
Back to Top of Page
No matter where you are in the
college admissions process, if there is even a chance of your student going
to college next year, you should complete the FAFSA (Free Application for
Federal Student Aid) as soon as possible after January 1st! Although the
paper forms are available in the
Career Center, the
word on the street is to submit these online for much quicker turn-around
and to decrease chance of error. The Web address for the FAFSA is
www.fafsa.ed.gov. You need a PIN number (students and parents) to submit
the FAFSA online, so go to
www.pin.ed.gov today to get the process started.
Start mapping out your
strategy for standardized tests and college visits for the spring and next
fall. Check to see if any colleges being considered have SAT II test
requirements for admission. Visit
www.collegeboard.com for information about registering for the SATs,
test taking tips, a college search, and a scholarship search. You may also
visit
www.actstudent.com to register for the ACT.
This is a great year to start
thinking about what you might like to do as a career and what you will need
to do to achieve this goal. Where do your strengths lie? What are you
interested in – what are you passionate about? How can you start to look at
what it takes to pursue a particular career? Sophomore students will have
the opportunity to come to the
Career Center this
spring for an orientation and to complete a personality profile/interest
inventory.
This is your year to learn how
to be successful in high school and to start setting those habits that will
allow you to be a success in college and the world of work. We encourage
you to become involved in school and community activities and to learn to
balance academic achievement with extra-curricular activities.
Back to Top of Page
A new resource available to parents and students is Family Connections.
This program, which is accessible through each student’s individual
Blackboard account, allows parents, students and counselors to view
information which will help with post-secondary planning.
When your students log
onto their Blackboard accounts, they will find a new class listed under
their courses. All OHS students now have the OHS Career Center as a listed
class. Announcements will be posted here, as well as specific information
for each year (Class of 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011). Information will be
updated on a continuous basis – all students are encouraged to check this
listing often.
While there are a number of reputable groups who provide scholarships or
scholarship assistance services, we live in an area where there is fraud and
technically legal but overpriced services. In some cases, groups charge for
services that are available and free on the Internet. In other cases, groups
appear to take "application fees" and pay for the scholarships in whole or
part from the aggregate collection of fees, less (of course) an
"administrative maintenance fee." Some groups offer "academic merit-based"
scholarships, but set a minimum guideline of a "C" average. We have recently
heard from parents who have received solicitations they are unsure of—do not
assume that items addressed to "Parents of" are from OHS or FCPS. When in
doubt, check it out. If something seems not quite right, it probably isn’t.
The Federal Trade Commission maintains several informational sites on
Scholarship Scams, go to:
FinAid | Scholarships | Scholarship Scams
.
Back to Top of Page
|
