BLACK BEAR BULLETIN - Maranacook Community High School

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SAT and State Assessment for
juniors
Juniors will be taking the Maine
State Augmentation Testing for
science in late March.. The testing
will take approximately 2
hours and will be done during
the regular school day. All juniors
will also participate in the
SAT on Saturday, May 7. Every
junior in the state of Maine is
required by law to take this assessment.
Juniors will be excused
from school on the Monday
after SAT’s. If you have any
questions about the SAT for juniors,
please contact Kristen
Levesque or Ellie Duley in the
guidance department.
Course Registration Update
Students registered for 2011-
2012 classes in their advisee
groups. If you have not already
signed a colored request form
for your student, please do so
ASAP. The master schedule for
next year is developed based on
these requests. Please check
your student’s selections carefully
to see that they have at
least six classes (including seniors)
and are meeting their requirements.
If you have questions,
please call your student’s
counselor.
GUIDANCE NEWS
Eighth Grade Parents
Informational Night
It’s that time of year when
eighth grade students and their
parents begin to think more
about transitioning to the high
school. An informational evening
for these students and
their parents was held on
March 1st. This is the annual
evening meeting when the
guidance department and academic
deans walk families
through the registration process
for 9 th grade classes. We
want to thank all those who
attended. If you were unable
to attend or have any questions,
please contact the guidance
department.
Important Scholarship
Information for Seniors
Seniors, it’s time to work on
scholarship applications. You
can visit the guidance page of
the Maranacook website for a
copy of the Scholarship Newsletter,
which lists available
awards, criteria, and deadlines.
A hard copy is also available in
the guidance office.
VOLUME 5 ISSUE 6
FASFA
Q. When do we apply for financial
aid?
A. Believe it or not, some college financial
aid deadlines have already passed.
Most haven't. Check the college's web
site to find out what their financial aid
deadlines are. Most deadlines are between
February and August.
Q. If we missed the deadline, should
we still apply?
A. Yes, absolutely. You can receive
financial aid through the college from
the federal government until July after
the school year you want aid for. If you
miss the college's deadline, you may
miss out on money the college awards
from its own coffers.
Q. How do I file for financial aid?
A. Complete the FAFSA. You may also
need to complete the CSS Profile form.
See what forms the college requires.
Q. Does the parent fill out the FAFSA
or the student?
A. If the student is a typical, 18-yearold,
high school senior, the answer is
very likely to be the parent, even
though the "You" on the FAFSA is for
the student.
Q. How hard are these forms to fill
out?
A. They are easier than doing your
taxes, usually much easier. If your
taxes are hard, the FAFSA is likely to
be somewhat hard. They say you
should be able to complete the FAFSA
in about an hour.
Q. Do I need to have completed my
taxes before I fill out the FAFSA?
A. No, but it sure does make it easier.
Q. Should I complete the FAFSA
online?
A. Completing the FAFSA online at
www.fafsa.ed.gov gives you access to
some pretty good instructions and advice,
and you will get an estimate of
how much the federal government
thinks you should be able to spend on
college almost immediately . . . you get
the estimate almost immediately, you
get to spend the money a little later!
Q. How can I get help filling out the
FAFSA?
A. Your best sources for help are the
FAFSA web site, the college financial
aid office, Financial aid Authority of
Maine (FAME), and your guidance
counselor. If you really get stuck on
what to put on a certain line, call the
college.
Q. I was told I need a PIN to complete
the FAFSA. How do I get that?
A. You do that at www.fafsa.ed.gov.