Just a few of Duluth's Super Seniors

DHS students posing for the Wildcat Watch newsletter. Congrats to the students pictured above for being recognized for one of the following: National Merit Semifinalist or Commended Student, National Achievement Semifinalist or Outstanding Participant, or Emory Scholar. Please see the upcoming Wildcat Watch newsletter for more info.

Preliminary HOPE Eligibility

SENIORS,

In order for you to recieve the HOPE Scholarship or HOPE Grant, your Social Security Number must be marked in our computer database before the last day of the first semester. If your SSN is not currently on file with the school, please bring in your card or a copy to Ms. Ramsey in the Curriculum office (500 building) as soon as possible. You will not be eligible for the Hope Scholarship or Hope Grant if you do not have your social security number entered in student data information in the school computer system.

GA College 411 Apply to College Week Nov.9-13

Seniors,

Have you gone to the GACollege 411 website to research what colleges and universities may be right for you? Have you applied to any of those colleges yet? The week of November 9 - 13 is Georgia Apply to College week sponsored by GACollege 411 and some schools are waiving their appication fee during this week. If you are interested in any of the colleges listed below please take the time this week to submit your online application and take advantage of the fee waiver. Warning: Please make sure you are only applying to the schools you are really interested in attending. Processing applications is a long process and in order to ensure the colleges and universities are able to offer this in the future please do not abuse this offer by applying to every college simply because they are offering the fee waiver.


COLLEGE (LOCATION)
Andrew College (Cuthbert)
Atlanta Christian College (East Point)
College of Coastal Georgia (Brunswick)
Gainesville State University (Gainesville)
Georgia Gwinnett College (Lawrenceville )
Gordon College (Barnesville)
Savannah State University (Savannah)
Shorter College (Rome)
Toccoa Falls College (Toccoa Falls)
Waycross College (Waycross)
West Georgia Technical Col (Waco)
LaGrange College (LaGrange)
Piedmont College (Demorest)
Reinhardt College (Waleska)
Wesleyan College (Macon)

Kaplan's Great Giveaway Day

As part of The Great Giveaway Day, Kaplan is running a series of FREE Live Online events, including seminars about the SAT & ACT called "What do I need to know? Admissions Testing 101". These online seminars take place at 1pm, 7pm and at 10pm EST on November 10, 2009.

At each of these events, attendees will:
Learn critical information for deciding whether to take the SAT or ACT
Get the inside scoop on the college admissions process
Try the Kaplan Live Online experience for free
Best of all, one lucky attendee at each event will receive a free course!
To register for one of the following free Live Online seminars we are holding on November 10th, students or parents can just CLICK HERE for more details about Kaplan’s Great Giveaway Day, the full schedule of events and how to register.

DHS Novemeber College Visits

Hey Wildcats! Mrs. Strickland is setting up times for college representatives to come visit DHS and meet with students who are interested in applying to their school. If you are interested in attending one of the sessions in the Depot (located in the Counseling Office, 300 building) please see Mrs. Strickland to get a pass. If the college rep is going to be in the lunchroom there is no pass required.

North Georgia College Nov. 5 9:00 am Depot
Georgia Gwinnett College Nov. 9 10:15 am Lunchroom
Marines Nov. 11 10:15 Lunchroom
Augusta State University Nov. 12 8:00 am Depot
Gainsville State Nov. 19 10:15 am Lunchroom
Georgia State University Nov. 30 10:30 Depot

Student Needs Assessment

Hey Duluth Wildcats,

The counseling department would like to know what you think! Over the course of the next two weeks the counseling department is conducting a student survey to get feedback on some of the things we do to serve our students and help them become more successful at school and in life. The survey is anonymous, so please take your time when reading through the questions and answer honestly.

Please CLICK HERE to begin the survey.

College Opportunities

Attention sophomore and junior girls interested in Georgia Tech and have an A or high B average: If you would like to attend the Futures program to learn about the opportunities Georgia Tech has to offer women, see Mrs Strickland in the depot in the counseling office by Nov 3rd.


Hey SENIORS! If you are interested in Georgia State University, the Georgia State Panther Preview Day is this Saturday Oct 24. Check out Georgia State's website for details. This is a great opportunity.

NCAA Clearinghouse

Are you an athlete? Do you plan on playing sports at the college level? In order to participate in Division I or II athletics and receive athletically based financial aid, you must register with the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse and meet eligibility standards. Click here to visit the website to register and find more information.

Senior Parent Night Wrap-Up

Thank you to all who attended Senior Parent Night! For those of you who were not able to attend some announcements are posted below for you.
CLICK HERE to download a copy of the handouts.

CLICK HERE to see list of FAQs from the meeting.

1. Watch for a counseling pass coming to you so we can go over your senior letter/application for graduation.
2. Senior dues = $100. Covers: cap, gown, tassel, rental of the arena, diploma cover
3. Senior class meeting with Balfour - October 8th during first period.
4. Graduation is at the arena. We will not know the date until next semester. We will not know how many tickets will be given to each student until we know how many are graduating.
5. Graduation announcement ordering - October 19th and 20th during lunch.
6. Cap and gown and dues may be paid on-line anytime. www.scholasticimagesinc.com
7. Cap and gown orders at school will be - January 26th and 27th

Senior Profile

CLICK HERE to download a copy of the Senior Profile. Please note that you only need to complete this if you are applying to a college that requires a counselor recommendation letter. Once you have this completed please turn it in to Mrs. Strickland in the Depot. There are instructions regarding how to obtain a counselor recommendation in the handouts that were given out during Senior Parent Night. A link to the handouts are include in the Senior Parent Night Wrap-Up post.

DHS October College Visits

Hey Wildcats! Mrs. Strickland is setting up times for college representatives to come visit DHS and meet with students who are interested in applying to their school. If you are interested in attending one of the sessions in the Depot (located in the Counseling Office, 300 building) please see Mrs. Strickland to get a pass. If the college rep is going to be in the lunchroom there is no pass required.

Navy Oct. 6 10:00 Lunchroom
Shorter College Oct. 7 10:15 Lunchroom
Georgia Southern Oct. 8 9:15 Depot
Auburn University Oct. 8 8:15 Depot
Southern Catholic College Oct. 13 1:15 Depot
Marines Oct. 14 10:15 Lunchroom
Georgia Gwinnett College Oct. 16 12:15 Depot
Reinhart College Oct. 20 9:15 Depot
Georgia Perimeter College Oct. 20 10:00 Depot
Berry College Oct. 22 1:00 Depot
Hispanic College Fair Oct. 28 9:00 Meadowcreek
Andrew College Oct. 29 10:00 Lunchroom
Emory and Oxford of Emory Oct. 29 12:30 Depot
Young Harris College Oct. 30 10:15 Lunchroom

Gwinnett County Probe Fair

Are you thinking about going to college but not sure where to go? Attend the College Probe Fair at the Gwinnett Civic Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Pkwy, on Wednesday, September 23 from 6:00 - 8:30 pm. Last year PROBE 2008 put participating post-secondary institutions in touch with an estimated 49,500 high school students and their families during the eight-week Fall Tour. Approximately 100 institutions from the State of Georgia and 190 institutions from outside the state attended PROBE 2008. Make sure to mark this great event on your calendar!

Scholarship Info

Seniors: If you would like to be considered for any of the following scholarships see Mrs. Strickland in the depot:

1 - Principals Leadership Award (1 per school) - based on leadership skills, participation in service organizations and clubs, achievements in the arts and sciences, employment experience, and academic record (basically top all around senior). Application due Dec 2
2 - Prudential Spirit of Communities (1 per school) - Any student (9-12) who has made a difference by volunteering in their community over the past year can apply. Applications are on-line. Please encourage our top student volunteers to apply on-line. http://spirit.prudential.com, access key is spirit. Application due Nov 2
3 - Emory Scholars Program (5 per school) - top notch seniors interested in attending Emory University in the fall. This program is very competitive. Encouraged interested seniors to provide their name to Ms. Strickland in the counseling office by Oct. 14

For more information about the scholarships listed below and many more please visit the Duluth Scholarship blog that is linked under the "Favorite Sites" tab at the top right of the blog.

Burger King Scholars Application Deadline: Feb 1, 2010
*Apply online www.haveityourwayfoundation.org/bksp_application.html
(Access Key: BKS)

AES Engineering Solutions Application Deadline: Oct 6, 2009
www.aesengineers.com/scholarships.htm

Senior Parent Night

If your child plans to graduate in the 2009-2010 school year, please come to the Duluth High School Theater on Wednesday, September 30, 2009. We ask that each student attend with a parent to complete the Senior Letter. Please bring an ink pen. We will begin promptly at 6:00 p.m. Other important and helpful information will also be given regarding postsecondary planning, HOPE scholarship, etc. As an added attraction, we have invited a financial aid representative from the Georgia Student Finance Commission to provide information on the financial aid process.

College Help for High-Achieving Low-Income Students

The QuestBridge National College Match application is designed to enable high-achieving low-income students to highlight their strengths and the obstacles they have overcome. The application is available free of charge on the QuestBridge website, http://www.questbridge.org/ starting in early August, and is due on September 30, 2009.

QuestBridge is pleased to offer Quest for Excellence Awards as a complement to the National College Match. These awards include laptop computers, all-expense-paid visits to QuestBridge partner colleges, and career mentoring opportunities (e.g., with the Wall Street Journal and the consulting firm McKinsey & Company). Please visit http://www.questbridge.org/ for more information.

QuestBridge is a 501(c)(3) non-profit program. Our organization has worked since 1994 to connect outstanding students with college admissions, scholarships, and other educational opportunities.

SAT and ACT October 2009 Test Dates

The first administration of the SAT (Oct. 10) and ACT (Oct. 24) are coming up fast. Registration ends on Sept. 9 for the SAT and Sept. 19 for the ACT. If you plan on taking one or both of theses tests please visit the websites for more information. You can also visit Mrs. Strickland in the DEPOT if you have further questions.

DHS September College Visits

Hey Wildcats! Mrs. Strickland is setting up times for college representatives to come visit DHS and meet with students who are interested in applying to their school. If you are interested in attending one of the sessions in the Depot (located in the Counseling Office, 300 building) please see Mrs. Strickland to get a pass. If the college rep is going to be in the lunchroom there is no pass required.

Mercer University Sept. 4 8:15 am Depot

ELON University (NC) Sept. 8 7:30 am Depot

Emmanuel College Sept. 8 9:30 am Depot
4th, 5th, 6th per Lunchroom

Armstrong Atlantic University Sept. 14 10:00 am Lunchroom

Navy Representative Sept. 15 All Lunch Periods Lunchroom

Case Western Reserve (Ohio) Sept. 16 12:30 - 1:30 Depot

Georgia Southwestern University Sept. 17 9:45 am Depot

Columbus State University Sept. 18 10:15 Lunchroom

Georgia Perimeter College Sept. 22 10:15 Lunchroom

Agnes Scott Spet. 24 10:15 Depot

Clayton State University Sept. 29 10:15 am Lunchroom

Worchester Polytechnic Institute Sept. 30 7:15 am Depot

WELCOME WILDCATS!

Welcome to the NEW Counseling Blog! This Blog is meant to serve as another mode of communication between our students, parents and staff regarding college, career and counseling issues. We will keep this site updated with important dates and facts about upcoming events that you should be aware of. Please check back regularly as we launch this site and continue to add important information.