McKee College Fair

A big thanks to all the students and parents that came out to the McKee College Fair this past Saturday! It was small  but I hope those of you who came were able to get some useful information from the schools that did attend. We will be having a larger fair in the fall and I would love to hear from some of you who you would be interested in seeing and speaking to then. Please comment on this post or email me at JPecora5@schools.nyc.gov with the names of schools you would particularly like to see or speak to in the fall. Schools from all over the country have regional representatives that come to high school fairs to speak to parents and students like you who can't take the long trip to visit a school that is hours away. So please, be in touch with me and let me know who you would like to see!

Another big thanks to all the colleges that attended our college fair:

• St. John's University
• College of Staten Island
• Kingsborough Community College
• CUNY
• SUNY Alfred State
• US Marines
• NYU Poly 
• Berkeley College
• IDC
• Penn State

-jmp

More acceptance letters!

More congratulations are in order for the students who have been handing in their college acceptance letters!!

• Congrats to Brandon Reillo on getting accepted to DeVry with a $2,225 scholarship!
• Congrats to Kayla Simas on getting accepted to Mercy College with a $6,000 Presidential Honors Scholarship!
• Congrats again to Kayla Simas (that's 3 colleges now!) on getting accepted to Washington College!
• Congrats to Shayla Jones on getting into SUNY Albany Univerity EOP!
• Congrats to Abraham Arreortua, Andre Roman, & Nya Richardson for getting accepted to Berkeley College!
• Congrats to Jeudy Azzarelli on getting accepted to SUNY Alfred State with free room & board!
• Congrats to Damien King on getting accepted to St. John's University!

Please make sure you keep bringing in your acceptance and scholarship letters!

ms miller pecora

FAFSA FILING 101

FAFSA FILING 101
St. John's University, Staten Island Campus
Saturday, January 11, 2014
10:00am

• Learn how to complete the FAFSA
• Gain tips on how to avoid common mistakes
• Hear how to expedite the application process
• Ask questions of our financial aid experts

Register online at www.stjohns.edu/2014events

-ms. miller pecora

College Admissions

The St. John's Instant Decision Day at McKee was incredibly successful! Students were given information on the admission process, scholarships, financial aid and shadowing days from the very awesome Samantha Hastler from St. John's University.

I would like to give a big congratulations to the students who have currently been accepted to St. John's University as of today!

Kayla Simas

Mir Ali ($15,000 Merit Scholarship)

Christina Daquieno ($15,000 Merit Scholarship)

 

I'm very excited for you guys and I hope you use your acceptance as a greater motivation in your college process right now!!

 

If you have (or do) receive any acceptance letters from colleges please let me know so I can keep track and I can congratulate you for the world to see!

 

-Ms. Miller-Pecora

St. John's University Instant Decision Day

Hello seniors!

Welcome back! I hope you all got to rest up and work on your essays. I only saw a couple of you asking me to review essays today – not enough!! Start getting those essays in to me so they can be perfect for your applications.

 

Wednesday, December 18^th St. John’s University will be coming here to host an INSTANT DECISION DAY. That means you will have the opportunity to meet individually with an admission counselor to discuss opportunities at St. John’s, in addition to receiving an on-the-spot admission decision and academic scholarship information.

 

Required documentation:

·         A completed application for admission. Paper applications will be available the day of, or you may complete the application online and print a copy for review. The $50 application fee will be waived for participating students.

·         Official high school transcripts. Preferred minimum GPA of 80

·         Official standardized test scores. Must have a composite SAT of 900 or higher (Critical Reading score of 400 minimum and Math score of 400 minimum) or equivalent ACT-Composite score of 19

·         Personal essays and recommendation letters are optional but encouraged

 

-Be prepared to spend about 10-15 minutes for private discussion with an admission counselor

-Instant Decision is not available for students applying for the Pharmacy, Fine Arts, Physician Assistant, Bio-Optometry, or Bio-Podiatry programs.

 

In preparation for the Instant Decision Day, required documents will be collected one week prior on December 11^th. That means you will need to turn them in to me next week! See me for more info!

 

Financial Aid Links and Info

Before I post some lengthy information about the Financial Aid process, I wanted to give out some information on some upcoming events regarding Financial Aid. Everything I mention will be a great help to students and parents alike as the process can be tricky and confusing the first time through. Filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is a necessary step in the college application process - no matter how high or low your family's income is!! This is very important to remember. You may be eligible for federal aid that will help lower the cost of college.

There are some great informational sessions coming up in the new year that will help you to start and complete the FAFSA process!

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January 5, 2013, 10:00am @ St. John's University SI Campus
FAFSA Filing 101 Session
St. John's University staff will assist students and families with navigating the financial aid application process. They will provide an overview on how to:

• Complete the FAFSA
• Avoid common pitfalls and mistakes
• Expedite the process
• Ask questions of financial aid experts

Please follow this link: http://goto.stjohns.edu/FAFSA101 to register for the information session.

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CollegeWeekLive presents: PAYING FOR COLLEGE
Thursday, January 10 between 2:00pm and 10:00pm

Join CollegeWeekLive for Paying for College Day, a free online event to help you decide the best way to pay for college. Login anytime from 2:00 to 10:00 PM EST, Thursday, January 10, 2013 to live chat with admissions officers and financial aid experts from Department of Education to learn how to:

• Uncover the best scholarship opportunities online
• Understand the difference between private and public scholarships
• Access financial aid programs

Bonus! Visit three colleges during the event and you'll be automatically entered to win $2,500 in HP's Time is Money Scholarship! 

 Follow this link (http://www.collegeweeklive.com/en_CA/guest/app-registration) to sign up for CollegeWeekLive and be a part of this event. 

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On Saturday January 12, 10:00am @ McKee HS, we will be holding a FAFSA Informational Session for parents and students. There will be snacks and refreshments offered. We are very thankful to have a representative from the New York Urban League coming to McKee to speak to our school community about the Financial Aid process. We will be giving an overview on how to complete the FAFSA, types of aid available, and we will be answering any other questions you might have. An invitation with RSVP will be sent out during the first week of school.

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College Goal NY Saturday, February 2, 10:00 @ Wagner College
College Goal NY events are held throughout New York State to help students and families complete the FAFSA online. Financial aid professionals from local colleges are available at these events to answer your questions and help you complete your FAFSA application. (I'll be there, too!)
College Goal NY is run by Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC), New York's student financial aid agency. Visit HESC.ny.gov to learn about student financial aid types – including grants, scholarships, awards, work study, savings programs, and student loans.
After signing up for the Staten Island event at this link (http://collegegoalny.org/student-registration.html?&id=17), you can take a look at the FAFSA checklist to be aware of what you will need to bring with you to complete the FAFSA - explore everything listed under the "Get Started" tab on the website for more information.

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FAFSA4caster will help you understand your options for paying for college.Provide some basic information and they'll estimate your eligibility for federal student aid. Your estimate will be shown in the College Cost Worksheet where you can also provide estimated amounts of other student aid and savings that can go towards your college education.

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US Dept of Ed College Affordability and Transparency Center gives  information about tuition and net prices at postsecondary institutions. The site highlights institutions with high and low tuition and fees as well as high and low net prices (the price of attendance minus grant and scholarship aid). It also shows institutions where tuition and fees and net prices are increasing at the highest rates. The website includes a Net Price Calculator, College Navigator, List of Proprietary Schools, and State Spending Charts. 

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Start Here, Get There is an informative site for students with links to more Financial Aid workshops and information sessions around NYC. Click "Find an Event" and continue to "Region 6" to see all events in the NYC area.  

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That's all for now.

Have a safe and happy new year! See you in 2013!!

-Ms. Miller