Make plans to attend the College Fair held at the McKimmon Center at NCSU. Meet with College Admissions representatives who visit Sanderson throughout the year. Visit college campuses and attend their Open House days. Make an appointment to speak with your school counselor. Use on-line resources including: www.collegeboard.com, www.cfnc.org, and the websites of individual colleges or universities.

1. Contact the college financial aid offices for the colleges you are interested in attending; research scholarship opportunities on the college websites of the colleges you are interested in attending.
2. Network: check with parents' employers for company scholarships; find out if your church or religious organization offers scholarships to graduating seniors; research opportunities through local adult sororities/fraternities; check with parents' professional organizations for scholarships for children of the members.
3. Research the "Scholarship and Enrichment Opportunities" link on the SHS website homepage. ALL scholarships that Sanderson receives is posted to this website.
4. [Senior students] Join the senior listserv, through the SHS Student Services Office, and receive one or two emails each month with Student Services information, including information on ALL scholarship information that Sanderson receives.
5. Utilize printed and on-line resources: examples: www.cfnc.org,www.fastweb.com,www.finaid.org, www.collegequest.com.
6. Make sure your parent is a member of the Sanderson Yahoo email newsletter group; many, many scholarships are announced on this site. To join, your parent may go to this site: www.groups.yahoo.com/group/SHScommunity and then click "Join this Group."

Do not pay someone to do a scholarship search for you; you will not receive a guarantee that you will actually receive a scholarship, and there are too many free searches available. A special word to minority students: Most colleges aim to ensure that they have a diverse student body; college admissions office seek to provide the same opportunities to all groups of students and therefore often have at least one member of their staff who specializes in the recruitment of minority students. Check with the Minority Affairs offices of the colleges you are interested in for more information on scholarships designated for minorities. Also, the Sanderson Career Center provides a list of approximately 100+ scholarship websites designated for minority students.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form is the application you complete to apply for financial aid for college. The FAFSA is available each January, and only seniors complete the form. The information included on this form will be used to help determine how much aid a student is eligible to receive for the following year in college. (Students must reapply for financial aid each year during college.) Results from the FAFSA are sent to the colleges a student designates to receive the information. A financial aid package is put together for each student based on their individual information; the package is usually a combination of any or all of the following: Grants (gift money); Loans (money that must be paid back with interest); Work Study (money that the student earns through a campus job); Scholarships. For more information, go to www.fafsa.ed.gov. Sanderson has a financial advisor who is available to help students and their parents with the financial aid forms and process. Sanderson's Financial Aid Advisor is Ellen Wardlaw who is available on Tuesdays from 8:30-1:30; you may make an appointment with her by calling the Student Services Office at 881-4820. Also, SHS hosts a Financial Aid Information Program for seniors and their parents; this program is usually held in early December or in January. For other financial aid information: www.collegeboard.com (provides free expected family contribution estimator) or www.cfnc.org.

All transcript requests will be made on-line. Paper, phone, and/or fax requests will no longer be accepted. This procedure includes transcripts needed for colleges/universities, scholarship programs, employers, military service recruiting offices, and more.

***IMPORTANT*** Please know that we do not release official transcripts directly to students or parents. Official transcripts must be sent directly to the appropriate college or agency. Current students, former students, potential employers, etc., must use www.wcpss.net/transcripts to place their requests. If you apply to a N.C. college or university, you MUST request your transcript to be sent electronically through CFNC. You must create an account with at www.cfnc.org.Once your account is created, click on the "Apply" tab at the top of the page; click on "To College" and then "Transcript Manager." If you apply to a college/university outside of North Carolina, any scholarship program, to the military, or for a job, you will follow the instructions you find on the www.wcpss.net/transcripts website. Other important points about transcript requests: Current students will be provided their first three transcripts free of charge. After the first three, there is a charge of $5.00 per transcript and a $3.00 convenience fee per request (not per transcript). See the WCPSS website and/or the Senior Post-Secondary Planning booklet for further explanation of charges.

All students are required to have a minimum of 26 credits to graduate. Students who entered the 9th grade beginning fall of 2004 through fall of 2008 must complete the requirements within their specific graduation course of study. Students who entered high school in the fall of 2009 will meet requirements under the Future Ready Core program. You will find all graduation requirements details in the SHS Program Planning Guide. You may also go to the "Graduation Requirements" tab for more details.

You may register for either college admissions test by completing a hard copy registration packet found in the Student Services Office. Or, you may prefer to register on-line at: www.collegeboard.com for the SAT or www.actstudent.org for the ACT.

The SAT Reasoning Test measures critical reading, mathematics, and writing ability. The ACT measures educational development in English, math, reading, science, and writing. Both are used to predict freshman year college performance. You may compare these tests even more by going to various websites, including: www.collegedegree.com, www.petersons.com and www.kaptest.com

Make an appointment with Sanderson's Career Development Coordinator, Ms. Traci Claiborne, in the Career Center which is located directly across from the Attendance Office. Visit the Career Fairs held each semester in the small gym. Talk to people who work in various careers and ask them questions. Participate in Job Shadow Day which is coordinated by Ms. Claiborne. Research various fields by utilizing many on-line resources: www.cfnc.org, www.mapping-your-future.org, www.petersons.com.

Talk to people who work in various occupations and ask questions. Consider taking an interest inventory to see which careers tend to be more appealing for people with your particular interests/values/skills. Various inventories can be found on many websites, two of which are: www.cfnc.org, www.nccareers.org. Talk to Ms. Claiborne, Sanderson's Career Development Coordinator, about participating in Job Shadow day, usually held in early February, or to ask about additional inventories you can take.

1. Level of difficulty of courses taken compared with what your school offers (i.e., did you take the most challenging courses you could have?
2. Grades, which includes the cumulative GPA and class rank
3. SAT and/or ACT scores
4. Extracurricular activities
5. Recommendations from teacher/counselor, if requested by college
6. Essay(s), if requested by college
7. Interview, if requested by college

Students' discipline records (detentions, suspensions) are often requested as a part of the application process and can influence a college/university's admissions decision. Students are expected to be honest and report any and all infractions. Visit the "Forms" page of the web site to access the "Release of Disciplinary Records Authorization" form. Please note that this completed form must be submitted to the Office of Student Due Process, not Sanderson HS.

If a teacher recommendation is required, it is important to select a teacher who not only likes you, but more importantly, one who can write a strong letter for you. He/she should be someone who can address your strengths, give specific examples of your strengths, your work, and one who will clearly address the "prompt."

Seniors are allowed two college visit days that do not affect your exam exemption status. Students must submit a request for educational leave (with parent signature) form to Dr. Decker for approval prior to their visit, and they must provide proof from the college or university that they visited that college that day.

Visit the college's website to determine how and when they conduct their college visits for prospective students. Register for the visit according to the directions given on their website. If you do not see information on how to visit their school, contact their Office of Admissions. Make your plans well in advance.

Pick up a school newspaper. Sit in on a class. Speak with someone in the department of your possible college major. Talk with college students on campus; ask what they like the most about the school and what they like the least. Spend the night in the residence hall if you can. Ask about various housing options. Ask what activities are available on campus. Ask about the courses and how accessible professors are.

With the exception of EOC courses and CTE courses that have VoCATS exams, seniors may be exempt from their final exams if they meet the following criteria in each class:

1. You have NO unexcused absences, AND
2. If you have an A in the course, you may have up to 3 excused absences. If you have a B in the course, you may have up to 2 excused absences. If you have a C in a course, you may have only 1 absence.
3. There are no exceptions made for the absences regardless of the reasons.
4. For the purpose of determining exam exemption, three tardies will equal one absence.

A senior may request early release or late arrival by completing the Request form, located in Student Services, including a parent signature for approval. A counselor will verify that you do not need a class that period to meet graduation requirements and then will submit the form to the principal for approval. Students should discuss the early release/late arrival request with their counselor first so that all factors in post-secondary planning are considered before shortening one's class schedule. A completed request does not guarantee approval. Students' classes will not be moved to arrange for an early release/late arrival period.

If a student starts the year with a full schedule and submits their college application and transcript showing a full schedule, but later wants to change their schedule or request early release/late arrival, the student MUST contact the college/university first to see if the change will affect their chances for admission or if it will cause their admission to be re-evaluated and possibly rescinded.

The College Transfer Program allows students to begin their college education at a N.C. community college and later transfer to a four-year college/university. Typically students in this program will complete coursework equivalent to the general education requirements (freshman and sophomore years) at a 4-year institution. If a student meets all transfer requirements for the university they desire to transfer to and is invited by that university to transfer to them, the student will receive credit for all courses taken at the community college; he/she should then enter the 4-year college as a junior. Advisors at the community college help students with the college transfer process. For more information on the College Transfer program, visit the Wake Technical Community College website: www.waketech.edu

The NCAA registration process should begin at the end of the junior year, but seniors can start the process early in the senior year. Many factors are considered in the registration process, including NCAA-approved courses, transcripts, and SAT/ACT scores. For specific information regarding eligibility and the process to register, you may go to the NCAA website: www.ncaaeligibilitycenter.org or call toll-free at 877-262-1492.

Make copies of all applications, forms, etc. as you turn them in. Meet deadlines Develop a resume to submit to colleges, scholarships, prospective employers. Keep your grades up!