TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! Important Dates for Seniors and Juniors
Let’s talk about the FAFSA for seniors and the PSAT for juniors!
The FAFSA is a free application for Federal student aid. Most colleges use the information from the FAFSA to determine the financial aid amount each student will receive. The Pell Grant, Federal loan amounts, and work study qualification is determined by the financial information provided by the family on the FAFSA. In years past, this form was not filled out until January of a student’s senior year. That has changed, and now October 1st is the first day of the students’ senior year that the form can be filled out. The parent(s) and the students each have an ID they use to sign in so that the form can be completed. They cannot share the same user name and password.
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE: There is no penalty if you fill out the form at a later time but, because there are certain scholarships that are awarded on a first-come-first-serve basis (and certain funds are limited), you will want your senior students’ FAFSA completed on October 1st or soon after. The FAFSA will ask for income from the previous year. If you are filling out the FAFSA this academic year, you will report your family’s income from 2018.
WARNING: There is an option to have the IRS import the information from your tax return and, although this makes filling out the form easier to do, you may want to input your information manually if you rolled over an IRA, bought or sold stocks, or had a job change.
The FAFSA determines your EFC (expected family contribution). The EFC is an index number the colleges use to determine how much financial aid your student is entitled to receive. It is used to determine Pell Grant amounts, work study opportunities, and subsidized loan amounts.
Even if you do not plan to accept any Federal funds or take out loans, most colleges use the information provided by the FAFSA (the EFC) when awarding financial aid and, for that reason, the FAFSA needs to be filled out. There are one or two colleges that are an exception to this expectation.
In addition to filling out the FAFSA during your students’ senior year, you will want your students to begin applying to their top colleges of choice. Some colleges offer opportunities that are only offered during the students’ senior year of high school. Bryan College hosts a scholarship event each semester for qualified seniors who have been accepted to Bryan College. Each participant has an academic interview and receives another $1,000 to $3,000 based on that interview. At one of the events an essay contest is included and one winner receives four years of tuition. There are state grants in Tennessee that seniors may be awarded, if qualified, but knowing about and applying for at least one of those awards early in the senior year is advised. Check with the colleges to which your students are applying, and find out about the grants offered in your state early in your students’ senior year (or before) so that you do not miss out on any of the opportunities that are time sensitive.
For juniors, you will want them to take the PSAT because the scores from that test determine National Merit Scholarships (NMS). Even a semi-finalist will receive four years of tuition at Bryan College. The test is offered in October and it is a very affordable test. Students in 9th and 10th grades can take the PSAT (if they can find a location that allows their participation), but the scores will not be counted towards the NMS. Two changes have taken place this year. Because of COVID, and the resulting protocols, homeschooled students are having a difficult time finding a location where their students can take the PSAT. Before you are too discouraged, the College Board has added a January PSAT date! If your students cannot take the test in October or January, then they can take the SAT and use a code to have that test count as the PSAT. The NMS is determined state by state, according to the number of students taking the test in each state. Students with disabilities may be eligible for accommodations, but the time it takes to process a request is lengthy, so plan ahead.
Although, not as time sensitive as the PSAT, juniors should begin narrowing down their college choices in order to plan visits to the campus and to find out what will be required for admission. They will also want to find out if their colleges of choice have time sensitive scholarship opportunities, if scholarships stack, if the college requires a college exam score for admission, or if they are test optional. The CLT is a newer college exam that over 200 Christian colleges accept. Because the CLT is an online test, this test has been offered virtually during the time when COVID protocols shut down both the SAT and the ACT. For this reason there are more colleges, including secular colleges, accepting scores from the CLT. Bryan College is test optional at this time. Students are being accepted and awarded scholarships based on their GPA, instead of a test score. Test optional does not mean test blind. If your students have a test score that will qualify them for more scholarship awards than their GPA, then submit the test score.
Seniors, get the FAFSA filled out and apply to top college choices. Juniors, find a location to take the PSAT and begin narrowing down your college choices. Your college planning experience will go better if you are prepared ahead to take advantage of available opportunities and requirements.
Some students know from an early age exactly which college they plan to attend and they never waver! Others are not so sure they even want to attend college. Many students are open to looking at all options and would appreciate help narrowing down their choices. Choosing a college is not a decision lightly made and many agonize over this decision, yet armed with the right questions, the fields can be narrowed down to two or three top choices by a student’s junior year in high school.
your visit.
College visits: The best time to visit a campus is when classes are in session, but try to avoid exam week, if possible. You can visit when classes are out of session, but the visit will be better if that can be avoided. Being on campus while students are on campus and being able to sit in on classes are experiences that weigh heavily on the decision making process. In order to make the most of a college visit, call the department of admissions and find out if the college has a visit coordinator on campus. Ask when the visit days are available (you may be able to find this information on the college website). Ask to attend classes and talk with faculty. Tour the campus. Eat in the cafeteria. Observe current students and, if you have the opportunity, stop and talk to the students. Meet with the admissions office and financial aid. Ask about the application process and scholarship opportunities. Be prepared with questions to ask so you get all the information you need.
Don Blanton, co-author of the book Personal Economic Model, has designed a three hour college course that will help students understand everything they need to know about the financial world. Using visuals that are interactive, this course takes you from questioning, “Why work?” to helping your student plan wisely to lead a productive and responsible life from high school graduation to retirement (and past retirement age for those who do not choose to retire).
high as possible. Scholarships are tied to the GPA as well as to the college exam score.
also offers a tuition-free Master’s degree to students who come to Bryan after high school and graduate with a 3.5 GPA. And, of importance to seniors, Bryan College hosts two scholarship events per year (one each semester) for qualified seniors who have been accepted to Bryan, allowing them to earn an additional $500 to a full ride for attending and participating.
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college. Discovering 2 or 3 colleges of choice should be done before the senior year so that students can take every advantage afforded them as prospective students. It is recommended that they visit the campuses and ask pertinent questions in order to find out what all needs to be completed in order to be accepted at the top colleges of their choice. Yes, I put colleges – plural. It is not unusual to apply to several colleges in order to receive financial aid packages, allowing you to compare apples with apples. Also, it is important to find out which college exams each college accepts, if they want to the writing portion included, if dual enrollment hours will transfer, and/or if the college accepts CLEP or AP credit.
earn a full ride to Bryan.) This is an affordable test that 9th and 10th graders can take, but the score that counts is the score earned the junior year. There are four different types of scholarships: Federal, State, college and independent. Do your research. The more a student earns in scholarship funds, the better!! A student in Tennessee can earn at least three different grants from the state if qualified! Bryan College has scholarships for homeschoolers, music, theater, Martial Arts, honor students and more! Our athletic and academic scholarships stack (and we had the #1 fishing team in the nation last year). Bryan College hosts two scholarship events each year (one per semester), and each student who attends receives a minimum of $500 in additional scholarship funds up to a full ride. Don’t miss out on scholarship opportunities! There are two highly recommended affordable prep sites that many homeschooling families use for these exams. One is 
result, my older children received less scholarship funding than they could have earned had we put more emphasis on excelling on these tests. Once I accepted this fact, I began spending more time preparing our children for these tests. The ACT and SAT have been the two tests available to students for many years, but now there is a third college exam, the CLT, that over 100 Christian colleges and a few secular colleges accept! Here’s a 
there are states that offer college tuition-free to students. However, a free education could be quite costly depending on the out-come. One regret I hear often from Christian parents is sending a student to a secular campus. That is not to say that some students won’t do well on a secular campus, because they can excel there as well (three of my nine will graduate from a secular college). As Christians, we want our students where the Lord wants them. Oftentimes, decisions are made simply on financial concerns without even pursuing enrollment at a private college. I understand! If you had told us (as parents of 9 without spare change) that any of our children would attend and graduate from a private college we might have laughed, but that’s exactly what has happened with several of our children and they have graduated (or will graduate) without student debt. The scholarships offered by colleges can be quite large, especially if they have scholarship events (such as the ones Bryan offers) that include additional scholarship awards!!
Congratulations! You have a student in high school and you are approaching the end of a journey! You want your students high school years to end well and, in order to do that, you need to be aware of available options. Even if your student does not plan to go to college, that could change, so it is better to be prepared for college, and not go — rather than to not plan for college and then find your student has changed his mind! Do not wait until the spring semester of the senior year to make post-high school plans (especially if your student will attend college). Waiting too long can cause stress, failed plans, and a loss of scholarship offers.
having your students participate in opportunities that will help them figure out if they, in fact, love a particular interest or, as is often the case, are not as enamored once they gain experience. For instance, if your child is interested in journalism, find a journalist that they shadow or intern with in order to see firsthand what all is involved with this career. If your student knows ahead of time (before college) what he wants to do career-wise, it will help you plan the high school years in such a way that they gain experience before heading to college. If your student has no clue, then taking career assessment tests may be helpful. The Career Services director at Bryan recently conducted a workshop on how to help students discover their interests. A summary of his workshop is found 
than others. Ask for referrals from your friends. When my daughter wanted to gain experience as a videographer I asked our homeschool support group for suggestions and my daughter ended up with two internships, both of which provided invaluable experience in her field. To read more about the varied paths my nine children have taken since high school, go 
Step four involves narrowing down your college choices to 2 or 3 schools. Look for colleges that have majors that interest your students. Yes, I know, this may change. It often does, but start out with current interests. Personally, it is important to my husband and me that our children attend a college that teaches classes from a biblical worldview when possible. For this reason several of our students attended Bryan College (which happens to be where I am the Homeschool Specialist). Of course it would make sense that I highly recommend Bryan College if we have the major your student needs. Begin your search by looking on-line and by asking for referrals from friends. Visit the colleges of choice in person when possible. Most colleges have specific visit days, but many encourage you to visit at any time that is convenient to you. Visiting while classes are in session is the best time to visit because if your students are allowed to sit in on classes, they will gain a first-hand experience. If you are going to be in the area of a college of interest at a time when classes are not in session, it is still worth scheduling a visit so that you can tour the campus and talk to admissions and financial aid counselors. If your student is a senior then check with the colleges of interest to see if they offer special scholarship events for seniors in high school. Bryan College hosts two scholarship events each year, one per semester. These are for seniors who have been accepted to Bryan College. The events are free and are by invitation according to college exam test scores. Each student attending receives an additional scholarship between $200 and $2,000 based on an academic interview. Students can also participate in an essay contest and one winner receives four years tuition! Additional scholarships are offered for music, theater, martial arts and more. You are not limited to how many colleges your student can apply to and, in fact, it makes sense to apply to your top 2 or 3 choices so that you can better compare apples with apples once the financial packages are awarded. There are times throughout the year when application fees are waived (applying to multiple colleges can get costly) so check with the colleges of interest about this. Colleges often offer incentives for applying (or depositing) that reward the student with free products such as t-shirts, mugs, etc. Plan to attend college fairs that are within driving distance to your home. Do some research to find out about virtual college fairs as they are gaining in popularity. Ken Ham, with Answers in Genesis, has a free college fair every November and each high school student receives a free ticket to the Creation Museum and a chance to win a $500 scholarship. The FPEA, in Florida, hosts a homeschool college fair in November. Many homeschool curriculum fairs include vendors in the exhibit hall who represent colleges. HEAV has a separate college vending area at their annual conference in Richmond, VA, as does the NCHE conference that takes place in Winston-Salem, NC. One more word of advice, find out if a college you are looking at offers something unique to that college. Students who attend Bryan College after high school and graduate with a 3.5 GPA can then earn their Master’s degree tuition 
there are multiple scholarships and grants that can be awarded or earned. Dual enrolling while in high school is one of the best ways to save money and cut costs. In some states dual enrollment is totally free, but be careful because dual enrollment is not without dangers. I wrote about that 
of students. Now there is a third option, the 
Because I often have parents asking me about accommodations for students with disabilities in college, I organized a workshop led by Bryan College’s Academic Success Center Director and ADA Coordinator, Kristi Strode. What I discovered while attending the workshop is that accommodations are regulated by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990/Rehabilitation Act of 1973 – Section 504. There are also other laws that come into play when serving students with disabilities: the Fair Housing Act regarding campus housing needs and FERPA regarding the extremely important issue of confidentiality
If students are not satisfied with the services they receive through Bryan College’s ADA Services, there is a grievance procedure in place. On our campus, an ADA Compliance Committee is charged with weighing any grievances that come forward. Kristi has also developed a manual for compliance with the ADA mandates.
Once a student on campus has met with Kristi and figured out a plan for accommodations, then that student must present the needed accommodations through what is known as a Syllabus Addendum to their professors. Kristi promotes self-advocacy, but she will work with both the students and professors.
Not every child will attend college. Helping your child plan for life after high school should, however, include discussing whether college is the route to take, or not. If college is on your child’s radar, but he/she does not have a clue of what major to choose, that is not uncommon.
Of my nine children, 4 of our 5 sons will graduate college (and the fifth is doing quite well as a builder and knife maker). Of my 4 girls only 1 will graduate college as she is pursuing a nursing career. The other 3 daughters are wives and mothers who either homeschool their children, work from home, and/or work alongside their husbands. One daughter attended Bryan one year and then she met her husband. Another daughter attended a women’s discipleship program in Texas where she met her husband. The third daughter worked at a ministry one summer where she met her husband.
After homeschooling my nine children for more than 32 years, I am finally finished! One of my regrets is not acknowledging the importance of college entrance exams and/or CLEP and AP credit for those heading to college. For years I was convinced that:
There are now 3 college entrance exams: the 
When should students begin testing? That depends on the student and on the direction your student is headed. Many students begin taking practice tests as early as 8th or 9th grade. Because the tests are not inexpensive ($49+) most parents wait until the junior year to begin taking official tests. Some schools require a college exam test score for dual enrollment purposes. At Bryan College a student can begin dual enrolling after the sophomore year without a test score (transcript required showing 3.0 GPA or higher), unless they are taking a math class in which case the student would have to provide a college exam math score of ACT 22, SAT 540, or CLT 22.
Homeschooled Students for Bryan College 