The future looks bright in Rocha’s room.
Artwork by Katie Boyer
For the past two years TJ Counselor Tabitha Rocha has made dealing with college admissions easier for all TJ students, in order to get every Spartan on the right track, in the Future Center in room 114. As the college and financial aid advisor, she provides information on all in and out of state colleges and universities.
Rocha, a graduate of Colorado State University at Fort Collins herself, can answer the most troubling questions and concerns when it comes to filling out any college or scholarship information. She says, “The best advice I can give students is pay attention to instructions, because questions can be worded tricky on online applications. Every college has their own admission deadline, so it’s necessary to pay attention to those as well. Besides that, you also have to set aside time to do applications, since most ask for essay responses.”
For the best help with applications, TJ has arranged various college representatives to visit throughout College Readiness Month. Metro State College visits every other Thursday, and Johnson and Wales representatives will be in the Future Center on November 16 and Northeastern Junior College of Sterling, Colorado will be coming November 19.
As the financial aid advisor at TJ, Rocha keeps track of many ongoing scholarship opportunities available for Spartans, such as the Burger King Scholars Program, Denver Scholarship Foundation, Gates Millennium Scholarship Program, Ronald McDonald House Charity U.S. Scholarship, John Lynch Foundation, TJ Partner Scholarship, and the Robert Sullivan Scholarship, to name a few.
The Burger King Scholars Program offers working students with a GPA of at least 2.50 up to $1,000 dollars to the college of their choice. Students must work (anywhere) for an average of 15 hours per week year round. They should be involved in extracurricular activities, community service, academic achievement and have financial need. The deadline is February 15, 2011 and applications are available online only at http://www.haveityourwayfoundation.org/, Access key: BKS.
Denver Scholarship Foundation is available to all students graduating from a Denver Public School. The 2010-2011 Scholarship application is now closed, but make sure to visit http://www.denverscholarship.org/ to finish the application process. More information about the application process for the 2011-2012 academic year will appear on the website in November.
The Gates Millennium Scholarship Program, funded by a Grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is a national scholarship available to students with a GPA of at least 3.30 unweighted. This scholarship may cover up to the total cost of all four years of college. Students must be of African American, Hispanic, Native American or Asian/Pacific Islander ethnicity and be high school seniors. Students must have demonstrated leadership abilities through participation in community service, extracurricular, or other activities. The deadline is January 11, 2011 and more information can be found at http://www.gmsp.org/ or in the Future Center.
The Ronald McDonald House Charity U.S. Scholarship has awarded $40 million dollars since 1985 to high school seniors younger than 21 years old, eligible to attend a two or four-year college or university with a full course of study, of legal U.S. residence, and who submit a complete online application found at http://rmhc.org/what-we-do/rmhc-u-s-scholarships/ beginning November 12. The deadline for the 2010/2011 academic year is January 28, 2011. Rocha said, “We usually have a few students that get this scholarship each year.”
The John Lynch Foundation scholarship requires that students be high school seniors and have participated in a varsity sport during their senior year and must attend a Denver metro area public or private school. The scholarship is based on academics, athletics, community involvement and financial need. Deadline for applications is March 26, 2011. More information can be found at http://www.johnlynchfoundation.org/lynch-family-legacy-scholarships.aspx.
Unlike other scholarships, both the TJ Partner Scholarship and the Robert Sullivan Scholarship are available to all students and are not based on financial need. The scholarships will require essay responses on paper and each give up to $500. Applications will be available starting early March, while the deadline is mid April. More information will be given on March 1.
Rocha said, “March 1st is a very important date. That is the deadline for all financial aid applications. Scholarships are on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis, so if students don’t get there quick, they’ll run out. Another word of advice would be for freshmen to start looking at college requirements early. Take up volunteer hours and participate in extracurricular activities.”
