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 Serra Catholic Guidance Page

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Mr. Gary Czapor - Chief Guidance Counselor

Useful Information Index

College View Interest Survey FastWeb.com features an excellent collection of information to help on your college search. SAT Information
ACT Information Pennsylvania Governor's Schools of Excellence Top 10 Financial Aid Tips
Types of Loans Common Scams Back to Serra's Main Page

College View Interest Survey

Collegeview.com offers a career interest survey to help you nail down occupations that may be best suited for you.  Be sure to follow these instructions:

If you'd like to try it out now, visit www.collegeview.com

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SAT Information

This section provides information on the SAT tests being offered during the school year.  For more detailed information, visit www.collegeboard.org

2006-2007 Test Dates
(Saturday Administrations)

National Test Dates Test U.S./International Registration Deadline U.S. Late Registration Deadline
October 14, 2006 SAT I and SAT II September 12, 2006 September 20, 2006
November 4, 2006 SAT I and SAT II September 29, 2006 October 11, 2006
December 2, 2006 SAT I and SAT II November 1, 2006 November 9, 2006
January 27, 2007 SAT I and SAT II December 20, 2006 January 4, 2007
March 10, 2007 SAT I only February 2, 2007 February 14, 2007
May 5, 2007 SAT I and SAT II March 29, 2007 April 11, 2007
June 2, 2007 SAT I and SAT II April 27, 2007 May 9, 2007

* SAT Question-and-Answer service (QAS) is available.  QAS is also available for the Sunday test date in May.  In New York State, the SAT I might have to be offered only on those dates when the Question and Answer Service is available under the New York Standardized Testing Law.
** On this date, only the SAT I is offered, and only in the U.S., U.S. territories, and Puerto Rico.
+ The Language Tests with Listening are offered in November only.  The English Language Proficiency Test (ELPT) is offered in November and January only at some test centers.
++ U.S. dates are postmark dates; International dates are receipt dates.

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ACT Information

This section provides information on the ACT Assessment Tests being offered during the school year.  For more detailed information, visit www.act.org

2006-2007 Test Dates

Test Date Regular Deadline Late Fee Required
September 16, 2006 August 18, 2006 August 19–25, 2006
October 28, 2006 September 22, 2006 September 23–October 6, 2006
December 9, 2006 November 3, 2006 November 4–16, 2006
February 10, 2007* January 5, 2007 January 6–19, 2007
April 14, 2007 March 9, 2007 March 10–23, 2007
June 9, 2007 May 4, 2007 May 5–18, 2007
*February not available in New York

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Pennsylvania Governor's Schools of Excellence

Applications for the Pennsylvania Governor's Schools of Excellence are available in the Guidance office (Mr. Czapor).  The Governor's Schools program offers an intensive five week residence program at various colleges.  Acceptance into the program is extremely competitive.  For more information, visit this site: www.pde.psu.edu/ESGOVSCH.HTML

Program Interest Areas Grade Eligibility Postmark Deadline
PA Governor's School for the Agricultural Sciences
Penn State University. University Park, Pa
 		 Animal science, Plant Science, environmental science, veterinary medicine, nutrition and food management, horticulture, forestry, economics, technology. Current 10th and 11th Graders  
PA Governor's School for the Arts
Mercyhurst College
Erie, PA
 		 Visual arts, creative writing, photography, dance, music, and theater. Current 10th and 11th Graders  
PA Governor's School for Health Care
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
 		 Human services, Health care issues, therapies, pharmaceuticals, sports medicine, public health, mental health, medical careers. Current 11th Graders only  
PA Governor's School for International Studies
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
 		 Foreign languages, world cultures, political science, business and economics, cultural geography, environment and natural resources, world history, current events. Current 11th Graders only  
PA Governor's School for Information Technology, jointly hosted by Drexel University, Philadelphia PA, and PSU, University Park, PA
 		 Networks and telecommunications, systems analysis and design, software development, electronic commerce, programming. Current 11th Graders only  
PA Governor's School for the Sciences
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA
 		 Chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics, computer sciences Current 11th Graders only  
Pennsylvania Governor's School for Global Entrepreneurship
Lehigh University of Pittsburgh
Bethlehem, PA		 Entrepreneurship, business administration, finance, e-commerce, marketing, management, international commerce, economics, world cultures. Current 10th and 11th Graders  
PA Governor's School for Teaching
Millersville University
Lancaster County, PA
 		 All subject areas, educational processes, educational psychology, human services, leadership. Current 10th and 11th Graders  

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Top 10 Financial Tips

  1. Prioritize your efforts, starting with the federal government.  Visit www.finaid.org to learn about all your funding opportunities.
  2. Learn all you can about the college financial aid process.   Be sure to meet your aid administrator and establish a relationship.
  3. Submit a FAFSA, even if you don't think you qualify for aid.  Being rejected for federal aid is sometimes a prerequisite for private awards.
  4. Review all of your data on the FAFSA every year.   Your eligibility can change from year to year, depending on your families circumstances.
  5. Inform financial aid administrators about atypical expenses.  Certain allowances may be made to assist you.
  6. Take advantage of tuition payment discounts.  Some colleges offer up to a 10% discount for early payment.
  7. To lower the cost of your degree, complete some of your credits at a community college and then transfer to complete the degree.
  8. Investigate company-sponsored tuition plans.  Many employers will invest in the education of their employees.
  9. Apply!  You can't win awards or receive funds for which you do not apply, so pay attention to deadlines.

  10. Use scholarship search engines like FastWeb to help you find the private sector assistance you need.

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Types of Loans

Stafford/Direct

PLUS Loans

Perkins

Consolidated Loans

Private/Alternative Loans

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Common Scams

Be on your guard for these common scam tactics.

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