Chiefs Get Ready For College

Ana Lara-Cruz, Staff Writer

It’s that time of year for many seniors: many dread it, others get pumped up for it. Whatever your perspective is, college application time has come. As deadlines are approaching, many students are still holding back from applying to their dream school because of their lack of knowledge on how to apply and how to obtain scholarships and grants. Then, there are some students that don’t know what to do in general and don’t have support at home.

“I still am so confused on what to do,” said senior Haley Mooney. “Both of my parents didn’t attend college, so I’m basically own my own.”

For students who get exceptionally good grades and have high test scores, this is their time to find out what university they want to attend, high school requirements they need to fulfill, application requirements, and tuition and fees.

Here’s some information on some schools that could help seniors in picking which school is right for them.

Florida Gulf Cost University : SAT scores have to be at least a 460 in critical reading, 460 in math, and 460 in writing. The minimum ACT score required is a 19 in reading, 19 in math, 19 in english, and a 19 in combined english/writing. A minimum weighted GPA of 3.0 is required and high school requirements needed are: four units of english, four units of math, three units of natural science, three units of social science, two units of foreign language, and two units of electives. Letters of recommendation, personal statements and essays are not required for admissions into FCGU. The deadline for applications is May 1st, 2015.

University of Central Florida: Combined SAT scores have to range from 1190 to 1300 in both critical reading and math, but if the writing portion is included it has to range from 1750 to 1930. ACT composite scores are from 25 to 29. High school requirements needed are: at least 3 units of english, four units of mathematics, three units of natural science, 3 units of social studies, two consecutive units of the same foreign language, along with two elective units (preferably in english, mathematics, natural science, social studies or work language.)

Florida International University: In order to have the greatest chance at being accepted, you must get a 1530 on the SAT and/or a score of 22 on the ACT. High school requirements needed are: four units of mathematics, three units of natural science, three units of social science, two units of the same foreign language, and at least two academic electives.

University Of Florida – The minimum score on the SAT in order to qualify is a 460 in mathematics, 460 in reading and a 440 in writing. The minimum score on the ACT is a 19 on the reading section, 19 on the mathematics and 18 on the english/writing portion. High school requirements are at least four units of english, four units of mathematics, three years of natural science, three years of social sciences and two years of foreign language.

Florida Atlantic University– The minimum SAT scores are a 1520 to a 1730 in math, reading, and writing. ACT scores range from a 22 to a 26 in the english, math, and the writing portion. You must have four units of english, four units of mathematics, three units of natural science, three units of social science, two units of foreign language and also, two academic electives.

Scholarships and Grants are found all over the internet. Websites like Fastweb, Scholarships.com, Zinch, Studentscholarships.org, and Fastchoice are websites that help students looking for scholarships. Also, all these websites send frequent emails of recent scholarships that students qualify for.

Ultimately, finding help for college isn’t as hard as it seems. There are teachers, guidance counselors, and online sources that can help make this transition go as smoothly as possible, so that no student has to go through it alone.