College

When searching for colleges, students should consider the primary aspects of what is a potential “best fit” with a college. These best-fit pieces include the emotional, social, financial, academic and personal factors in researching colleges.

The CCC offers a variety of programming and resources to students and families concerning college preparation/application, financial aid, transcript requests, scholarship opportunities and more.

Students are highly encouraged to search for colleges through Naviance along with other online resources. Naviance offers many options to search for colleges. College lookup might be a nice place to begin research, in general. Type in a college that you want to learn more about in order to access the college’s Naviance page. Reference our video tutorial on the newer Naviance features.

Have a specific question about the college search and application process?
Check out our FAQ document
Follow the CCC on Facebook
Use Naviance to assist with college planning
To learn more about ACT/SAT Testing please visit our PSAT - SAT - ACT Testing page

Note: Stevenson High School welcomes colleges to visit our students during the fall semester. Colleges wishing to schedule a rep visit can contact us at shs_collegecareer@d125.org.

Events

Financial Aid Night for Junior and Seniors - September 30, 2021

Virtual Meeting via Zoom

The College Career Center will hold its annual Financial Aid Night at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 30th via Zoom. Post Secondary Counselors, Sara English and Dan Miller will partner with Jerry Cebrzynski, Associate Vice President for Financial Aid at Lake Forest College, for this presentation, which is meant primarily for families who have current juniors or seniors. Details about applying for college financial assistance through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will be discussed, along with the types of financial aid available, and how eligibility for aid is determined. Families typically complete their FAFSA form in October.

Please utilize the Zoom Webinar link to attend online: https://zoom.us/j/91834684031

Interpreters are available. If needed, please call/email Donna Wallach at 847-415-4517, or shs_collegecareer@d125.org by Tuesday, September 21st.

Webinar Link: https://zoom.us/j/91834684031

The First Generation to United States Undergraduate Admission Night - October 7, 2021

FAFSA Completion Night Workshop - October 21, 2021

Stevenson High School | East Learning Center (ELC)

On Thursday, October 21st, the CCC will be hosting the FAFSA Completion Night (in person), from 4 pm - 7 pm in the East Learning Center (ELC).

This event will be by appointment only. Families who wish to attend and ask specific questions completing the FAFSA can email SHS_CollegeCareer@d125.org or call Donna Wallach at 847-415-4517 to secure an appointment. If families need an interpreter, please request so by Thursday, October 14th.

College Night for Junior Families - December 8, 2021

Virtual Meeting via Zoom

All juniors and their parents and guardians are invited to the College Career Center's annual College Night for Junior Families program from 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 8th via Zoom.

Webinar link: https://zoom.us/j/99817191769

Students are highly encouraged to attend with their parent/guardian.

The night is a kickoff to the college search-and-selection process for students in the Class of 2023. Post Secondary Counselors Sara English and Dan Miller will discuss how to choose a college, how a college chooses its students, and the overall timeline for the search and application process over the next 18 months. Career Program Manager Diane Willock will also discuss ways students can further explore career options.

Families needing interpreter assistance can reach out to Donna Wallach, at dwallach@d125.org, or via phone at 847-415-4517 prior to Wednesday, Dec. 1st.

A special session for parents and guardians of students with IEP/504 plans will take place before the main presentation. The special session will run from 6:30-6:50 p.m. via Zoom.

Webinar link: https://zoom.us/j/94059930761

Sophomore Family College and Career Night - March 2, 2022

Looking Ahead for Freshman Families Night - April 7, 2021

College Career Center Staff

Postsecondary Counselors
Sara English
senglish@d125.org / 847-415-4505

Dan Miller
dmiller@d125.org / 847-415-4509

Stevenson to College Program Manager
Aileen Aragones
aaragones@d125.org / 847-415-4469

Career Exploration Program Manager
Diane Willock
dwillock@d125.org / 847-415-4125

College Career Center Administrative Assistant
shs_collegecareer@d125.org / 847-415-4517

Freshman/Sophomore Focus

Junior Focus

Senior Focus

First-Generation Families

Researching Colleges

Stevenson recommends a few ways to research and get to know more about colleges.

Rep Visits to Stevenson

College rep visits, which begin in the fall, are intended for current juniors and seniors to attend. Interested parents are encouraged to reach out to colleges for virtual visit opportunities.

Each visit will be facilitated by a post-secondary counselor. The post-secondary counselor will also update the notes located in Naviance for students who aren't able to attend the visit.

Interested juniors and seniors are required to sign into their Naviance account to sign up for individual sessions. Students must request permission to attend rep visits by their teacher, at least two school days prior to the scheduled visit. View a summary of the College Rep Visit Schedule for fall 2021. Please note, this visit schedule will be updated continually August through November.

NOTE: Interested college reps should contact us at shs_collegecareer@d125.org.

Campus Visits

We strongly believe students should register for an official campus visit (versus touring a campus on their own) at the colleges of their choice. Registering provides families with a formal admission information session and tour. Colleges may also be able to customize your visit with opportunities to see particular departments or areas of interest.

We encourage students to consider developing a list of questions they would like to have answered during this visit. Some sample questions can be found here. We also encourage students to jot down notes immediately after their visit. This will help differentiate schools as you go on more visits, and it can assist you in your essay writing during the application process (in particular those “why us?” essay questions).

Financing College

Scholarships

Students can search for scholarships in a variety of ways. Our number one suggestion is to not pay money for a service to search for you. Scholarship money exists because companies and organizations want the exposure and great press! We recommend the following to help you in your search:

Registering with a free database like www.fastweb.com or www.cappex.com/scholarships. These databases will require students to create an account. We recommend that students use an outside email since there will be a lot of emails generated from these accounts. These sites do a great job scouring the national scholarships that exists.
Checking weekly in Naviance. Naviance has a scholarship section under the “college” tab. As we receive scholarship information in the CCC, we are updating this information. We recommend students to look regularly, since this will be updated continually throughout the school year.
Subscribe to the Daily Digest (and read it daily). We will push out more specific scholarships (often more local) in the DD. To receive the DD by email, sign up on the SHS Communications page.
Check into your community. Many employers, credit unions, religious organizations, and community-based organizations offer scholarships. Be sure to ask the groups you are connected with to see if they offer scholarships.
Complete the Stevenson Foundation Scholarships application organized by the Stevenson Foundation. This comes out during the month of January of the student’s senior year. There were about two dozen scholarships last year that were specific to Stevenson seniors. This page describes all the local scholarships provided by the Stevenson Foundation.
Research the schools to which you are applying. Lots of colleges offer scholarships that are merit- or talent-based. Many will review your eligibility from your initial application, some may require a separate application. Students can initially look at our notes within Naviance on each college, but should also look at the colleges’ websites to see what options are available to them.

Additional resources for scholarship searches:

Financial Aid

Helpful Links

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): studentaid.gov
Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC): www.isac.org
Additional Resources Regarding Financial Aid: www.finaid.org

Resources

LEARN MORE ON OUR CCC COLLEGE RESOURCES FAQ

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Students

Parents

About Us

College

Events

Financial Aid Night for Junior and Seniors - September 30, 2021

The First Generation to United States Undergraduate Admission Night - October 7, 2021

FAFSA Completion Night Workshop - October 21, 2021

College Night for Junior Families - December 8, 2021

Sophomore Family College and Career Night - March 2, 2022

Looking Ahead for Freshman Families Night - April 7, 2021

College Career Center Staff

Freshman/Sophomore Focus

Junior Focus

Senior Focus

First-Generation Families

Researching Colleges

Researching Colleges

Rep Visits to Stevenson

Campus Visits

Financing College

Scholarships

Financial Aid

Helpful Links

Resources

Helpful Links/Resources

Links & Resources