College

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).

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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. 
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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:

• ROTC programs: http://todaysmilitary.com/training/rotc
• College Greenlight.com
• U.S. Department of Labor CareerOneStop Scholarship Page

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

• Financial Aid Night Presentation - 2021
• Video Recording of Financial Aid Night - 2021
• Financial Aid Tips 2022-23

LEARN MORE ON OUR CCC COLLEGE RESOURCES FAQ

Links & Resources

• NCAA Information for Prospective Collegiate Athletes: NCAA Night 10-5-21
• 2021-2022 Stevenson HS profile
• Class of 2020 Report
• NCAA Eligibility Information 2020-21