Red & Black 8 September 2016 9focus

COLLEGE EXPRESSAlthough it may seem overwhelming at fi rst, hitting big deadlines such as the Common

Application and FAFSA applications are a lot simpler once you know how to navigate the

world of Senior Year — Let us help you out:

COLLEGE BEFORE GRADUATION?She wakes up an hour before her classes start. It takes her a half

hour to leave the house: she gets dressed, puts on her makeup, but there isn’t time to eat breakfast or anything like that. Her bag is always ready ahead of time; she grabs it and walks out to her car.

Once she’s ready, high school senior Nicole Moradiellos goes to college.

Moradiellos is a dual enrollment student, meaning that she attends classes that contribute both towards her college degree and her high school diploma. On Mondays and Wednesdays, she goes to the Dale Mabry Hillsborough Community College campus to take Economics, and she goes to the one in Ybor on Fridays to take English composi-tion.

With dual enrollment, public school students in dual enrollment have access to free textbooks in addition to the free tuition off ered for all dually enrolled students. Students can take up to nine credits a semester.

“I love [dual enrollment], it makes me really excited for college. It’s not as crowded as it is in high school,” she said. “No one really bothers you, everyone keeps to themselves, at least in my classes.”

Th is is Moradiellos’ fi rst semester doing dual enrollment; she wants to go to the University of Florida or Florida State University aft er high school to study psychiatry, but she’s not sure which one. But now, go-ing to college aft er high school doesn’t necessarily mean ‘going off to college’: you can go to college without leaving Hillsborough’s campus.

In order to be eligible for dual enrollment, Hillsborough students have to have at least a 3.0 unweighted GPA and have the appropriate scores on the Postsecondary Education Readiness Test (PERT), SAT or ACT. If interested in the program, students have to speak to their guidance counselor to obtain approval and a transcript, both of which need to be submitted to HCC before the fi rst day of the term.

Students can also take dual enrollment classes at USF provided they meet the higher criteria and the course they want to take isn’t

available at HCC. Th is year, some dual enrollment classes are taught aft er school

as an eighth period, removing the need to physically go to an HCC branch. According to Guidance Department Leader Shawn Ree Mill-er, this year’s option to attend dual enrollment classes on campus has increased the amount of students in the program as a whole.

“Up until this year, probably 10 or 15 students did dual enrollment. But now that we’re off ering it on campus, there’s a lot more,” she said. “We’re closer to some 30-some students, 35.”

Junior Wendon Carey-Jones is one of the students who takes dual enrollment classes on campus aft er school. He’s currently enrolled in a freshman English taught by Monica Sleeter aft er school along with 15 other students in his class.

“It’s convenient [to do dual enrollment on campus] rather than go-ing to the campus in Ybor,” he said.

Seniors can also apply for Early Admission at HCC, where they

register as a full-time student and intend to attend HCC aft er high school. Eligibility is almost the same as for regular dual enrollment students, but early admissions students must have a 3.5 unweighted GPA instead of a 3.0.

Th e application fee and tuition while the student is in high school is waived, but tuition aft er high school isn’t.

Breanna Ciccione is a senior currently enrolled in three diff erent dual enrollment classes, the maximum amount that students can take per semester. She wants to stay in Tampa for college, either going to USF right aft er graduating or going to HCC for two years.

“I like dual enrollment more than high school,” Ciccione said. “I wish I had done it my junior year, too.”

Registration for the spring 2017 term begins Nov. 21, but HCC encourages registration a month in advance to ensure course avail-ability and textbook access. Classes begin Jan. 9.

STORY BY ANNIE AGUILAR

NOT-SO-COMMON KNOWLEDGEApply to numerous universities with one application

What is the Common Application?

A nonprofi t organization that provides applications online that can be sent

to more than 500 colleges, saving you hours of work fi lling out an individ-

ual application for every school you want to apply to.

What do I need to do?

After making an account, it will ask you to complete a profi le — this pro-

fi le covers everything the colleges need to know from family background

to SAT scores. You will then choose the schools you plan on applying to

and complete a few questions (and tasks, such as essays) unique to the

university chosen.

When is it due?

Each school is diff erent and the due date depends on whether you’re ap-

plying Early Action or Regular Action (there are more options!). But, don’t

fret: The Common Application will let you know when your due dates are.

CERTIFICATION MANDATORYSome students enrolled in customer service class

were shocked to learn they wouldn’t just be running passes and paperwork for teachers.

It turns out this year, the business education class ca-ters more towards earning industry certifi cations.

“If students earn an industry certifi cation,” said busi-ness education teacher Letha Maxey, “they get a seal on their diploma indicating they completed at least three college hours and one college credit.”

Earning certifi cation also helps the school improve its state-issued grade (a C for 2015-16). On the most recent state report card, 53 percent of seniors qualifi ed for an acceleration point, based on passing certifi cation, getting at least a 3 on an AP exam or earning credit in a dual enrollment course.

Students in customer service who have not achieved any of those three distinctions are currently using that class time now to earn the certifi cation.

Th ese programs do more than benefi t the student. Passing scores earn the school as much as $1,200 to use for new textbooks, school supplies and other expenses related to certifi cation.

Th e real motivation, though, according to Maxey, is to give students a competitive edge with colleges and potential employers. Th ey also earn a special distinction on their diploma.

“I learned things I thought I would never learn,” said senior Ozoamaka Obiona. “At work, if someone asks me to make a spreadsheet, I can do it with no problem.”

Th ese skills impress employers, and make the appli-cant in question more appealing for the job for which they are being considered.

Most students entering this program hope to use the skills they learn to get the job of their dreams, like se-nior José Estrada, who aspires to become a video game designer.

He said the skills he’s learning while preparing for his industry certifi cation exam will be benefi cial in working towards this goal.

He has the opportunity to familiarize himself with Microsoft Word and its security features during school, and he believes this opportunity will help him when he’s learning how to code the soft ware necessary to design and develop video games.

For Estrada, this class isn’t a chore, he truly wants to be there.

“It’s something I like to do. I like working with com-puters, it’ll help me get a job and help me get into col-lege,” he said. Estrada felt that earning his Microsoft certifi cation was something anyone could do, and en-couraged others to join the class. It was his belief that the experience he gained using this soft ware was well worth the time spent memorizing the material.

However, not all students are convinced this class is as great as it may seem. Senior Cyona Rahming was dis-appointed when she found out this wasn’t just an easy class.

“Not really, because it’s a lot of work,” said Rahming. Students like Rahming joined this class because they simply had nothing else to do, and were surprised at the amount of work and time gaining an industry certifi ca-tion required.

STORY BY MARIN FEHL AND BRANDI MARTIN

We asked last year’s seniors for college readiness tips and counseling and

here’s what they said:

While many students aim to go off to college after high school, some are doing it even before graduating; dual enrollment students at Hillsborough and HCC work towards a degree and a diploma at the same time.

FOR FAFSA’S SAKELast year, President Barack Obama announced some changes to the

process that starts with this application cycle. Here’s what changed and

what you need to know to apply:

UPCOMING COLLEGE VISITS*Sept. 19

Sept. 27

Sept. 28

Sept. 30

Oct. 3

Oct. 4

Oct. 5

Oct. 18

Oct. 20

University of Alabama

Wake Forest University

Furman University, John Hopkins University

Swarthmore College

Vanderbilt University

Fordham University

Georgia Tech, University of California - Berkeley

Dartmouth University

Brown University

“It’s important to be in contact with the

College and Career Counselor [Debra]

Wanner because she does have monthly

scholarship bulletins ... you never know

which ones you might qualify for. GUIDANCE COUNSELOR

DOMINIQUE WOODS

What is the FAFSA?

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can be

used to attend any eligible college or career school. It provides Federal Pell

Grants, federal student loans and work-study opportunities. Many states,

private organizations, colleges, and career schools also use FAFSA to

determine eligibility for other types of aid.

What’s changed?

Apply earlier: Students can now submit an application as early as

Oct.1 (due dates fl uctuate by college and state. Federal deadline is June 30).

Use older information: Income information from an earlier tax year

is now required, instead of the most recent year. Specifi -

cally for 2017–18 submissions, students and parents will

be required to send in their 2015 income information.

Exaggerate as much as

you can without lying,

work a lot on your essay

and resume and send in

your applications early. RIKIANNE O’BYRNE

Get a 15-minute planner

and have a Sunday ‘plan-

ning power hour’ to plan

your daily, weekly and

monthly goals. HUGH NGUYENHUGH NGUYRIKIANNE O’BYRN

In your essays, write

about societal

issues that make

you sound global

minded. BRYCE MALONE

TS

* To attend the visits, go to room the College and Career Lab, Room 111. Students may only apply for three visits.