TEACHERS

College Planning

Educators, picture this: You’ve attended an inspiring professional development session that left you energized and excited to use the tools you just discovered. When you get back to the office, however, your excitement fades because you have no idea how to implement these great new ideas in your district.

At Texas OnCourse, we love the new year as a time for reflection and intention setting. This doesn’t necessarily mean out with the old, in the with the new – rather, what’s been working well and what are some new things to try? With that in mind, we tapped our dedicated community of leader fellows to see what their visions are for themselves and their students in 2019.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, we’re mindful of all of the things we’re grateful for. In particular, we are thankful for you, Texas educators. As of last week, more than 10,000 of you have registered for the TexasOnCourse Academy, our free online resource offering premium content for educators. Thanks to you, countless students across the state are equipped to plan for success after high school.

Did you miss October’s digital office hours on FAFSA? We’d like to share the top three questions and answers that came up!

Do you have highly mobile students? Texas OnCourse has the resources to help you best serve this unique group.

Migrant students (not to be confused with immigrant students) are highly mobile children and youth whose families work in agriculture or in fishing. Do you know how to properly advise them?

We’re excited to announce the premiere of Room to Grow, the Roadtrip Nation documentary fueled by Texas OnCourse. With four half-hour episodes, Room to Grow will air on public television throughout Texas starting in September.  

Getting involved in clubs and activities in high school can help set you up for success in college. In this video, students share how their after-school activities helped them learn about passions and time management.

The Texas Success Initiative Assessments (TSIA) are part of the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) program designed to help a student's college or university determine if the student is ready for college-level coursework in reading, writing, and mathematics. Let us explain when and why to take the exam!

The fall is PSAT season, which means students have questions about the National Merit Scholarship. Often, students don’t fully understand why the PSAT is important, except as a practice for the SAT. We've created simple graphics that can help you guide your students.

Texas OnCourse administered a survey to K-12 counselors and advisers throughout Texas to better understand the state of college and career advising. Feedback from school counselors is crucial to maximizing the impact of our counseling and advising resources. Texas OnCourse is committed to using the data supplied in this survey to maximize the services we provide to our community.

Students often ask themselves, do I take the SAT or the ACT? We do recommend that students take full length practice tests of both, or even take both tests (both offer fee waivers!) - but included here is a chart detailing the similarities and differences between the two major college exams.

If Texas colleges want to boost attainment and college completion rates, we need a clear picture of how students are actually applying to college. This inaugural Texas OnCourse Data Note investigates how university application rates vary according to race and ethnicity.

At Texas OnCourse, we love the new year as a time for reflection and intention setting. This doesn’t necessarily mean out with the old, in the with the new – rather, what’s been working well and what are some new things to try? With that in mind, we tapped our dedicated community of leader fellows to see what their visions are for themselves and their students in 2019.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, we’re mindful of all of the things we’re grateful for. In particular, we are thankful for you, Texas educators. As of last week, more than 10,000 of you have registered for the TexasOnCourse Academy, our free online resource offering premium content for educators. Thanks to you, countless students across the state are equipped to plan for success after high school.

Building the college list can be stressful and overwhelming because there are so many options, but it doesn’t have to be! You can guide your students through three easy steps to make them feel in control of building their list.

Did you miss October’s digital office hours on FAFSA? We’d like to share the top three questions and answers that came up!

Make sure your students know about the importance of filling out the ApplyTexas scholarship section at the same time as the rest of the application. Read more for best practices!

Are you planning a Senior Parent Night event? Check out these helpful tips from Mia Bradford, one of our Texas OnCourse Leader Fellows.

We’re excited to announce the premiere of Room to Grow, the Roadtrip Nation documentary fueled by Texas OnCourse. With four half-hour episodes, Room to Grow will air on public television throughout Texas starting in September.  

Getting involved in clubs and activities in high school can help set you up for success in college. In this video, students share how their after-school activities helped them learn about passions and time management.

Going to college can be scary because it means finding a whole new group of friends and study buddies. College students from all different backgrounds talk about how they found their footing in this video.

The summer after high school can be overwhelming if you're college-bound. Financial aid, registration, planning -- your to-do list can get pretty lengthy. Students like you describe how they conquered it in this video.

Heading to college means more self-direction, so study habits are important. College students from different backgrounds and schools share their experience shaping a study schedule that works in this video.

High school students, explore the reality of moving away to college through the eyes of these students who have already made the decision. Interviews with college students from varied backgrounds can give you a better idea of the pros and cons of leaving home, and what's right for you.

As we leave 2018 FAFSA priority deadlines behind us, students are checking their portals and mailboxes for their financial aid award letters. As they gear up to make big decisions about their financial and educational future, here are a series of helpful terms and questions to help guide students through their award letters.

The FAFSA has now been open since October 1, so as the March 15 deadline roles closer, students may be wondering what their next steps are.

Starting the scholarship process can be overwhelming for students! Here, we’ve organized our tips into four simple steps to get students started on their application process, with downloadable resources for students, parents, and educators.

The Texas Success Initiative Assessments (TSIA) are part of the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) program designed to help a student's college or university determine if the student is ready for college-level coursework in reading, writing, and mathematics. Let us explain when and why to take the exam!

The fall is PSAT season, which means students have questions about the National Merit Scholarship. Often, students don’t fully understand why the PSAT is important, except as a practice for the SAT. We've created simple graphics that can help you guide your students.

In October, many college counselors and advisers are heads-down focused on helping students with FAFSA and TASFA applications. However, did you know students and families may qualify for additional financial aid through the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE application? This application is used by 300+ colleges and scholarship providers and, like the SAT, is administered by the College Board.

The various college application systems each have unique characteristics that that can make it hard for even the most seasoned counselor to quickly and easily remember specific details. Fortunately, Texas OnCourse has put together a one page resource you can hang in your classroom to make it easy to remember.

Texas OnCourse administered a survey to K-12 counselors and advisers throughout Texas to better understand the state of college and career advising. Feedback from school counselors is crucial to maximizing the impact of our counseling and advising resources. Texas OnCourse is committed to using the data supplied in this survey to maximize the services we provide to our community.

Students often ask themselves, do I take the SAT or the ACT? We do recommend that students take full length practice tests of both, or even take both tests (both offer fee waivers!) - but included here is a chart detailing the similarities and differences between the two major college exams.

If Texas colleges want to boost attainment and college completion rates, we need a clear picture of how students are actually applying to college. This inaugural Texas OnCourse Data Note investigates how university application rates vary according to race and ethnicity.