College Applications - Hurry

 The College Application process is underway and seniors should be applying. There are a lot of steps to navigate so it is important that the process get started.

Each school has different deadlines and requirements for needed items. Be sure to check with each school to verify that you have the correct information. November 1st is a deadline for several schools, so check these out soon!

If you have any questions or need to clear any confusion, please see your counselor as soon as possible. We will try our best to help with any questions regarding applications, common app, Naviance, or even FAFSA.

Seniors Going to College - How Far Along Are You?

We are now well into October. Any senior planning on going to college should be started with the process. If not, TODAY is the day to get started. Below is a checklist of things that should be done or at least underway by now.

• Investigate colleges and possible majors to find a good fit. (See your counselor if you are struggling with this step.)
• Visit colleges (It is important to see if a specific college is a good fit for you.)
• Apply to colleges (All applications can be found on the colleges' websites.)
• Complete FAFSA (Please complete ASAP. You do not want to lose out on money that will be gone if you wait. FAFSA is mandatory this year for graduation.)
• Start looking for scholarships (Check out Scholarship link to the right and the Off to College Guide for more links to great scholarship websites.)

Check out your account on Naviance.com to update your college page. This will help your counselor send out materials in a timely fashion.

IVC/ICC Spring Dual Credit Classes

IVC is partnering with ICC to give our juniors and seniors a chance at earning college credit at a discounted price. Classes available are:

-- ART 110 Art Appreciation

-- BUS 110 Intro to Business

-- COMM 110 Intro to Communication
-- ENGL 110 Composition I
-- ENGL 111 Composition II

-- HLTH 121 Medical Terminology
-- MATH 110 Concepts of Mathematics
-- MATH 111 General Statistics
-- PSY 110 Introduction to Psychology
-- SOC 110 An Introduction to Sociology

A detailed description of these classes can be found here. If you have any interest in taking any of these classes, all of which are held virtually, please email ldavis@ivcschools.com. The deadline to enroll is Tuesday, October 19th.

Senior Retreat Is Back!!

We are very excited about the return of the senior retreat. After a year off because of covid, the retreat has returned. The retreat will take place Nov. 3-6 at Eagle Crest Camp in Washburn.

Some info about the retreat...

-- The retreat is four days in length and nearly 100% led by a group of students who graduated last year.

-- This is the 31st retreat. Over 1,000 students have attended the retreat over the past sixteen years.

-- If a student would like to attend but cannot afford the retreat ($90), there are some partial and full scholarships available if the student comes to see one of the counselors.

Please see one of the counselors for a registration sheet. The sheets are due by October 22nd. See any counselor with questions.

Parents' Guide to Teen Depression

Teenagers face a host of pressures as they navigate their way through some tough years. With all this turmoil and uncertainty, it isn’t always easy to differentiate between normal teenage growing pains and depression. But teen depression goes beyond moodiness. It’s a serious health problem that impacts every aspect of a teen’s life. Fortunately, it’s treatable and parents can help. This article from helpguide.org is a fantastic resource for recognizing the signs and symptoms of depression and a list of ways to help your teen.

Click here for the article

Fire Science/EMS Career Day

This event is open to juniors (and sophomores), but limited to 10 students per school.

This career day encourages students to seek high-skilled, high-demand, high-wage careers in Fire Science and Emergency Medical Services. Students will rotate through the East Peoria fire station, training facility, and classrooms talking with firefighters and learning first-hand what a day in the life of a firefighter is really like. Learn what you can do to enter this noble profession!

Date: November 16th

Time: 8:30-11:30 a.m.

Where: East Peoria Firefighters' Training Facility

See Mr. Kosinski in Counseling Office if interested.

Avoid These Common FAFSA Errors

Mistakes can delay your application and limit the amount of aid you are eligible to receive. To avoid errors, carefully read all of the questions on the FAFSA. Some of the most common FAFSA errors are:

• Leaving blank fields. Enter a '0' or 'NA' instead
• Using decimal points. Round to the nearest dollar
• Listing an incorrect Social Security or driver's license number. Triple-check these
• Failing to use your legal name. Avoid nicknames
• Listing incorrect marital status or failing to include the appropriate parents. If custodial parent is re-married, you will need to include your step-parent's information
• Failing to count yourself as a student
• Failing to count an unborn child. Number in household is for the upcoming school year, so, for example, if your mom is pregnant, she is counted as '2' people
• Forgetting to list the colleges you have applied to. Make sure the schools receive your information!

A WONDERFUL service is offered to Illinois students through the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Our representative, Simone Bridgeforth, will schedule a meeting with parents and students who are filling out the FAFSA free of charge to answer any questions you may have. Contact your Guidance Counselor for more information.

Questions to Ask on a College Visit

One of the best ways to learn more about a college is to visit their campus. When you're visiting, it is to your advantage to slow down and ask several questions. While it is helpful to talk to the admission staff (individuals who are paid to talk up a school), it also very insightful to talk to students about what they like and don't like about their school (individuals who will give their honest opinion). 

Here is a list of questions to ask while on a campus visit:

$500 Up For Grabs to an IVC Student

One IVC student will walk away with $500 in this year's Voice of Democracy Contest sponsored by our local VFW. Students need to create a 3-5 minute oral essay. The competition is open to all IVC students. The winning submission from IVC will move on to the state competition. Last year's winner Reese Hankins finished 5th in State.

Topic: America: Where Do We Go From Here
Grades: 9-12
Top Prize: $500
Second Prize: $200
Due Date: October 31st
For more details: Entry forms may be picked up from any counselor, English teacher or social studies teacher.

Basically students will need to write an essay and then turn it to an audio file. It is actually quite simple. The teachers at the high school use many different programs to save audio. Students should ask their English teacher if they are unsure what program to use. The counselors have thumb drives available if needed.

Link to Application

FAFSA Opens Today!!

Today is the first day that families can fill out the FAFSA. For a list of steps to completing the FAFSA, check out this link.

Reminder that it is important to fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible. There is a limited amount of MAP grant money in Illinois. This is money that does NOT need to be repaid.

Filling out the FAFSA is also a graduation requirement, so be sure to get this done ASAP!