February 11, 2022

The Loudoun YAC (Youth Advisory Council) is a student-led organization that focuses on planning and implementing special events throughout the county.

The Creative Committee is hosting a website design contest for high school students in Loudoun County. Students will create a website that educates on a subject that they like, whether it be STEM or humanities-oriented. They will not be required to make the website from scratch using coding, but STEM websites will receive extra credit for doing so.

All website submissions will be due on March 14th, and participants will present their website at the PRCS building on March 19th. Prizes will be awarded to the top two finishers in the STEM and humanities categories and include domain names for the student’s website. A rubric is linked below along with a flyer. If your students are interested in participating in this contest, please have them fill out this interest form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd5mGdbGuThiK07prMSbECzzg5GfZtZaQWr2oada0Uk3fDTrw/viewform

to receive updates regarding deadlines and submission procedures.

Are you not sure what your post-secondary plans are after high school? Are you thinking about NOVA but don't know where to start? Do you want to apply to NOVA and want some hands on help with your application? Well today is your lucky day!!! Please fill our this form (or stop by the Career Center on your way to lunch). Our NOVA rep will be here March 8th, during 2nd and 3rd block. SIGN UP TODAY!!! DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS OPPORTUNITY! Juniors (rising Seniors) are also welcome.

Click here for listings !!!

All of our fairs will feature MatchMaking! At the time of registration, students will select the attributes that are most important to them in a college. They will then receive an email that best matches them to the specific colleges and universities based on the criteria they provided. Students will then reference this email on the day of the fair to connect with their best-fits! Make sure to encourage your students to register early so they can take advantage of this great new feature.

In-Person National College Fairs
​​​​NACAC is offering a limited series of in-person National College Fairs this spring. If you live in California, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey or Pennsylvania, we are coming to a city near you. If your state isn’t on this list, we may be headed your way this fall!

Virtual College Fairs
We are excited to be launching a whole new platform in 2022! The new NACAC Virtual College Fairs are a great opportunity to connect with colleges and pursue your college dreams. Have a quick video chat with a rep, drop in on a virtual presentation, send a question through chat - make a connection YOUR way!

Go now and check out a video on how it all works!

We look forward to seeing you and your students at an upcoming college fair soon!

Best wishes,
NACAC College Fairs Team

For additional information and times visit www.nacacattend.org/fairs

Our military recruiters are visiting JCH during our lunchtime hours. Here is the schedule that is available thru April 2022:

Marines: March 14th, April 4th

Army: March 9th, April - no visit

Navy: March 21st, April 18th

Army National Guard: March 10th, April 2nd

US Air Force: February 24th

• Marine NROTC and other scholarships: Click here to learn more about them!
• Marine Military Bands - interested is what it takes to be in the Marine Military Band? Click here for more information.

If you are interested in either of these opportunities with the Marines (juniors and seniors welcome), please email Karen.King@lcps.org so I can make arrangements with the Marine recruiter for a visit in the career center to answer your more specific questions.

January 6, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RICHMOND — Today the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) launched the Virginia Alternative State Aid (VASA) Application and related web portal at www.VASAapp.org. With this application, Virginia students who are ineligible to complete the federal FAFSA form, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and undocumented students, now have a way to access state financial aid to help pay for college. Virginia need-based aid relies on a calculation of a family’s ability to pay. Historically this was accomplished using the federal FAFSA, which produced the Expected Family Contribution or EFC; however, many of these students were ineligible to complete the FAFSA because they are not a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.

Interested students should work with their college admissions and/or domicile officers to determine whether they meet the Commonwealth’s domicile or tuition equity requirements. Students would then complete the VASA application so that the institution’s financial aid office can determine eligibility for state need-based aid.

The VASA application came about as a result of the 2021 legislative session, which expanded prior legislation to allow certain previously ineligible students to have access to state financial aid programs beginning in 2022-23. This legislation is one of the signature pieces of education legislation for the Northam administration and was patroned by Delegate Lopez and Senator Boysko.

According to Virginia’s Secretary of Education, Fran Bradford, “The outcome of this legislation is a new tool for obtaining state aid, the benefits of which will reach previously marginalized students far and wide across Virginia. It’s the right solution at the right time, one that makes the dream of attending college a reality for many."

Said SCHEV Director, Peter Blake, “We are proud to offer this alternative resource for state financial aid for non-citizen Virginia residents. The VASA Application not only supports previously ineligible students, but also supports the statewide strategic plan’s goals of making college access more equitable and affordable for all Virginia students.

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Media resources including news advisories, logos and releases are available at www.schev.edu/media.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia is the state’s coordinating agency for higher education. With Pathways to Opportunity: The Virginia Plan for Higher Education, SCHEV is dedicated to making Virginia the best state for education by 2030. For more on this statewide strategic plan, visit schev.edu/TheVirginiaPlan.

There is still time to apply for FAFSA. CLICK HERE FOR THE FAFSA LINK TO GET STARTED !!! If you start this weekend and get stuck, there is a side bar "chat" live while you are in FAFSA where someone can help you.

Click here for the list. This is a great resource as you can sort by 4-year public or private, 2-year community college, trade/career, by program, HBCU, Hispanic-Serving institutions, and much, much more.

Email: Karen.King@LCPS.org
Website: www.LCPS.org
Location: 41535 Sacred Mountain Street, Aldie, VA, USA
Phone: 703-722-2680