Students invited to attend college planning session
Getting to college can be tough — so better to start early.
All students, from elementary to high school, and their parents are encouraged to attend the Brownsville Independent School District’s first- ever College Planning 101 session this evening.
The event will take place in the auditorium of the district’s Central Administration Building and is held in partnership with the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College LRGV P-16 Council.
Education officials will go over the steps students at each level need to take to get to college.
They will cover the dizzying process of applications, exams and searching for funding — and also teach parents and students the important acronyms they need to know, such as FAFSA, SAT and ACT, said Pilar Janis, higher education counselor for the school district’s guidance and counseling department.
"We want (parents and students) to get thinking about college already, to know what the value of college is," she said. "We want to get the message of hope that there will be funding available for college —even to the little ones."
About 95 percent of BISD students are considered economically disadvantaged, which means that they all qualify for financial aid, Janis said.
In the Valley, one of the most common obstacles students face is raising the money to go to a school of higher education. And many times that is because they do not know what opportunities are available to them, said Stephen Rosales, assistant dean of the College of Education at UTB-TSC.
"There are a lot of resources out there. It is just matter of taking the time to sift through them and to apply," Rosales said. "The forms can be extensive and quite lengthy."
This evening, parents and students about to take on the process, or already going through it, will have a chance to receive help with applications and have questions answered. Education officials are also working to have a computer lab available in the building for parents seeking online help, Rosales said.
"It will be like a one-stop shop for information," he said.
