TexasCollegeandCareer.org

Texas College & Career — a one-stop, no-cost college and career planning resource site for all Texas secondary students, parents, and educators — believes in empowering our students by providing comprehensive college and career planning tools for our young people in Texas. With TexasCollegeandCareer.org, students can plan and complete all of the necessary steps for college and career planning all in one place.

Parents and guardians, mentors, school counselors and educators can also create their own account to get information, link to students and assist in guiding the planning for life post high school. 

Some of the outstanding features:

• Create a student resume
• Explore career possibilities - Do you know that there are more than 1,100 career profiles that may match a student's interests in Texas College & Career?
• Build a list of schools that are aligned with your interests
• Find information on 4,500+ two and four-year accredited institutions, nationally
• Use the college match feature to narrow down your college lists to meet your specific goals, such as location, majors and programs, academic performance, personal interests, costs, and more
• Use free test prep tutorials and sample tests for SAT and ACT
• Manage and track college applications online, including essays, letters of recommendation, and test scores
• Track cost information on your specific schools of interest
• Find information on more than 5,700 scholarships

Texas Success Initiative - What you need to know.

Students attending Texas public institutions of higher education must be in compliance with the Texas Success Initiative (TSI), as of fall 2003 (Texas Education Code §51.3062) in order to enroll in public institutions of higher education.

The law requires all entering college students to be assessed for college readiness in reading, mathematics and writing unless the student qualifies for an exemption.

Each student who fails to meet the minimum passing standard of the exam offered by the institution must be placed in a developmental education program designed to help the student achieve college readiness.

Texas Success Initiative Exemptions
A student may be exempt from meeting Texas Success Initiative standards by meeting one of the following standards:

• ACT Composite score of 23 or higher with at least a 19 on both English and math sections
• SAT Combined verbaland math score of 1070 with a minimum of 500 on both the verbal test and math test
• TAKS Minimum score of 2200 on both the English and/or math sections with at least a 3 on the writing component of the 11thgrade TAKS (for a period of 3 years from the date of testing)

For a complete list of TSI exemptions, see Texas Education Code, §51.3062(r) and Coordinating Board rules, §4.54 .

Effective AY 2013-2014, those students who are not exempt will begin taking one TSI, the Texas Success Initiative Test.

COMPASS, THEA and ACCUPLACER will no longer be utilized. The new TSI requirements are to be implemented on the institution's first day AY 2013-2014.  

Check out the College Board Southwest Forum' Power Point to learn more about the changes.

Secrets to College SAVINGS

-- Article by Maria Masters and Greg Mably Family Circle, March 2013 issue College Saving Secrets

These days, it's probably a toss-up who's more nervous about college: you or your child.

Graduates leave school with an average of $26,600 in debt -- but you don't have to leverage your 401(k) if you want to contribute. All it takes is a little planning and help from your teen to cut costs and minimize loan payments. Do Prep Work Assess your retirement savings. Invest in yourself first: Start putting money into a 401(k) or Roth IRA before contributing to your child's college bills. "You can't take out a loan for your retirement," says Carol Stack, coauthor of The Financial Aid Handbook. "And you don't want to end up relying on your kids to support you."

Use an online calculator like the one at troweprice.com/ric to find out how much you should be setting aside each month. By keeping your savings goals on track, you may have more leeway to fund your child's education. Discuss your contribution. It's not easy to talk about finances with your children, says Stack, but if your teen is counting on you to help pay for school, she has to know whether and how much you plan to give each year. Read more...

B-On-Time Loan Program

The Texas B-On-Time (BOT) Loan Program provides zero-interest loans to Texas undergraduate students. Since the program is designed to encourage Texas students to be on time for graduation while meeting high academic standards, the loan can be converted to a grant for student borrowers who finish their degrees or certificates with at least a 3.0 average.

Now, Adventures In Education (AIE) is providing a more detailed brochure for anyone interested in applying for a BOT loan. The brochure answers a wide range of questions related to the loan, on subjects such as:

• Applying for the loan
• Maintaining eligibility
• Forgiveness requirements
• Loan amount and disbursement
• How repayment works

Want to know more about the BOT Loan Program?
Click here to download an informational brochure.

Get a head start with Dual Credit!

Did you know you can earn college credit while in high school?

Dual Credit can save you time, money and stress. How does it work?  SBISD and our partner college have a specific program for Dual Credit. Your college credit is held until you complete all of the high school classes required.  If you are in grades 11 or 12 you can register, pay out-of-district tuition and fees, and once your courses are completed successfully, you receive your college hours.

For information and details about Dual Credit, talk to your teacher or contact the SBISD Career and Technical Education Program.  Click here for more information.

 

When should I look for an internship?

The answer to this question is now. It’s important to allow enough time to locate and apply for good internships. For internships in finance, government, publishing, etc., many of the deadlines to apply for summer internships can be as early as November.

Internships are becoming more popular for students still in high school...so competition for the best spots can be high.

Students who start interning early can complete several different internships during their high school and college experience, which provide a portfolio of work for the intern making them more appealing to the future employer.

Resource: Internships.com

Internships 101: Is it important and why?

Internships are work-related learning experiences that provide students with an opportunity to gain important knowledge and skills in a specific career field.

As a career builder, internships are a chance to gain exposure to career fields of interest without making a permanent commitment.

Ask yourself...would you buy a pair of shoes without trying them on?  No!  So, why would you follow a college plan for a career you don't have first-hand experience in?  Internships are a great way to get that experience before you start taking college classes.

There are many resources available for finding an internship.  Many organizations or businesses use internships as a way to assess and train potential candidates for jobs. Internships are an excellent way to gain experience and try out one or more careers.  Internships let you see what it’s actually like working in a specific field.

Like chips you can't just have one!  Students will often do several internships to give them exposure to a variety of related jobs or even to check out various careers of interest. If you are interested in finding an internship, talk to your teacher, college mentor or campus guidance counselor.  SBISD offers a number of internship opportunities for interested students and one of the best places to start is the SBISD Career and Technical Education (CTE) Program.