Guidance

The Guidance Department at Bishop Verot serves as an important part of your child's educational development. Counselors are available to assist students with academic and personal needs as well as career and college planning. Counselors provide both the parent and student with assistance on course selections, standardized testing, college planning, financial aid, scholarships, and school-related issues as well as help foster the personal and emotional well being of all students. Remember, the Guidance Department's role is to support you, and our ultimate goal is to help make your high school experience more meaningful and enjoyable!

Ms. Maria Barbato
Director of Guidance
Counselor Grades 11-12
maria.barbato@bvhs.org
(239) 274-6734

Mrs. Deanna Breen
Counselor Grades 9-10
deanna.breen@bvhs.org
(239) 274-6735

Mrs. Kim Murphy
Registrar/Student Services Asst.
kim.murphy@bvhs.org
(239) 274-6791

FAX: (239) 274-6795

Senior Profile ~ Class of 2015

99% matriculated to college
Earned $11.9 million in Scholarship offers
72% qualified for a Scholarship, including Bright Futures
1 National Merit Finalist; 3 Commended Students
3 National Hispanic Scholars; 1 Achievement Scholar
Approximately 40,000 Service Hours completed each of their 4 years
13 Student-Athletes signed a Letter of Intent and/or received a scholarship (4 Division I)

To view the Class of 2015 Graduation Program, please click here.

Class of 2015 Matriculation & Acceptances
Class of 2014 Matriculation & Acceptances
Class of 2013 Matriculation & Acceptances

Naviance Family Connection

Bishop Verot Catholic High School is pleased to introduce Family Connection - a state-of-the-art system that students & parents can use to make plans about colleges and careers. Family Connection is linked with Naviance, a service we use in the Guidance Office to track and analyze data about college and career plans, so it provides up-to-date information that's specific to Bishop Verot. This system also allows us to process application requests, such as transcripts and letters of recommendation!

Family Connection will allow students to:

Get involved in the planning and advising process - Build a resume, complete on-line surveys, and manage timelines and deadlines for making decisions about colleges and careers.
Research colleges - Compare GPA, standardized test scores, and other statistics to actual historical data from BVHS for students who have applied and been admitted in the past.
Research careers – Research hundreds of careers and career clusters, and take career assessments.
Sign up for college visits - Find out which colleges are visiting BVHS and sign up to attend those sessions.
Search for local & national scholarships - Apply for scholarships posted by BV and search for scholarships using a national database.
Create plans for the future – Create goals and to-dos, and complete tasks assigned by the Guidance Department to better prepare for future college and career goals.

Family Connection also makes it easy to share information about upcoming meetings and events and other Web resources for college and career information. Students can also use the site to send BV counselors and college admission representatives an e-mail message.

Click here to view all that Naviance has to offer!!

To Access Naviance

1. Go to Bishop Verot Catholic High School's Family Connection site at http://connection.naviance.com/bishopverot.

2. To log in:

For all grades (9-12), log in by entering your firstname.lastname as your username (you do NOT need to enter your entire email address) & your BVHS school assigned password.
Parents can obtain their own username and password but must receive a registration code from Guidance initially to log in (we will be providing these at a later date).

3. Once you log in, look over your profile and contact Guidance if any corrections are needed.

4. If you have trouble logging in, please email maria.barbato@bvhs.org and provide student's name and ID number.

A student's personal profile and statistics are confidential and are only accessible to the student, parents, and counselors.

College Information

WELCOME to College Counseling at Bishop Verot Catholic High School. College counseling is an important aspect of the guidance services offered at Bishop Verot. The purpose of college counseling is to encourage students to prepare early for college admission and to consider a variety of colleges. Our college counseling office, with two full-time counselors, is committed to providing the highest possible level of support to aid in the successful completion of the college planning, application, and admissions process.

Bishop Verot High School Code: 100508

Weekly Scholarship Update (posted 1/21/16)

State of Florida - University Admissions Standards

The State of Florida has implemented minimum admission standards for freshman applicants to all Florida state universities. In order to be considered, students

must have a minimum 2.5 recalculated Core GPA on a 4.0 scale and meet minimum test score requirements (460 SAT Critical Reading, 460 SAT Math, 440 SAT

Writing; OR 19 ACT Reading, 19 ACT Math, 18 ACT English/Writing). Please keep in mind that these standards only outline potential eligibility for admission to a

state university. Each university will also have their own standards that must be met, which typically would be higher than the minimum standards outlined above!

2015 SUS (State University System) Admission Matrix (FL)

COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY WEBSITE LINKS:

FLORIDA SCHOOLS:

Public Universities

Community/State Colleges

Private Colleges & Universities

Vocational/Techincal Schools

OTHER COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY LINKS:

CATHOLIC Colleges & Universities

Ivy League Universities

Yahoo Search for Out of State schools

United States Military Academies ROTC Programs (Reserve Officers' Training Corps)

College Comparison Chart

Many of these are PDF Files. Acrobat Reader is available here.

Financial Aid & Scholarships

College Financial Aid & Scholarship Resources:

The Bishop Verot Catholic High School counseling staff is available to help our Verot families with the college financial aid & scholarship process. This includes answering financial aid questions and assisting families with FAFSA or CSS profile-related questions. The counseling office will also offer a financial aid workshop for parents of seniors and hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity. Please feel free to contact Ms. Barbato at maria.barbato@bvhs.org or Mrs. Deanna Breen at deanna.breen@bvhs.org for more information.

How does it work?

Colleges and universities have special counselors who deal with financial aid. The office of financial aid calculates your expected family contribution (EFC) based primarily on tax information from the previous year, as determined by the FAFSA, CSS Profile (required by almost 400 colleges & scholarship programs), and institutional forms (when requested). The college then prepares a package to meet the difference between your expected family contribution and the actual cost of attending. This package could include loans, work study, and grants. Loans need to be paid back, although federal loans tend to have a much lower interest rate than private loans from the bank. Federal loans are based on financial need, while private loans are based on the borrower's credit. Grants are similar to scholarships - the money is applied to your tuition without repayment.

Pay attention to individual school requirements when gathering applications. Indicate that you are applying for financial aid if given the opportunity on college applications.

Types of Financial Aid:

Federal Financial Aid

We encourage all families, regardless of financial history, to complete the the Free Application for Federal Student Aid - FAFSA - when it becomes available on January 1st.
Many schools will not offer scholarships or work study unless the FAFSA has been filed. You will also not be eligible for need-based financial aid unless this form is filled out. The online Application will be available to seniors sometime in the late fall and should be submitted as soon on or after JAN. 1st as possible. Applications for Florida students must be received by May 15th of your senior year; however, submitting the FAFSA no later than Feb. 15 is recommended to maximize your chance of receiving aid.

The form is based on the previous year's taxes and W2s, so parents will need to prepare taxes early. A FAFSA worksheet is available on the FAFSA website. This is NOT the actual application; rather, the worksheet helps gather information before you apply using the FAFSA website. (Note: in order to be evaluated for summer term financial aid for your child’s first semester of college, the current year’s FAFSA should be completed this fall, which will allow you to update your child’s FAFSA for fall consideration on Jan. 1!)

FAFSA4caster is an online tool that helps students and parents determine their current eligibility for federal student aid. Juniors especially should check out www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov to learn how much aid they would receive if they applied today.

State Financial Aid

The state of Florida has its own financial aid application which is used to determine eligibility for a Bright Futures Scholarship and several additional state grant opportunities. All seniors should complete the Initial Student Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) when it becomes available in December.

School-Specific Financial Aid

Colleges use the FAFSA as the first step in determining financial need. Many schools also require the CSS Profile (prepared by the College Board) or their own school-specific financial aid application to gather more information. You'll need to pay close attention to each school's requirements, which are usually available on their application for admission or on their school website. In general, schools requiring the CSS Profile will ask for the form in the fall, before the student has been admitted (usually November), however the general rule-of-thumb is to submit it at least two weeks before the earliest college or scholarship priority filing date you need to meet. School-specific forms often come with acceptance letters to admitted students only. Students should be sure to indicate they are applying for financial aid if they have the opportunity on their college application. This indication will prompt the admissions office to forward necessary forms.

A note on Early Decision and Financial Aid:

Several high-profile colleges have recently dropped their early decision programs under the explanation that the process has an unfair bias against those who will require financial aid. An early decision application is BINDING - you are committing to that school, regardless of your financial aid package. If financial aid is a concern, it is advisable to apply under non-binding early action or regular decision plans so that you can compare financial aid packages before committing to a college.

SCHOLARSHIP & GRANTS

Scholarships and grants do not need to be repaid - a big plus! Students should be proactive in the search for "free money." It pays off down the road. Scholarship information is available and updated by our Guidance staff on a weekly basis. Counselors are available to assist students with this process, however, It is up to each individual student to research and apply for scholarships!! An updated scholarship list will posted each week via our Naviance & Guidance websites.

The BVHS "WEEKLY SCHOLARSHIP UPDATE" ~ Links to the scholarships that are posted by Guidance.

We strongly encourage all scholarship applications and supporting materials to be submitted through the Guidance Department!

Financial Aid Information on the Web:

Free Scholarship Information on the Web:

Seniors attending private institutions in Florida

Seniors attending private institutions in Florida may be eligible to receive the Florida Resident Access Grant (FRAG); a program that provides tuition assistance to Florida undergraduate students attending an eligible private, non-profit Florida college or university. FRAG is a decentralized state of Florida program, which means that each participating institution determines application procedures, deadlines, and student eligibility. Applications may be obtained at the financial aid offices of eligible Florida colleges and universities and students must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), complete and error free.

College Athletics (NCAA & NAIA Eligibility)

NCAA Clearinghouse
EligibilityCenter.org is the official clearinghouse for NCAA Division I and II eligibility. This site contains guidelines relating to recruiting, eligibility, financial aid and college freshman eligibility requirements for NCAA Division I and II schools. All prospective athletes MUST complete the registration process through NCAA Clearinghouse in order to be eligible for recruitment.

NCAA Quick Reference Sheet

The initial-eligibility standards for NCAA Division I student-athletes are changing for the Class of 2016 and beyond. The NCAA has asked for our help in getting the word out to high school counselors and coaches across the country. Student-athletes entering a Division I college or university after August 1, 2016 (this year's Senior Class), need to meet these new standards in order to practice, compete and receive aid in their first year of college.

Some of the changes include:
•   Student must have a 2.3 in NCAA core courses to compete
•   Student must have a 2.0 in NCAA core courses to receive scholarships and/or practice
•   Student will not be allowed to re-take classes in senior year to improve their GPA
•   Changes to core class and test score requirements

2point3.org site for further details

NAIA Eligibility center
PlayNAIA.org is the official clearinghouse for NAIA eligibility. Every student-athlete must register with the NAIA eligibility center to play sports at an NAIA college. The eligibility center is also a powerful tool to help athletes connect with coaches and NAIA schools - and find money for college through thousands of NAIA athletic scholarships.

STUDENT-ATHLETES THAT REGISTER ON THESE SITES MUST:
1) Have an official transcript sent to the clearinghouse using Naviance
2) Send your test scores directly from the test center to the clearinghouse

Career Exploration

CAREER PLANNING
According to recent statistics, it now takes the majority of students approximately 6.2 years to finish a 4 year college program. Switching majors and schools is a big reason for this, not to mention, expensive! The more you can narrow down your career/major now, the better. Career selection is a continuous process. Engaging in a study of careers takes time. It is important, however, to begin the process early on in high school. Discuss your interests and questions with your school counselor to gain insight and information.

How to decide on a career

Refer to the results of the Naviance Career Assessments you took sophomore year
Use the career links below to take additional interest inventories, research careers, learn about possible majors, etc.
Converse with people employed in various careers and jobs and see about Shadowing.
Examine your values in respect to family, friends, society, money, responsibility, and education.
Ask yourself how you can best make positive contributions to society.
Don’t confuse what you do with who you are. What you choose to do is your decision. You will be successful as long as you live with self-respect and integrity.
Read papers; listen to the news.
Be sure to prepare a resume (this is required as a part of your Summer Assignment before senior year)!

America's Career Info Net
General job market trends, wages, & what it takes on your part in terms of knowledge, skills, and abilities

BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) Career Exploration Site
What do you like? Exploring Careers

UNCW's Career Services - What Can I Do With A Major In?
Click on career for a general description about the field

College Board's Career Browser
Browse specific jobs and learn about working conditions, job forecasts, related professions, ans what you can be doing right now to reach your goals

College View's Career Center
You will find all the info & help you need to jumpstart your career

Futures
Money matters, military opportunities, beyond high school and more

MyMajors
Provides useful advice on college and university majors

Occupational Outlook Handbook
Department of Labor publication; standard source of information on specific occupations; best site for exploring everything you need to know about a career

O*NET Online
Making occupational information interactive and accessible for all

The Fun Works
For careers you never knew existed!

Testing (ACT & SAT)

Bishop Verot Catholic High School Code: 100508

PSAT: Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Click HERE for more info on the PSAT

COLLEGE BOARD:

SAT & Subject Tests

For information regarding the College Board's SAT score choice and reporting please click HERE

SAT Test Dates 2015-16
Test Dates	Test	US Registration Deadlines
Test Dates	Test	Regular	Late
October 3, 2015	SAT & Subject Tests	Sept. 3, 2015	Sept. 22, 2015
November 7, 2015	SAT & Subject Tests	Oct. 9, 2015	Oct. 27, 2015
December 5, 2015	SAT & Subject Tests	Nov. 5, 2015	Nov. 23, 2015
January 23, 2016	SAT & Subject Tests	Dec. 28, 2015	Jan. 12, 2016
March 5, 2016 Redesigned SAT	SAT only	Feb. 5, 2016	Feb. 23, 2016
May 7, 2016 Redesigned SAT	SAT & Subject Tests	April 8, 2016	April 26, 2016
June 4, 2016 Redesigned SAT	SAT & Subject Tests	May 5, 2016	May 25, 2016

Link to SAT: www.collegeboard.org

SAT Skills Insight...
helps students to familiarize themselves with and practice for the SAT. By visiting www.collegeboard.org/satskillsinsight , students can access this online tool that categorizes the types of skills demonstrated within a particular score band and also provides suggestions for improvement.

ACT

2015-16 Test Dates	Registration Deadline	(Late Fee Required)
September 12, 2015	August 7, 2015	August 21, 2015
October 25, 2015	September 18, 2015	October 2, 2015
December 12, 2015	November 6, 2015	November 20, 2015
February 6, 2016	January 8, 2016	January 15, 2016
April 9, 2016	March 4, 2016	March 18, 2016
June 11, 2016	May 6, 2016	May 20, 2016

Link to ACT: www.act.org

Fair Test: The National Center for Fair and Open Testing
FairTest finds that nearly 850 four-year colleges do not use the SAT I or ACT to admit substantial numbers of bachelor degree applicants.

TEST PREP SITES:

Kaplan (PSAT/SAT)

March2Success.com

Number2.com (totally free SAT & ACT prep site)

Peterson's Test Prep

Princeton Review (PSAT/SAT)

SAT Prep Plan (free, extensive SAT preparation site)

Spark Notes test prep

Varsity Tutors (Free Practice Tests)

Dome SAT Review - Free Test Prep

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS - link to TOEFL