College and Careers
Contact Mrs. Plankenhorn
Career Room open for walk-ins
6:45-7:05 a.m.
2:00-2:30 p.m.
during lunches or make appointment
Scholarships
FastWeb
Other Scholarship Websites:
Tips to be successful at WINNING scholarships:
- Organize yourself. Create a folder system that works for you including:
- 1.Scholarship Bulletins
- 2.Academic Resume
- 3.10 copies of Letter of Recommendation from 3 people
- 4.5 copies of your official Transcript
- 5.2 or 3 copies of a personal Essay
- Dont forget that after school jobs, babysitting, church life, family obligations, and other similar things are all considered "EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES" Don't sell yourself short!
- Begin Early
- Write a good essay. Your essay should be "your story" and not simply your academic resume in sentence form. For many scholarships, the essay can be the determining factor for who wins. Visit the Career Room to learn how to write one good essay that can be used over and over again.
Community Service
Click here for the Polk County School Board community service pageForms
College Entrance Exams
Comparing the SAT, ACT, and CPT:
SAT | ACT | CPT |
|
| What is it? | A measure of the critical thinking skills. The SAT assesses how well you analyze and solve problems. Each section of the SAT is scored on a scale of 200-800, with two writing subscores for multiple-choice and the essay. Includes a Critical Reading, Math and Writing Section. | Designed to assess students' general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work. The multiple-choice tests cover four skill areas: English, mathematics, reading, and science. The optional Writing Test is a 30-minute essay test that measures students' writing skills in English. Each section is scored out of a maximum 36 points, and then averaged | Determines what level you are on in the areas of Math, Reading, and Sentence Skills. How you score determines what level classes you will begin at a community college. It also determines if a student is eligible for Dual-Enrollment. |
| Who accepts it? | Most 2 & 4 year colleges and universities | Most 2 & 4 year colleges and universities | All community colleges require it |
| How much does it cost? | Regular Registration- $41.50 Late Registration- $63.00 Stand-by Registration- $78.00 | Regular Registration- $29.00 Late Registration- $48 Stand-by Registration- $68 | No Fee |
| Is there a fee waiver? | Yes. Students that are eligible for free or reduced lunch can receive up to 2 fee waivers. A student who uses this fee waiver, can also receive up to 4 fee waivers for college applications. | Yes. Students that are eligible for free or reduced lunch can receive 2 fee waivers. The student must be in 11th or 12th grade. | No. There is no fee. |
| Where is it given? | RCHS does not offer SAT testing at this time, but most of our students test at Winter Haven High School or Osceola High School in Kissimmee | RCHS does not offer ACT testing at this time, but most of our students test at Polk Community College in Winter Haven | Ridge Community High School Career Room or at the Community College |
| How do you register? | Pick up a registration packet from the Career Room, or online at www.collegeboard.com | Pick up a registration packet from the Career Room, or online at www.actstudent.org | Sign up in the Career Room |
| What are the test dates and deadlines? | See Table Below | See Table Below | September 19, 2007 October 3, 2007 November 7, 2007 December 5, 2007 |
| Where can I find study guides? |
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| What scores do I need for college admissions? | Although it is totally subjective and each college is different, the Florida universities have supplied the following MEDIAN scores:FAMU n/a FAU - 980-1130 FGCU- 960-1110 FIU- 1080-1240 FSU- Fall 1140-1280; Summer 1040-1180 NCF- 1260-1420 UCF- 1120-1270 UF- 1220-1390 UNF- 1070-1230 USF- 1060-1220 UWF- 1000-1190 | Although it is totally subjective and each college is different, the Florida universities have supplied the following MEDIAN scores:FAMU- n/a FAU- 20-24 FGCU- 20-24 FIU- 23-26 FSU- Fall 25-28; Summer 22-25 NCF- 27-31 UCF- 23-28 UF- 25-31 UNF- 20.50-23.75 USF- 22-27 UWF- 21-26 | Community College only:Reading: 83 Sentence Skills: 83 Elementary Algebra: 72 |
| What scores do I need for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program? | Florida Academic Scholar (100 % Tuition): 1270Florida Medallion Scholar (100% Tuition @ Community College; 75% Tuition @ other institutions): 970 Florida Gold Seal Vocational (75% Tuition): Critical Reading: 440 Math: 440 | Florida Academic Scholar (100 % Tuition): 28Florida Medallion Scholar (100% Tuition @ Community College; 75% Tuition @ other institutions): 20 Florida Gold Seal Vocational (75% Tuition): English: 17; Reading: 18; Math: 19 | Florida Gold Seal Vocational (75% Tuition): Reading: 83; Sentence Skills: 83; Algebra: 72 |
| What scores do I need for admission to a Florida public university if I do not have a 3.0 GPA? | 2.9 GPA 9702.8 GPA 980 2.7 GPA 990 2.6 GPA 1000 2.5 GPA 1010 2.4 GPA 1030 2.3 GPA 1060 2.2 GPA 1090 2.1 GPA 1110 2.0 GPA 1140 | 2.9 GPA 202.8 GPA 21 2.7 GPA 21 2.6 GPA 21 2.5 GPA 21 2.4 GPA 22 2.3 GPA 23 2.2 GPA 24 2.1 GPA 24 2.0 GPA 25 | N/A |
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Test Date | Registration Deadline | Late Registration Dealine |
N/A | N/A | N/A |
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Test Date | Registration Deadline | Late Registration Dealine |
N/A | N/A | N/A |
Resources
The following are Web resources separated in categories for College Info, Testing Info, and Financial Aid and Scholarship Info.
College Information
www.princetonreview.com/college
Testing Information
For SAT...www.collegeboard.com
For ACT...www.act.org
