College Counseling

Naviance Student Website

Naviance Student is designed to help all parents and students with the college application process. Students and parents can track and analyze data about college and career decisions, research colleges and scholarships and even sign up for college visits here at Saint Thomas Aquinas High School. All transcripts for college applications are requested through this site by students and are transmitted electronically. This program provides a great enhancement to the College Counseling office.
 
Each parent and student initially receives a unique registration code for Naviance Student to establish a username and password for all future log ins to the site. Parents typically receive this code at the beginning of their student's junior year. Students generally receive their code in their first computer class at Aquinas.

 If you have any questions, please contact Janey Stephens at 913-319-2477 jstephens@stasaints.net

Faculty Naviance Log-in

Naviance Toolbox

Need Based Financial Aid

• Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) - https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa.
  • Completed during a students senior year (Available Oct. 1)
  • Determines federal loan, pell grant and work study programs
  • Questions, call 1-800-4-FED-AID
  • There is no fee for completing the FAFSA
• CSS Profile - https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/
  • Required by some, not all colleges. Only submit and complete if required by your college
  • There is a fee to complete the CSS Profile
• Questions? Financial Aid is individual and unique to each institution. All questions should be directed to the College/University Financial Aid office where you have applied.

TO APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP, Students MUST Complete the Scholarship and Special Program Request Form. Click Here for form. 

• All forms must be completed a minimum of three weeks prior to the programs deadline. A failure to adhere to these deadlines prohibits Saint Thomas Aquinas Faculty and staff from being able to guarantee that your documents will arrive by program deadline.

 Scholarships

• The majority of your scholarships will come directly from the institutions you are applying to. Visit the Institutions Scholarship & Financial Aid Page for scholarship details.
• Click Here for the Kansas Post Secondary Institutions Admission & Financial Aid Guide.
• NAVIANCE Scholarship List: All Johnson County, KC Metro, Kansas & National Scholarships that are sent to the College Counseling office are posted under the Scholarship List in NAVIANCE
• The majority of scholarships are now linked to scholarship agencies or scholarship search engines - See table below for some of the most popular scholarship agencies.

 Scholarship Links & Search Engines

• www.finaid.org
• www.fastweb.com
• www.goingmerry.com
• Fastweb – Community Service
• Greater KC Community Foundation
• Kansas Board of Regents
• www.scholarshipexperts.com
• www.cappex.com
• https://www.catholiccollegesonline.org/students-parents/financial-aid/scholarships.html
• https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search#
• www.scholarshipamerica.org
• https://jlvcollegecounseling.com/scholarships/scholarships-by-major/
• https://gkccf.academicworks.com/
• https://swe.org/scholarships/

Corporate Scholarships (These are just a few examples, there are many more)

• Target – www.target.com
• Toyota – tfsinthecommunity.com/mle-scholarships/
• Tylenol – www.tylenol.com/news/scholarship
• Walmart – giving.walmart.com/foundation
• Coca-Cola – www.coca-colascholars.org
• Papa Johns – thepef.academicworks.com/opportunities/3690
• Prudential – spirit.prudential.com
• HyVee - https://www.hy-vee.com/corporate/our-company/community/scholarships/

Other Places to Research for Scholarship

• Parent Employer/Professional Organizations
• Civic Organizations
• Community Foundations
• Associations/Foundations related to any special circumstances
• Church & Religious Organizations
• Associations related to intended area of study
• Competitions related to your interests
• Demographic Scholarships

COMPASS WRITING: COLLEGE APPLICATION WORKSHOP

TWO AVAILABLE SESSIONS (Limited to twelve students per session.) 

• Session One: July 8-11, 9:30 A.M to 12:00 P.M. 
• Session Two: July 15-18, 12:30 P.M. to 3:00 P.M.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: In this four-day course, students will work under the guidance of an experienced English teacher to create, revise, and polish two essays (application and/or scholarship). The instructor will help students narrow their topics, teach them how to craft effective introductions, and offer several sample essays for review. Time will also be devoted to building a résumé; students will use their résumé when requesting letters of recommendation or applying for either internships or jobs. In the final session, students will conduct mock interviews and formulate ways to be prepared to address topics and present themselves. Regardless of the focus, all our essays, etc. will be the students’ original work. It is important for attendees to develop their own voice and genuine material.

COST: $250
Payments should be made out to Andrew Lee and sent to Andrew Lee C/O Saint Thomas Aquinas.

TO ENROLL: Contact Andrew Lee at alee@stasaints.net. Please include the student’s name and e-mail address as well as contact information for a parent/guardian.

Those who enroll should be prepared to write, both in class and out of class, to revise extensively at home, and to share their writings with others in class. One week before the course begins, the instructor will e-mail information to enrolled students about the following: finding potential essay topics; instructions about what to do before our first class; and what to bring to the first day of class.

More information may be found HERE.

These events are for Saint Thomas Aquinas High School seniors, only.

Test Optional Admissions policies are not new to College Admission. Many colleges and universities have offered a test optional admission option for decades. Due to COVID-19 and the closing of many test sites, throughout the US, Colleges and Universities have revisited their college entrance exam requirements, implementing test optional policies, either temporarily (for Fall 2021 admissions) or permanently. 

FairTest.org has a comprehensive list of Test Optional Colleges and Universities. It is important that you review the test optional policy for the Colleges and Universities that you are planning to apply to. Every institutions requirements vary.

READ THE FINE PRINT: Some colleges are test optional for admission, but require testing for special programs and scholarships.

CLICK HERE FOR A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EACH OF THESE POLICIES