BRIDGE Activity for 12th Grade Students -
Identify Your Next Step / Celebrate "GA Apply to College"
We will complete our BRIDGE requirements as we observe NMHS Apply to College Day (11/21-22/18) during GA Apply to College Month. Thank you for celebrating GA Apply to College Day with us! Most seniors will participate during their senior math class.
For many seniors, this may be your first college application. We hope that this activity's side-by-side help from NMHS counselors as well as admissions staff from nearby colleges will make the process more smooth and less intimidating.
IDENTIFYING YOUR "NEXT STEPS"
APPLYING TO COLLEGE
Depending on the college you wish to apply to, you may commonly find their application in a couple of places:
If you are instead/additionally interested in joining a branch of US armed forces, you can request more information and/or express interest in speaking with a recruiter using the following links:
For many seniors, this may be your first college application. We hope that this activity's side-by-side help from NMHS counselors as well as admissions staff from nearby colleges will make the process more smooth and less intimidating.
IDENTIFYING YOUR "NEXT STEPS"
- Access the Georgia Career Information System (GCIS) by logging into your Infinite Campus Portal.
- Student account username: 5-digit student number/lunch number (e.g., 12345)
- For most students, your student account password format is: first initial + last initial + 6-digit birthdate (e.g., the password of John Smith with birthdate 1/15/1995 would be js011595)
- For students who are brand new to the district, your student account password format should be: last name + first initial + 6-digit birthdate (e.g., the pass word of Robin Hood with birthdate 1/15/1995 would be hoodr011595)
- Once logged into your IC Portal account, look on the lower left-hand menu for "More" and click it.
- On the More page, look to the right for the "SLDS Portal" link and click it.
- From your SLDS home page, click the tile for "My Career Plan."
- "My Career Plan" shows several steps for college and career planning, all of which are part of your BRIDGE Law activities from 6th through 12th grade. Today, we will use the "Next Steps" step on the far right--please click that step.
- Click the blue button "Choose Your Career Next Steps" and click OK on the message that asks about pop-ups.
- You should now see your "My Next Step" page on GCIS. Under "What are your educational plans after high school," check any boxes that apply, and click "Save Information." The box below that is optional if you would like to briefly elaborate on your higher education plans for yourself or your counselor.
- At this point, log out of and close all browser tabs that aren't this instructions page, and continue to the next section of instructions below.
APPLYING TO COLLEGE
Depending on the college you wish to apply to, you may commonly find their application in a couple of places:
- The website of your school of interest should have an "Admissions" menu. Under the Admissions menus/pages, look for such key terms as "Undergraduate," "First-Time," or "Freshman" to find the right application information.
- GA Futures handles applications for several GA public colleges. Please follow the below link if you need it, and then scroll to/click the College Applications option. If you are asked to log in and do not recall having a login, feel free to create a new account. (DE students should have an active login--please use it!) You do not have to follow a particular username/password format when you set up your account, but please do record your login information somewhere safe for your future reference!
- In celebration of GA Apply to College Month, several Georgia colleges are waiving application fees this month! For any Georgia college you are interested in, don't be shy about contacting their admissions office and asking if they are waiving app fees for this special month. Those we're aware of are listed below:
- Georgia Northwestern Technical College - When starting application, mark your Application Type as Returning, and you'll then be able to complete the application without being charged an app fee.
- Georgia Southern University - applications are free all throughout November, no code required
- Life University - on application, use code lifess (valid the rest of thru 11/23/19)
- North GA Technical College (note, this is NOT GNTC but a different public tech college centered in Toccoa, GA) - applications are free through 11/21/19, no code required
- Piedmont College - never an app fee
- Savannah State University - never an app fee
- University of North GA - on application, use code nighthawks
- Wesleyan College - never an app fee
- For applications that still require an app fee, you will need to save the application progress and access it again later when you have payment information available. Please note that if a fee is required, your application is not considered complete until the fee is paid or waived.
If you are instead/additionally interested in joining a branch of US armed forces, you can request more information and/or express interest in speaking with a recruiter using the following links:
DON'T FORGET...
IMPORTANT FOR YOUR ADMISSIONS PROCESS: The application isn't all there is to the college admissions process! Most colleges also require that you submit college entrance exams, high school transcripts, college transcripts (for those who have participated in DE), and/or even letters of recommendation. Check out the admissions pages of your college of interest's website and look for the admissions requirements to be sure what all they require you to submit for admissions consideration. Also, you don't necessarily have to submit this all in a particular order or all at the same time, but you typically need to submit the application and other required items by the admissions deadline set by the college.
