Center for Career Discovery

College Path for Parents

College Visits and Fairs

College Rep Visits to the CCC

More than 140 college admission representatives visit PHS each year. This is a great way for you to meet in a small group with reps from your colleges of interest. Visits occur mainly in September to November. Visits are announced in Schoology and listed in Naviance.

College Fairs

The college counselors of District 214 host a College Fair each April with representatives from more than 200 campuses across the U.S. This is a great way to begin your search.

Going to a College Fair 

College Campus Visits

To schedule a campus visit, see the admissions section of the college website. Find out what types of tours, sessions and activities may be available. During your visit, try to meet with someone from the admissions office or attend an information session. Ask if they can arrange for you to meet with a professor or representative from the department in which you are interested. Take a tour of the campus, talk to students, have a meal in the cafeteria, and pick up copies of the student newspaper. Some colleges also can arrange for you to sit in on a class or stay overnight in a residence hall. 

Students may be excused from school if a parent calls the PHS Attendance Office to report the absence.   

FAFSA is used to determine a student’s eligibility for federal grant, loan, and work funds and is available at no cost to the student. The FAFSA is required for all students seeking financial aid. Students who are not eligible to submit a FAFSA may submit the Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid. Beginning with the Class of 2021, completion of the FAFSA or Alternate Application is an Illinois graduation requirement.

Some schools may also request the CSS Profile which requires a processing fee.

The FAFSA will become available on October 1st of your senior year and should be completed by late November in order to be considered for all financial aide for which you are eligible. Please be aware of the financial aid deadline of each college to which you are applying.  

The FAFSA forecaster may be used to estimate your family's potential financial aid any time before the FAFSA is filed.

Fill Out Your: FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)

How To Create an FSA ID Handout          

How to Create an FSA ID Video

Checklist of What You Need to Fill Out a FAFSA

Alternate Application for Illinois Financial Aid - RISE Act Application for students not eligible to submit a FAFSA

Midwest Student Exchange Program

The Midwest Student Exchange Program, or MSEP, is a multi-state tuition reciprocity program. Through the MSEP, public institutions agree to charge students no more than 150% of the in-state resident tuition rate for specific programs; private institutions offer a 10% reduction on their tuition rates. All enrollment decisions are made at the discretion of the receiving campus and the campus may exercise its right to limit participation or set specific admission requirements for MSEP.

Financial Aid

Do You Need Money For College

Financial Aid

Financial Aid Appeals

Financial Aid Questions to Ask

How to Pay for College

IRS Data Retrieval

Net Price Calculator

Senior Financial Aid Night Presentation

Understanding Your Financial Aid Letter

 

Scholarships

FastWeb National Scholarship Search

How to Avoid Scholarship Scams

Local Scholarship List

Scholarship Information

Scholarship Lunch and Learn Presentation

Stretch Your Dollar for College

Have you ever thought you might want to take a break after graduating from high school but before attending college?

Some high school graduates choose to take a year (or more) off between the end of high school and the beginning of college. Graduates use this time to travel, think about their goals in life, and carefully prepare their next steps.

For more information, visit USA Gap Year Fairs.

Beginning with the class of 2019, D214 students will be eligible to earn up to two years of tuition free college attendance at Harper College.

Harper Promise - Explanation  (Spanish) (Polish)  For a detailed explanation of the program, including eligibility requirements, visit the Harper Promise site by clicking here.

All freshmen are encouraged to sign up for the Harper Promise for two simple reasons:

1. By signing up, students will have the option to attend two years of Harper College tuition free, an option that they can later choose whether or not to accept.
2. Meeting or exceeding the minimum eligibility requirements will help students no matter what they choose to do after high school and make it easier to attract other scholarships.

Registration and Recommitment

Freshman may register in ONE of the following ways:

1. Online during the general registration process in Infinite Campus by clicking the “enroll” box.
2. Completing the paper Harper Promise Program Application and returning it to the College and Career Center (CCC) on or before December 13, 2020.

Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors must recommit each year:

Students must recommit using Harper Promise Recommit Form before 09/25/2020.

Community Service Tracker

Click here to enter community service hours in Transeo. Students should use their student email/password to login.

Students are encouraged to enter hours throughout the year as they earn them. 
Required Community Service Hours:
Class of 2024:   5 hours - earned from January 24, 2021 - June 30, 2021
Class of 2023: 13 hours - earned by June 30, 2021**
Class of 2022: 22 hours - earned by June 30, 2021**
Class of 2021: 31 hours - earned by May 10, 2021**
             ** Hours include the 2019/2020 school year required hours and those hours have been prorated for COVID-19

Looking for a way to earn hours? Consider visiting www.volunteermatch.org or Community Service During Covid-19

Senior Checklist

Click Here for the Harper Promise Senior Year Timeline

Appeals 

Students were notified in August 2020 whether they met the criteria to continue in the program. Students dropped from the program may appeal if they did not meet criteria because of extraordinary circumstances.
Click HERE to access the Harper webpage containing the appeal form that must be submitted by September 15, 2020.
​For other information or questions, including service hours and attendance, contact Felicia Walter at (847) 718-7734 or felicia.walter@d214.org

NAVIANCE is District 214's web-based tool for self discovery, career exploration, college research and scholarship information.

Within NAVIANCE STUDENT, you will find:

• College search tools
• Career exploration tools
• Scattergrams of PHS students' college admission status
• College rep visit schedule
• Scholarships
• News and Other Important Information  
  To access Naviance Student, click here 

When prompted, select Continue with Single Sign-on

NAIA

The NAIA, or the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, founded in 1937, includes nearly 300 smaller colleges. Over 90% of NAIA colleges offer athletic scholarships.

NCAA

The NCAA, or National Collegiate Athletic Association, was established in 1906 and serves as the athletics governing body for more than 1,280 colleges, universities, conferences and organizations.  NCAA membership schools are divided into three divisions. Division I and II members may offer athletics scholarships, while Division III schools may not.

NCAA Student Athlete Guide 2020-2021

 

Student Athlete Handbook

 

Tips For Student Athletes and Their Families

To see a list of PHS courses approved by the NCAA, click here and enter Prospect's CEEB Code, 143062.

Click here for the NCAA Eligibility Center.

Transcript Requests

PHS School Profile