Understanding how financial aid works and how to navigate families through the process can be complicated. The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) is hosting two webinars in partnership with Sallie Mae, a company that offers free college planning tools, private education loans, and online banking to students and families. The new learning opportunities are designed to support school counselors' understanding of financial aid offers and find ways to help students and families plan and pay for college.
Navigating Financial Aid Offers/Award Letters
Wednesday, May 27
2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
- How to understand financial aid offers
- Key items to compare between offers
- Explore grants, scholarships, work study, and student loans
- Calculate the remaining balance
- Learn about helpful tips and resources such as the such as Sallie Mae's Paying for College Resource
College Planning Tools and Resources
Thursday, May 28
2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
- Saving for college
- Calculating financial need with the FAFSA
- Finding and applying for scholarships and grants
- How you can access Sallie Mae’s free tools and resources such as Sallie Mae's Paying for College Resource
*Participants will need to download Skype for these webinars.
Beyond Standardized Tests: Using Performance Assessment in College Admissions
Wednesday, May 27
11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
A growing number of colleges and universities are expanding the ways they evaluate student admissions applications in order to gain insight into students’ deeper learning skills, such as collaboration, problem-solving, and communication. These skills are best demonstrated through performance assessments, such as student portfolios and capstone projects, that have not traditionally been used in most college admissions processes.
This webinar will look at the outcomes of a pilot program at City University of New York (CUNY) that uses performance assessments to admit qualified applicants with scores below the threshold on college entry exams.The discussion will be based on findings from a Learning Policy Institute report on the use of these assessments for equity and access in the CUNY system.