College Planning Information

Notice to Student Athletes

If you are planning to play inter-scholastic sports at college in Division I or Division II, you must have your eligibility approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse. Usually this is done in the spring of your junior year in high school. Please visit http://www.ncaaclearinghouse.net for more information.

SAT Prep Classes

The following is a list of some SAT prep course providers located in the Baltimore area. It is not an exhaustive list; you may find additional possibilities by calling local community and four-year colleges or by looking in the yellow pages under the heading, tutoring.

We do not intend this listing as a recommendation, nor do we endorse the quality of these programs. It is provided solely as a convenient listing of some of the prep services in the area. Students and their parents should evaluate the services and claims made by these and other educational companies in an informed and critical manner.

The Catholic High School of Baltimore also offers an SAT prep class as one of its academic course offerings.

College Financial Information

The Catholic High Guidance Office is a resource for students and families as they plan for the next four years of higher education. The cost of college can be overwhelming, and seeking financial aid can be confusing. Please contact your daughter's counselor for more information. We'll be happy to address your questions

Federal Financial Aid

Most of the financial aid distributed by colleges is through grants, work study, or low-interest, subsidized loans financed by the government. Eligibility for this aid is determined by the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Seniors and their families complete and submit the FAFSA beginning in January of the senior year. Catholic High typically hosts a financial aid planning session with senior parents in mid-December or early January. During this meeting, the counselors review procedures for filling out and filing the FAFSA. We also review other aspects of financial aid for college.

Maryland State Financial Aid

To be eligible for any sort of financial aid from the State of Maryland, the FAFSA must be submitted no later than March 1 of the student’s senior year.

For a discussion of Maryland State scholarships and financial aid opportunities, see The Student Guide to Higher Education in Maryland, which is distributed to each senior in early December. Please consult the guide for details pertaining to each program.

Profile and Additional Financial Aid Forms

For the rewarding of financial aid, some colleges require the CSS/Profile form in addition to the FAFSA. In Maryland, these schools include Loyola and Goucher, among others. Please see one of the counselors in the Guidance Office if you need a Profile form. Like the FAFSA, students may complete the Profile form on-line.

Alternatively, some colleges may have their own supplemental financial aid forms that students must fill out along with the FAFSA.  See the individual college’s financial aid office for more information about their requirements.

More Information

Please check out the Useful Web Sites list below for links to financial aid web sites and visit our Guidance page on Edline for information on scholarships that has come into our office.

College Scholarship Information

Scholarships are financial awards based on merit. Basically, there are two types of scholarships: those that are awarded by the college or university and those that are given by various organizations, clubs, corporations, and benevolent or philanthropic associations.

Information about scholarships awarded by the college or university is available through its Admissions Office. Special application processes may apply.

Information about organizational scholarships and grants is available to the public through a number of sources. The Guidance Office maintains a file of notices about such scholarships. Seniors are periodically reminded to visit the office and check out any scholarship opportunities for which they may be eligible. Parents can also contact the Guidance Office if they have questions. Scholarship opportunities can also be investigated on the Internet. The two best web sites for this are http://www.finaid.org and www.fastweb.com. These sites have a wealth of information about scholarships available for college.

You are also encouraged to contact any fraternal, church, or civic organizations to which you belong, as well as the personnel department of the company for which you work. Many of these institutions offer scholarship programs for the children of members or employees.

Use College Planning Websites

The following web sites provide helpful information for Catholic High students and parents regarding SATs, financial aid, and college planning.

http://www.prephq.com — Catholic High's PrepHQ site helps keep track of the college application process

http://www.collegeboard.com — Register for SATs plus much more

http://www.finaid.org — Good starting point for financial aid information

http://www.fastweb.com — Free scholarship search and college directory

http://www.princetonreview.com — Good overall, full-service site

http://www.collegenet.com — Very useful, good college search tool

http://www.campustours.com — Provides virtual tours, campus maps, and links to college web sites

http://www.gocollege.com — Many links to colleges, scholarship information, testing and more

http://www.studentloancoach.com — Helpful to sort out financial aid, and, particularly, loans

http://www.fastweb.com — FastWeb's free scholarship search includes more than 600,000 scholarships worth more than $1 billion. FastWeb also offers expert advice and how-tos on financial aid, scholarships, selecting a major, choosing a career and more. FastWeb is provided completely free, and Catholic High is a proud FastWeb member school.