The College Board is committed to supporting students and educators affected by the recent hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We will continue to update this page with information about additional supports.
Free November SAT Registration and CSS Profile Fee Waiver for Hurricane Irma-Impacted StudentsTo support students and families affected by Hurricane Irma, the College Board will offer a free November SAT registration and a CSS Profile fee waiver.
We understand this is a difficult time for those who are struggling as a result of the storm. We hope this measure can ease some worry for students and ensure their college-going plans are minimally affected during storm recovery efforts.
The free November SAT registration and CSS Profile fee waiver are for students who are experiencing hardship and/or displacement due to the hurricane and are in an area designated by FEMA. Please scroll down for the list of FEMA counties.

• Students who are registered for the November SAT should call Customer Service to receive a refund of their registration and late fee. Students can register and contact Customer Service through October 25. To reach Customer Service, please call 866-756-7346.
• For the CSS Profile fee waiver, students should go to cssprofile.org, complete their application, and the system will automatically apply eligibility rules. To reach CSS Profile Customer Service, please call 844-202-0524.

Florida Counties Designated by FEMAAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Union, Volusia
Puerto Rico Municipios Designated by FEMACanovanas, Culebra, Loiza, Vieques
U.S. Virgin Islands Designated by FEMASt. John, St. Thomas

​Photo and info courtesy of www.collegeboard.org

This year the ACT and SAT finally recognized that students would like to test over the summer...which makes sense since they won't be encumbered with all that takes place during the school year. One is offered in June and the other in July. Click here to get the calendar of test dates for both the ACT and SAT.
2 Recommendations for Testing:

1. Often many parents ask me which test should their child take. I suggest students to take each test at least twice. Each test is different and uses different strategies, and each student will perform or "prefer" one test over the other. Typically students that take the test for the first time are nervous and are a little unsure what to expect (timing of each section, length of test, etc.). The common understanding is that a student will perform at least slightly better after the first time they take the SAT and ACT.
2. As for when to take the test it would be ideal for Juniors to have their final scores by the time senior year starts. If they have scores they are happy with by the time senior year begins they can then focus their attention and energy on all the events of senior year and in addition to applying to college. Senior year is overwhelming as it is, don't let the ACT/SAT be an element of stress.

Photo courtesy of https://socialassurity.com/

​Social media is everywhere and everyone seems to use it: teens, parents, coporations, comedians, actors/actresses, political figures...almost everyone that has access to the internet has some form of social media. But, social media can be helpful or hurtful depending on how you use it. Social Assurity provides some helpful tips where you can use social media during your college admissions process.

If you're entering your senior year summer time is an opportune time to tackle the essay for your college applications. However, many can get stuck and forever stare at a blank page. The prompt can help, but if your essay is profound to the point of acceptance and consideration for scholarship then the prompt won't matter as much. Here are some tips to help get the writing juices flowing.

1. Ask the people around you how they would describe you and what your strengths are. The point of the essay is to allow the college to know your character outside of academics. Describing yourself can be hard. Ask others (teacher, mentor, parents, friends, coach, etc.) for an outsiders perspective of what makes you, you.
2. Be original! People get into college writing about their favorite food. The point again is to express who you are, what makes you unique and how you'll be a great addition to the campus. Your essay shouldn't be the standard 5 paragraph essay you've been taught to write in your English classes. Instead, be creative with what you write and how you write.
3. Start writing and don't worry about editing, spelling or grammatical errors. Allow your stream of consciousness to take over and become words on a page. The more detail in your first draft the better.
4. After you have a 1st draft give it to someone else to read. Have them pick out the nuggets that really help you shine.
5. Don't write what you think they want to hear. Again be creative!
6. Edit, edit, and edit some more. Allow plenty of time to allow for editing. After you have a draft put it away for a few days before you begin to edit again. Also, consider different atmospheres like the library, coffee shop, or different room in the house when you edit.

If you do find that you are stuck and can't seem to get any words on the paper use the essay prompts. That's why they are there. This year the Common Application has changed the essay prompts for the 2017-18 school year. Those can be found here. If you will need to use the Coalition Application the prompts have not changed from last year and they can be found here. The essay prompts for the Coalition App will plan to change for the 2018-2019 school year, however.Photo courtesy of: http://blog.testrocker.com/wwwtestrockercom/blog/15-tips-about-writing-an-effective-sat/act-essay

Sign up for Camp CEO, Our Teen Financial Literacy Camp.

​Give your teen the chance to hone his or her financial skills and knowledge at Camp CEO, our free financial literacy summer camp that will take place June 5 – 9 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at our County Road 210 Branch in Jacksonville.
Camp participants will learn about core financial concepts, including:
Budgeting and goal setting
Building credit and credit cards
Entrepreneurialism
First Florida staff will provide lessons and activities that engage students and break down financial concepts in an easy-to-understand format. Camp participants will also work in groups to create a video project about a financial concept, which will be presented to First Florida senior management. Winners of the video contest and other daily activities will receive gift cards and other prizes.
The camp will conclude with a professional lunch with First Florida senior management, including a limo ride – a lunch fit for a group of future CEOs.
Lunch, daily instruction and T-shirts are included. Camp CEO is free for participants ages 13 to 16. Space is limited, and registration is first-come, first-served. Applications past the space limit will be placed on a waiting list.
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For registration email Ashleigh Robinson at arobinson@firstflorida.org

Stock Market Basics is offering their annual $1000 scholarship to new and returning college students. 
Submissions will be accepted starting in January of each year with a winner selected by September.
How to Apply for the Stock Market Basics ScholarshipApplicants must submit a 500+ word essay about one of the following topics: what you have learned about investing, why investing is important, or the most important thing to remember when investing.

• Essays must be your own work and not submitted to any other website.
• Applicants must be either currently enrolled in or actively applying to an undergraduate or graduate-level program. Students at both community colleges and four-year institutions are encouraged to apply.
• Essays must be received by August 1st, 2017
• Applications should be mailed to jhogue@mystockmarketbasics.com and include name, address and phone number. Please include “scholarship” in the email subject line.
• Applications must state the school the student is attending or planning on attending.

Essays will be posted on the blog through July and August to highlight the most important concepts and importance of investing. The scholarship winner will be selected on September 15th by the article receiving the most social media “buzz” the winning essay generates, as determined by social shares.

Students have until the end of the school year to apply for the Bright Futures scholarship. There is nothing to lose when it only takes you 5 minutes to apply and that is it! Just make sure your school has all of your test scores and community service on file. Also, don't forget to keep your grades up!

If you are not planning on going to college right away STILL APPLY! You can use the award up to 2 years after graduating. Also, Bright Futures just added that high school graduates may now choose to defer their scholarship award upon completion of a full-time religious or service obligation lasting at least 18 months. Don't delay and apply today!