WHS brings college reps to school

Most students at Wilmington High School are prepping for their future. Are they going to college? Are they jumping into Building Trades or the Union? What career do they want?

Well, on Friday, WHS hosted a college fair to assist students in answering these questions.

Approximately 33 college representatives attended. The majority of schools were in-state, but there were a few from neighboring states Michigan and Wisconsin. There were also representatives from four branches of the military and Exelon Corporation.

All students were involved with the College Fair. Students were split by grade level and escorted by homeroom teachers to different stations throughout the building. Some stations involved volunteers who spoke about their jobs, ranging from pilots to supervisors at the local power plants.

The National Guard, one of the branches that visited, had games set up in one of the gyms to engage students before educating them on the benefits and downfalls on joining the National Guard.

However, the main attraction were the rows of tables set up in the main gym with all of the different college representatives. All the colleges had small goodies to give to the students while they explored and asked questions.

The week of this college fair also marks the beginning date for the filing the FAFSA applications.

FAFSA stands for, Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Seniors going on to college must submit this application in order to get funding, whether it be a student loan or scholarship.

It involves a record of a parent or guardians taxes and gives students a rough estimate on what their student payments might look like. It can give you input on what kind of finical aid you could qualify for college.

These applications are available for seniors only. The earlier a senior completes FAFSA, the better off they are.

Students and parents with questions on FAFSA may want to attend a workshop during parent-teacher conferences Nov. 10 at 5-7 p.m. This will include guidelines to filling the applications out and a more in-depth explanation on the benefits.