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Jenene Grover

To start off the night, Christine Bryan welcomed the parents and students who came out to learn more about the college process.

On Monday night, September 30, the auditorium was filled with nervous parents and enthusiastic seniors and juniors. Students are packed into tight rooms, waiting to hear how they’re going to be able to afford college. Once these eager parents and students were released, they immediately headed for the seminars or college representatives. 

Blackman High offered various seminars and multiple college and university tables. The most popular seminars were NCAA, College Admissions, and the FAFSA, TN Promise, and Hope scholarship. “I attended the scholarship program in the auditorium, and we learned about what scholarships were and what we should apply for. Then, the NCAA meeting, and figure out what I needed to be eligible for the NCAA. The NCAA one was my favorite because I’m big on sports,” said Randy Cousin, a senior football player at Blackman. 

During the College Admissions seminar, an MTSU representative explained the basic admission process for most universities. Some steps seniors should go through are: figure out what colleges are available to you, request transcripts early December to go out before the holidays, continue researching and applying for scholarships, send tuition deposit to the one school you plan to attend, and fill out a final transcript request for the attending college. 

The NCAA seminar was one of the most popular seminars; many athletes attended wondering how the organization works. The minimum GPA a student athlete can have and still be NCAA eligible for Division I is a 2.3 GPA and a 900 SAT or 75 ACT sum score; however, will need a 2.20 GPA and a 840 SAT or 70 ACT sum score to be eligible at the Division II level. Ultimately, the minimum GPA athletes need is dependent on where you fall on the NCAA sliding scale.  

The ACT is very important for juniors and seniors; juniors should have already taken the Pre-ACT for free this year. Juniors will take the ACT in March; once they receive scores, all should work on improvement and reschedule a time to retake the ACT. Juniors need to make sure to keep their grades up and contact their counselor about additional information about colleges, summer internships, scholarships, and other college related questions.