College-Now is a great way for a student to save money and get started on their college experience. The College-Now program is a partnership between local school districts and North Central State College that allows students to earn associate degrees while completing their 11th and 12th grade year of high school. Students may participate in College-Now in Bioscience, Business, or Engineering Technology. 

For Bioscience, students attend full time on the campus of the Ashland County West Holmes Career Center where North Central State Faculty teach both the academic and lab side of the college courses. 

For the Business and Engineering Technology programs, students attend North Central State’s Kehoe center campus full time and are taught by the faculty there. Students participating in College-Now programs graduate with an Ashland High School diploma as well as an associate degree in their chosen program and are able to remain active in after school sports, clubs, and activities.

For more information on the College-Now program, visit their website here. Specific questions can be directed to Darcy Carns at 419-755-5693 or dcarns@ncstatecollege.edu 

There is an open house coming up for the programs located at the Kehoe Center on Thursday January 29th from
 6-8 PM. The Kehoe Center is located at 175 Mansfield Ave. in Shelby.

The season we affectionately refer to as scholarship season in the guidance office is quickly approaching. Scholarship season is when the majority of our local scholarships open up for seniors and typically lasts through early May. During this period of time, over 100 local scholarships become available for AHS seniors. The majority of those scholarships come from the Ashland County Community Foundation. Their online application will be open beginning on January 2nd. In order to be prepared for all of these local opportunities, try following these six tips:


1. Bookmark the AHS scholarships webpage: http://arrowsguidance.weebly.com/scholarships.html 
Our scholarships page serves as our hub of information during scholarship season. It includes a calendar of local scholarships and their due dates as well as any applications that need to be printed off and submitted the old-fashioned way. It also has some helpful videos on how to use our scholarship search tools.


2. Create a calendar of the scholarships you plan on applying for that includes their due dates and where you need to turn them in. Some scholarships are submitted online, others are mailed by the student, and a few are submitted to the guidance office. Knowing where you need to turn it in becomes very important if you are running up against a deadline.


3. Create a list of your activities, awards, employment history, and any other information you feel might be relevant for donors to know about you. Many scholarships ask for this information in addition to your other materials, and most online scholarships ask you to put this information in online. It will be much handier and quicker for you if it’s already done.


4. Get ready to fill out your FAFSA. The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. While it is not mandatory to have this done to apply for scholarships, there are quite a few scholarships that will ask you for an EFC number if they are based on financial need. You will only have an EFC if you have completed your FAFSA. You can learn about the FAFSA here and begin filling out the application here after January 1st.


5. Pay close attention to the reminders the guidance office sends out through our Remind messaging service January through May. During this time our reminders focus mostly on scholarship due dates or announcements about financial aid.


6. Spend some time working on the essay prompt below. It the major essay question that goes with the Ashland County Community Foundation application. It is a broad question and really gives students the freedom to include personal stories that don’t show up in other parts of their application. There is a 500 word limit, so it is important to be concise. The prompt is here:

Describe your educational and career goals and plans; why you chose your selected major/field of study; what you hope to gain from your college experience; and why this scholarship is important to you.

Dear Seniors,

Ohio has designated November as it's college application month. This means that while Ohio colleges may have deadlines that are further out then November, they recognize that it would be a really good idea for you to get your college applications done this month. November is a great month to apply because it is before our holiday breaks and is usually ahead of most general college deadlines. Getting your applications in this month also means that you can take a short breather before our local scholarship season starts in January. 

Your school counselors would love to help you get your applications finished up in November. Whether you've started your application and just have a quick question, need us to send a transcript, or you're just not sure where to start, come down and let us know you need some help. Because of our many responsibilities, there are certain days where it might be tougher to catch us in the office. An email to your school counselor with your question is a great way to enlist our help, and is something we can answer quickly even if we're not in when you came down to see us. If you need a quiet place to work on your college application or sign up for the ACT one last time, remember that we do have computers in our office you can use, and that way we're not far in case you need help. 

Mr. Court - A-F           jocourt@ashlandcityschools.org
Mrs. Steward - G-M    pestewar@ashlandcityschools.org
Mr. Packard - N-Z       jopackar@ashlandcityschools.org