It’s November. Starting college is still a far-off concern for the parents of most high school seniors, and even farther off for underclassmen.

But the work of preparing students to apply to college – and preparing their parents and guardians to afford college – is already underway for Poughkeepsie’s department of College Readiness and Workforce Education.

The first major step in that process will come Wednesday during parent-teacher conference night, when College and Workforce Readiness Counselor Kelly Semexant will hold a financial aid informational session from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the Poughkeepsie High School library.

“It’s just for the parents or guardians of seniors to get familiar with the financial aid lingo, terms, what they can do today to get ready for FAFSA, what documents they need, that kind of stuff,” she said.

Rob Zasso, Director of Financial Services at Dutchess Community College – who, along with Semexant, conducts a series of FAFSA workshops at the school each year – will give an introductory presentation and provide handouts.

FAFSA – the Free Application for Federal Student Aid – is how institutions of higher learning and the government determine what financial support a student is qualified to receive. One of the key pieces of information for parents to know this year is, while filling out the FAFSA has been highly encouraged but optional in the past, this year it is required for graduation in New York State.

The FAFSA application window is open; the first workshop at Poughkeepsie High School will be 5-7 p.m. Dec. 18 in the library.

“We encourage parents and guardians to attend, but students should be here, as well. We have the financial aid team sitting down next to the parents and helping them with the entire application,” Semexant said, noting also, “we’ll have snacks and all that.”

Additional workshops are scheduled for Feb. 19, March 26, April 30 and May 28.

“You really need to pick one date and commit that you’re going to come,” she said.

Semexant has already been connecting students with colleges, trade schools and resources in several ways:

• On “Senior Wednesdays” each week, students meet her in the library anytime in periods 2-5 if they need help with searching for colleges, applications, scholarship applications or any related areas.
• She hosts visits from college and trade school representatives several times per week.
• She coordinates group visits to college campuses, including elementary school groups to introduce them to the idea of higher education and an annual trip to Vassar College for all freshmen.
• She connects students with scholarship opportunities and direction through her Google Classroom.

What parents and students can do now

Semexant said the most important thing seniors can do at this time of year is to seek, and prepare applications for, scholarship opportunities. She has a running list of scholarships available to all families online, which she updates as deadlines and information are available. Some scholarships, like the Maj. Gen. Irene Trowell-Harris Chapter Tuskegee Airmen Inc. Tuition Assistance Award, have deadlines coming up in the next month.

School Counselor Anna Wilson added, “We want to make sure parents are aware there’s money that has already started coming.”

As for FAFSA itself, while the application window hasn’t opened Semexant said parents can get a head start by creating a Federal Student Aid ID “in order to get it verified in time to start the process immediately.”

For underclassmen, Semexant encouraged students to take advantage of campus trips.

“Going yourself on campus as a 10^th or 11^th grader is huge,” she said. “See what college students look like. Peek into a lecture hall. Feel it.”

There are also a handful of scholarships to consider for underclassmen.

Throughout high school, students can also progressively build their senior profile, a 10 question document in which a student, among other things, lists their accomplishments and awards inside and outside the classroom. They can then refer to the document when filling out applications and teachers can then use the document to guide recommendation letters.

“Just add to it at the end of every quarter, at the end of every semester,” Semexant said. “You got a math award, an attendance award, Honor Roll. Put it in there. That’s something tangible they can be working on.”