Upward Bound Parents
2023-2024 Eagle Days
1. September 23, 23
2. October 21, 23
3. November 11, 23
4. December 2, 23
5. January 27, 24
6. February 24, 24
7. March 16, 24
8. April 6, 24
9. May 4, 24
Grade Level College Prep Guides
9th Grade
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Learn about high school graduation requirements.
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Think about possible career paths.
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Learn how to study and manage time.
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Apply to any scholarships available.
Freshmen year is all about settling in and learning about high school, how to study, and learning how to succeed in this new environment. It is a good time for students to begin thinking about what career they would like to pursue. Time management is more important in high school than it was in middle school.
Career Exploration Link:
College For TN Career Search. Great resource to learn about different careers, how much they pay, education needed and more. CLICK HERE
11th Grade
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Continue working on graduation requirements.
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Narrow career choices down and what degree is needed for those careers
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Prepare for and take the ACT exam
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Consider taking Dual Enrollment classes and using the Dual Enrollment state grant.
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Explore colleges with a degree that matches their chosen career.
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Apply to any scholarships available.
Junior year is when a lot of preparation occurs for senior year. We do this so that senior year can be a little less stressful. We have students narrow down career choices, find out what majors match those careers, and look at colleges that offer those degrees. Students will take the ACT exam this year. More scholarships are available than the previous year and now is when many students take one or two dual enrollment classes.
Upward Bound Juniors can recieve an ACT Voucher. Have your son or daughter see their UB Adviser to get one.
TN Dual Enrollment Grant- Click Here
10th Grade
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Check to make sure they are meeting high school graduation requirements.
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Continue exploring careers
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Learn about and begin preparing for the ACT
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Learn about Dual Enrollment classes available at your school.
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Apply to any scholarships available.
Sophomore year will build on the previous year. Students will begin exploring careers in more depth, discuss dual enrollment options at their school and what the requirements are to take them. Now is a good time for your son or daughter to branch out and either join another club or school activity or do community service.
Student Resources Page:
Our student resources page has some helpful tools to help students compare colleges and careers. This includes our College Information Sheets and Major Informatin Sheets.
12th Grade
September- Apply To Colleges and Apply To TN Promise
October- Fill Out The FAFSA
November- Make sure other college items are sent in such as transcripts and test scores.
December- Look for acceptance letters/emails. Apply for college specific scholarships.
January/February- Turn in items (acceptance letters, FAFSA Proof) to UB Adviser. Settle on major they will study at college.
March/April- Check out Financial Aid Award Letters and pick top college choice.
May/June/July- Check college accounts and communicate with UB adviser for Summer Melt.
FSA ID create or log into account- Click Here
The FSA ID is what the student and the parent will use to sign the FAFSA. Thus you will need a student FSA ID and one parent FSA ID to be created.
This link takes you to where you sign into the FAFSA to fill it out. Remember you will be completing the FAFSA for the next year so if your son or daughter graduate in May 2024 they will begin college in the Fall of 2024and will complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA (not the 23-24 FAFSA).
Helpful Links:
The TN Promise application is completed on the TSAC Portal.
State Aid Website- Click Here
The TN state aid website TN Pays allows you to learn about TN state aid for school including dual enrollment grant, TN Promise grant, TN Reconnect grant, Hope scholarship and more.
Safety, Match, & Stretch Colleges
Upward Bound students are required to apply to 4 colleges while in the program: 1 safety, 2 match, and 1 stretch college. We require students to do this so that they will have options to choose from.
Safety- A school that is close to home, affordable, and the student can easily be accepted to. This is typically the local community college. These are all TN Promise eligible so are all affordable, most are close to home, and they have high acceptance rates.
Stretch- This school is more difficult to get into (low acceptance rates), expensive, far away from home, out of state, or the student is close to or on the lower end of average ACT or GPA for accepted students.
Match- A school that the student meets the ACT and GPA requirements to get into, is reasonably priced, and meets some of the students preferences such as distance from home, size of campus, has clubs/activities they are interested in, and has services the student is interested in such as tutoring, computer lab, library, counseling, or student workout gym. Often these schools are in state so that students can use state aid such as the Hope Scholarships which helps makes them more affordable.
QUESTION: Why do we have students apply to colleges in September? September is College App Month in the state of Tennessee so many college waive their application fees either during a certain week or the entire month.
QUESTION: Why do we have students apply to and complete TN Promise? If a student keeps their TN Promise eligibility then we know that the student will be able to attend a college in the Fall after graduation, we also know that each student will have at least 1 affordable college option available.
Just For Parents
It's Your Turn!
Have you thought about getting or finishing your degree or perhaps going to vocational school? In Tennessee you can using a deal very similar to TN Promise. It is called TN Reconnect and is for adults who haven't finished (or started) a 2 yr. (associates degree) or vocational program. This means you can go tuition and fee free and only have to pay for books and supplies.
TN Reconnect- Click Here
Money/Budgeting
50/30/20 Method
Simple system that involves dividing your $$ into 3 categories:
Needs Wants Savings
This allows you to look at where your money is going but isn't as complicated as some other systems. It can also encourage you to place $$ in your savings on a regular basis.
Click here to learn for a worksheet to help you get started.
Envelope Method
Simple system that involves dividing your $$ into envelopes either real envelopes with cash in them or virtual envelopes via an app to keep track of your spending. Then you assign each a monthly amount and do not spend more than that amount. Any extra can be rolled over into next month, placed in a savings or emergency fund envelope, or used to pay down debt.
This allows you to notice how much you are spending in each category and encourages you to not spend more than your budget. It can also help build extra into those bills that are not the same each month or may vary such as groceries, gas, or utilities.
Click here to learn for a worksheet to help you get started which includes blank envelope labels you can print as well as a link to an app that does the envelope method digitally.
Other Links/Information
Parenting Teens Information:
Parenting teens can be difficult and figuring out how to help them be a healthy adult isn't easy either. Click Here to access several parenting resources from the CDC.
Teens are more than just school, grades, sports, and clubs. They are young adults who are navigating a lot changes. You as a parent are also navigating how to best help them grow into confident adults. Info. about kids helps with topics about body, mind, relationships, and emotions. It has science-based information to help families not only with general topics such as puberty, employment, stress, and emotions, but also information about common conditions in each area. Click here to go to the site.