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January 30, 2007
Physician Assistant Information Session
The Physician Assistant Program at Seton Hill is one of the more rigorous, (5 year) programs we offer. This full schedule of academic and clinical experiences prepares graduates to sit for the PANCE, a single national certification exam developed by the National Board of Medical Examiners and administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).A number of people inquire about the program and they are surprised to see the requirements and time involved in this major.
To be evaluated to be granted an interview the following is required.
A minimum cumulative overall GPA of a 3.0 or better
A minimum re-requisite course GPA of 3.0 or better
Minimum SAT score of 1000 (this is including the Reading and Math portion only of the SAT)
A completion of all pre-requisite courses
A Minimum of 300 hours of healthcare experiences of at least 3 physician assistants in different practice settings
Strong oral and written language skills
Evidence of your ability to complete an intensive program of study and training
GPA’s above a 3.0 are often required to successfully secure a seat.
To learn more about this fully accredited program (Accreditation Review Commission on the Education of Physician Assistants – ARC-PA) I hope you can come to the information session that is being held this Thursday, February 1st at 6:00pm in the Administration Building 407.
Posted by AshleyHoffman at 1:56 PM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2007
Loans, Scholarships, Grants.
With working with many families, they are scared of the word, “loan”. I don’t necessarily blame them, but an education does come at a price. Scholarships and grants are ‘free’ money that doesn’t need paid back, but loans are a different story.
Students should be applying for grants, scholarships, and loans well before the deadline for better results. With working with loans, there is terminology that is a bit foreign! Hopefully the following will help out.
Unsubsidized loan: An unsubsidized loan is not awarded on the basis of need. You’ll be charged interest from the time the loan is disbursed until it’s paid in full. If you allow the interest to accrue (accumulate) while you’re in school or during other periods of nonpayment, it will be capitalized. This means the interest will be added to the principal amount of your loan, and additional interest will be based on that higher amount. (www.studentaid.ed.gov)
Subsidized loan: A subsidized loan is awarded on the basis of financial need. You won’t be charged any interest before you begin repayment or during deferment. The federal government “subsidizes” the interest during these periods.
After you graduate, leave school, or you drop below half-time enrollment, you have a period of time before you have to begin paying it back. If you are a parent reading this and you have a FFEL or Direct Plus Loan, you won’t have a grace period. Repayment generally begins within 60 days after the loan is fully disbursed. Otherwise, this grace period is:
Six months for federal (FFEL) or Direct Stafford Loan
Nine Months for Federal Perkins Loans
(If you’re a parent reading this and you have a FFEL or Direct PLUS Loan, you don’t have a grace period—repayment generally must begin within 60 days after the loan is fully disbursed.)
Check out www.studentaid.ed.gov for more in-depth information!! It’s worth the read.
Posted by AshleyHoffman at 4:51 PM | Comments (0)
January 22, 2007
Back to the grind.
Hard to believe, but today was the first day of classes for all incoming and returning students. I would hear in the hall, “FINALLY we are back” and I also heard, “our break wasn’t long enough!” Mind you, students had nearly 5 weeks off!
Students are occupied with being in class, but what about after class? Seton Hill’s Activities Office offers a number of different activities on campus. If you have an idea, please, don’t hesitate to contact the Activities Director, Jaimie Steel, and she would be happy to hear your suggestion and try to bring it to life! There is always something to do on campus, you just need to get out and find it. Check our or Calendar of Events page and see what’s happening!
Posted by AshleyHoffman at 3:52 PM | Comments (0)
January 19, 2007
Music and Theatre unite!
Earlier this week, I attended an information session about the upcoming addition to our Seton Hill family, the University Center for Performing Arts. I must admit, before going, I knew a little bit about this $21 million project, but not much!
The building will be nestled in downtown Greensburg, right across the street from our very own Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic. It is yet another addition to the Greensburg community that reflects our mission of serving, learning, celebrating and welcoming all individuals.
The Center will house facilities for Music and Theatre. There will be a music hall, a flexible theatre, scene shop, costume shop, practice rooms, class rooms, lounge area, etc! The plans are amazing! Seton Hill is a prominent figure in community music and arts. This new building will enhance our existing program that has more than 250 students enrolled. Our programs offer instruction in music and dance to area students (community members) in various classes and ensembles.
This new facility is going to not only be a great addition to Seton Hill, but to the city of Greensburg. Check out more about the center at FORWARD MAGAZINE and click the image of the Forward Magazine to see more images!
Posted by AshleyHoffman at 2:38 PM | Comments (0)
January 11, 2007
Yes, I am going to say it, “to Blog or not to Blog”
I am sure a number of you out there who are reading this have a MYSPACE or FACEBOOK account…or you have at least looked at one. That’s the key word…”looked”.
More and more people are finding out (the hard way) that what you put online on your FACEBOOK page may come back to haunt you!
You would be very surprised who sees your information. A fellow Admissions Counselor of mine was on MYSPACE and noticed a current student he recruited that previous year. He couldn’t BELIEVE what he was seeing in text and in pictures. That was definitely not the student he thought recruited.
Granted, this isn’t terribly serious, but when you have inappropriate things posted and you are trying to apply for a job, this may cause you problems.
My dry-witted co-worker was generous enough to give me a little poster with a cute little bunny that says, “It worries me how dumb you are”. Maybe I should give this to those who post such self-destructive things on their blogs!
Read more at:
How blogging and social networking can impact your job search
Posted by AshleyHoffman at 4:55 PM | Comments (1)
January 10, 2007
New Student Orientation
Are you a new incoming freshman for the spring semester? How about a transfer student? If so, Friday, January 19th is New Student Orientation!
This week is your last chance to be applied and accepted to be able to arrive on the 19th. The orientation day is designed to information you about the different offices, and resources available to you on campus; schedule you for classes; get your ID, parking permit, etc. It is essential that you attend this day if you are planning on attending Seton Hill this spring semester. If you haven’t registered for the orientation, please contact Allison Sasso at sasso@setonhill.edu or 724.838.4231.
See you next semester!
Posted by AshleyHoffman at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)
January 8, 2007
Million dollar questions!
The following was a question that I received and I wanted to create a post so that all could learn about what Seton Hill offers!
Mary asked, "my daughter is graduating this year. how late can she apply and when can she visit you? how long does it take to get accepted and do you give out any scholarship based on grades and not family income?"
Hi Mary!
Thanks for visiting SHU’s blog and I will be happy to answer your questions!
Seton Hill has rolling admissions, so there is not a deadline on when you can apply. I do recommend applying in a timely manner so that you can get the Financial Aid that you may be eligible for. To have a file evaluated for admissions, the following information is needed: a completed application, an essay stating why he/she would like to earn a degree from Seton Hill (200 words), official high school transcripts, official SAT/ACT scores, and 1 letter of recommendation from a teacher or guidance counselor. Once we have all the materials we need, it is about a 2 week turn around time to hear of your acceptance.
We have a number of different scholarships available that are based on academics. I will explain them below, but you may also visit our Financial Aid website for a complete understanding of what types of aid we award.
We offer a Valedictorian Scholarship that is valued at $12,500 annually for a total of 8 semesters as long as a student maintains a minimum cumulative GPA of a 3.5.
The following scholarships are all Presidential Scholarships.
We offer an $11,000 scholarship to students who rank in the top 10% of their graduating class. Note: If a high school does not rank, and the student is excelling academically, they may submit writing samples for eligibility of the $7,000 scholarship (Top 30%).
Next, we offer a $9,000 scholarship to students who are in the top 20% of their graduating class and finally we offer a $7,000 scholarship to students who are in the top 30% of their graduating class.
All academic scholarships are renewable pending students maintain a certain GPA. It is different for each tier.
We have an Honors Scholarship that is awarded to students who have a combined SAT reading and math score of 1130 or higher or an ACT score of 25 or higher. This award is $2,500 annually as long as the student remains in the Honors Program. Students in this program are also eligible for Honors Housing.
Division Scholarships are also available. This particular scholarship is awarded to students who are excelling in their chosen area of study. The amount awarded is at the discretion of the Division Chair of a program.
If students are graduating from a Catholic High School, they automatically receive a Rising Star Scholarship that is valued at $2,500 annually, with a cumulative value of $10,000!
Lastly we have a number of Alumni, Athletic, Sisters of Charity and Transfer Scholarships available.
Also, please know that we accept ourside scholarships. Apply for any and all scholarships! Any scholarship you bring will be stacked on top of what Seton Hill is giving you!
A student may come visit anytime. We have a campus visit coordinator that will work with you to find the best day and time that works well for everyone. A student may also come for an overnight visit. This is when prospective students visit and stay with a current student on campus that has the same major of interest. The following day, the student will go to a few classes with them too!
Whew! I hope this helped! If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! Thanks, Mary!
Posted by AshleyHoffman at 9:50 AM | Comments (2)
January 5, 2007
Blogging for $$!
When will the outrageous scholarships ever end! Well, hopefully not for a while! Loads of money are put out there in forms of ridiculous scholarships like, The Blogging Scholarship, 50% German Scholarship, Warner Brothers We Are Marshall Movie Promotion Scholarship, and many more.
As many admissions counselors may have told you, it pays to search the internet and talk with your guidance counselors at your high school to look for scholarships. As you can see, there are a million out there! One site that I liked was Student Scholarship Search. As always ,fastweb is a great tool too!
Posted by AshleyHoffman at 2:27 PM | Comments (1)
January 4, 2007
Top 5 FAFSA Filing Tips
Monday, January 1st, marked the first day that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid can be submitted. www.fafsa.ed.gov. I am sure all families across the country were filling out the form on New Year’s Day…hey you never know!
I received an email recently that provided readers with the top 5 FAFSA filing tips. Check out the website for further info too! www.financialaidnews.com. For more tips about filling out the FAFSA, visit http://www.FAFSAonline.com.
I thought this was noteworthy to pass along so your FAFSA would be filled out correctly and so you would avoid any delay in processing.
#5: Do your IRS 1040 first.
Even if you don't plan on filing your IRS 1040 on paper, we strongly recommend you complete a 1040 BEFORE you start your FAFSA. Approximately 80% of the FAFSA is based on IRS tax data, and by completing the 1040 first, you'll save yourself a LOT of time. Even if you don't have your W-2 and 1099 forms from your employers, you can still estimate using your last pay stub(s) from 2006.
#4: Mind the clock.
There is a limited pool of financial aid in the form of grants that's made available each year. The sooner you file your FAFSA after January 1, 2007, the more likely you are to receive money from this pool (which includes the Pell Grant, AC Grant, SMART Grant, FSEO Grant, and Work Study) if you're eligible. The money in the pool is distributed on a first-come, first served basis, so if you wait too long to file your FAFSA, you may not receive anything from the pool even if you're eligible.
#3: It's better to be right than fast.
Even though speed counts with the FAFSA, correctness counts even more. Be sure you're doing the FAFSA correctly, paying careful attention to the instructions and the included worksheets. If you're really confused, you can get a free FAFSA consultation by attending College Goal Sunday, an event sponsored by many states in January. Find a College Goal Sunday seminar near you by visiting:
http://www.collegegoalsundayusa.org/
#2: Zero is the biggest thing.
In any field on the FAFSA that asks for a monetary amount, never, EVER leave it blank. If you're unsure if it applies to you, fill it in with a ZERO. Leaving a field blank does not automatically make it zero, which can affect how much aid you receive.
#1: File anyway.
The number one most important tip for the FAFSA is to file one regardless of whether you think you'll qualify for federal financial aid or not. Filing a FAFSA is completely free of charge, and if you file online, you won't even pay for postage. Many schools and states use the results from the FAFSA for institutional and state-based financial aid, as well as some private scholarships and grants, so always complete the FAFSA every year, no matter your financial situation.
Posted by AshleyHoffman at 4:45 PM | Comments (1)