October is known for many things–friday night football games, bonfires, pumpkins, and for seniors, Applied Week.

“Applied Week is a week where we try and get every Senior student to make a plan,” Tri-Cities college access network advisor Jana Reenders said.

Applied Week helps seniors determine the path that they are going to take after their high school career is over, even if it doesn’t involve college.

“The plan might be apply to college, make a decision if they would like to go into the military, if they’re going to go into a trade school, or some sort of training, or if they’re going into the workforce,” Reenders said.  

Reenders is one of the many volunteers found in student services willing to sit down and not only inform, but help teens take a step in the right direction for plans after high school.

“Students are coming in here and they’ve already made the plan where they have already applied to colleges, or are currently working on a common app, or they’re coming in because they don’t even know where to start,” Reenders said.

The initial step to creating Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is creating a FSA ID, which students and parents or guardians can do together. The difference now is that FAFSA is open from October first to January first, and uses the tax return from the previous April, which makes it easy.

Reenders has one special tip to underclassman who will be going through applied week in the near future.

“Number one thing, know your social security number,” Reenders said. “You can’t apply to any college without knowing your social security number.”

Reenders also encourages students to look into different colleges and the types of programs that they offer.

“Take advantage of any opportunities to go on field trips to various colleges,” Reenders said. “Visit those colleges before you apply to them.”

During applied week, a few colleges in the state of Michigan will waive their fees for the month of October, so the seniors can apply to them for free. Students have to think about the cost of college, and if they’re going to get help paying for college or if they’ll need to do it on their own. The average cost of a four year university is between $22,000 and $42,000,

“It’s important to determine whether you have money saved or if your grades are good enough to plan on an academic scholarship,” Reenders said. “Colleges like Muskegon Community College and Grand Rapids Community College are significantly less. Sometimes a community college is a good option for two years.”

Seniors that have already applied don’t go unrecognized during Applied Week. Students can fill out a survey stating they’ve already filled out applications, and receive a shirt that says “I have a plan”. Everyone that completes the required applications or sets up a plan will also be given a shirt as well.

Applied Week helps students prepare for their life outside of the high school walls and staff members hope to see every senior boasting a “I have a plan” shirt. Reenders and the other voluntary staff members are willing to go out of their way to make this happen.
“Our goal is to encourage,” Reenders said. “A lot of kids, maybe their parents didn’t go to college and so we’re here to help the student navigate through that application process.”