• Seniors who wish to apply to colleges, technical schools, or trade schools should be preparing those applications now. Observe the application deadlines for each school. The completed application, envelope, application fee, required postage, and all other supporting documentation should be taken to your counselor. Letters of recommendation must be given to students in sealed envelopes. Students should allow enough time for the guidance counselors to process applications. Normal turnaround time is approximately 1 to 5 days. On-line applications need to be followed up with the counselor form and high school transcript, along with other supplemental information.During the busiest time of the year (November through January) students must be considerate and mindful regarding deadline dates and processing time.

• SATs: Students may register by picking up a Registration Bulletin in the guidance office or on-line at www.collegeboard.com.

• Please check the collegeboard website. Check with your counselor and the Registration Bulletin for available test centers. Students are encouraged to use the website for registering. A limited number of paper registration forms are available in the guidance office. Please make sure that you use the correct high school code (390100) and test center codes.

• Suggested Senior and Junior Test Dates for 2007-2008 are the following:

• Remaining Junior dates are May 3, 2008 and June 7, 2008. Valley View is a test center for the June test date. Test center 39-122. Registrations for June must be postmarked by May 6,2008 or students must register on-line by that date.

• Please make sure that you use the correct high school code (390100) and test center codes.

• The SAT will have 3 scores each on the familiar scale of 200-800: critical reading, mathematics, and writing. The SAT writing score is completely new and will include an essay subscore and a multiple-choice subscore. The best way to prepare for the SAT in addition to taking the PSAT(on October 20th,2007.)(scores will be returned to sophomores and juniors who take the PSAT in December 2007) is through the free preparation resources from the College Board. Check out www.collegeboard.com for The SAT Preparation Center and the SAT Question of the Day. Books with practice tests can also be purchased on the website or in local bookstores.

• SAT II--Students should check to see if the college they are applying to requires SAT II (Subject Tests) in addition to the SAT I Reasoning Test. Please keep in mind that you cannot take the SAT I and SAT II on the same date. Check with the college handbook / website if you need SAT II. SAT II tests are used for placement, not admissions. Students can take up to three SAT II tests on the same day. Registration Bulletins are available in the guidance office or on-line at www.collegeboard.com .

• Valley View students taking the SAT must have a picture ID, if they are not testing at Valley View. If the student does not have a Driver's License or another picture ID, he/she must bring a recent picture (within the past year) to his/her counselor for an acceptable ID.

• If you are interested in taking ACTs,please see your counselor for a Registration Bulletin or register on-line at www.act.org. The ACT test covers English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science content areas.

• *Seniors who will be applying to Penn State are reminded to send Penn State their official SAT scores ---write code number 2660 under score reports on SAT registration form. Penn State requires official scores be sent to them. They will NOT accept SAT scores listed on high school transcripts.

• If possible,students who wish to apply for admission to Penn State should apply on line. Students must notify their counselor that they applied and then an official transcript will be faxed.

• *Students who are applying for NCAA Clearance must also write code number 9999 under score reports on their SAT registration form. NCAA requires official SAT scores be sent to them. (NCAA is only for students intending to play sports at Division I or Division II schools.)

***If students forget to list college codes on their SAT registration forms, test scores can be submitted later at a cost of $9.50 per report. ***Please see your counselor for more information and guidelines. Students should check with the college to which they are applying to see if they require official SAT scores (sent directly by ETS) or if the ones which appear on the bottom of the student's high school transcript are acceptable.

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Scholarships Available

***Students are encouraged to check in the high school guidance office for these scholarship applications:

AnyCollege.Net scholarships are given away randomly to college bound students regardless of GPA or test scores. To enter, students simply need to go to www.anycollege.net and click on the "Win a Scholarship" button that is located on the home page. After filling out a short application form, students can click on the "submit Form" button, and they are automatically registered. $1000 scholarships are given away on a quarterly basis!! Further details are available on the website or by calling at 866-900-9933.

James F. Swift Scholarship of the Scranton Area Foundation--open to seniors based on financial need, academic performance, leadership, and participation in school and community activities, statement of goals and any unusual family or personal circumstances. Up to 20 scholarships at $4000 each will be awarded and they are renewable for up to three additional years. Special consideration will be given to students who plan on attending colleges in Lackawanna County. Applications will be available March 15, 2008 at the Scranton Area Foundation's website : www.safdn.org. Postmark deadline is May 1, 2008. Questions may be directed to the high school guidance department or to Scholarship Management Services at 507-931-1682.

Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees Teacher Scholarship Award--established in memory of W. Richard Fenstermacher--open to high school seniors in Lackawanna County who are planning to attend college to pursue the goal of becoming of a teacher. Applications are available in the guidance office and they must be postmarked by midnight May 5, 2008.

John and Lucille Guzey Scholarship-open to current and former Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeastern Pennsylvania members. Details are available in the guidance office. Applications are due no later than June 20,2008.

Nancey Lange Memorial Scholarship--open to seniors who are residents of Lackawanna County and plan to pursue to further their education by studying in a course curriculum dealing with the Environmental Studies or Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Wildlife Resource Management , Agronomy, Natural Resource Conservation, Parks & Recreation, or Forest Sciences. Applications are available in the guidance office and must be postmarked by May 30, 2008.

Blakely Borough Scholarship--open to seniors who have lived in Blakely Borough for at least 2 years. Applications will be available in the guidance office beginning on April 22, 2008. Please see Mrs. Kresock for an application and more information. The deadline for submission of applications to the guidance office is Friday, May 16, 2008.

Nicholas Lachno Scholarship Award--open to seniors who will pursue an associate's or bachelor's degree in an institution of higher education and who are active in school and community activities. The postmark deadline for applications is May 9, 2008. Applications are available in the guidance office.

****Also, please check out www.WeeklyScholarshipAlert.org.

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• University of Scranton High School Scholars Program-(Courses taken in Summer sessions fall under the High School Scholars program. All others fall under the Dual Enrollment program)-High school students who have completed or are completing their junior year with a minimum of a B+ grade average may take one course at the University of Scranton each term until they graduate from high school. The courses chosen may be taken for credit at a special tuition rate, most courses are considered 3 credit courses. Students may enroll for a maximum of 3 credits per session.The cost of the course and the required books/materials are the sole responsibility of the student. The courses taken are typically freshman-level courses that are accepted towards a University of Scranton degree. These courses generally transfer to other regionally accredited colleges and universities; however the University cannot guarantee transferability. For further information and a list of possible courses, please contact the high school guidance office or the University of Scranton Admissions at 941-7600 (Michelle Beatty) or 941-6379 (Meg Cullen-Brown).

• Marywood University Momentum Program--Momentum is a special college acceleration program which provides qualified high school students with the opportunity to earn college credits and experience college life while still in high school. Students may begin to take course for college credits as early as the summer following junior year. Students must be in the top half of their class, meet minimum GPA requirements, and submit a completed application form, official high school transcript, and recommendation from high school guidance counselor and apppropriate teacher. Interested students may pick up applications and more information in the high school guidance office.

• Graduation Projects--Senior projects are absolutely due (accompanied by their project booklet) in May 5, 2008. No projects will be accepted after that date and seniors who do not turn them in by that date will not graduate on stage. Click here for a downloadable version of the Graduation Project Handbook

• AP Tests for students for students in AP Biology, Calculus, and English will be given in the Spring. It is very important for students who are in AP classes to think about taking the AP tests now. Students who receive a qualifying score on these tests may place out of certain required college courses--this means saving money $$$$!!! Signups for these tests will be in February.

• The Curriculum Guide is now downloadable. Parents and students can check out course listings and new updates. Click here for a downloadable version of the Valley View High School Curriculum Guide.

• All graduation ceremonies at Valley View High School will be highlighted with the high school's distinguished recognition of the top two students in the class as Valedictorian and Salutatorian. The top two students will be selected based on the students' class ranking at the end of the third marking period.

• Students who will be juniors or seniors are reminded to stop in the guidance office if they are interested in pursuing Dual Enrollment (Seniors) or High School Scholars (Juniors) opportunities for the 2008-2009 school year. Students are reminded to see their counselors for more details. They are reminded to check on specific criteria for the colleges which are Penn State Worthington, Marywood University, the University of Scranton, Keystone College, and Lackawanna College. Fall 2008 registration will take place in May 2008. An information session will be held on Friday, April 25, 2008. Students will register for courses for the Summer sessions and Fall 2008 on May 28,2008.

• Students who are enrolled in Honors or AP courses in English or Mathematics must earn a final grade of an 80 in order to stay in the Honors or AP track.

• Applications for the Pennsylvania Governor's Schools are now available in the guidance office. Programs are available for the Agricultural Sciences at Penn State University, for the Arts at Mercyhurst College, for Global Entreprenuership at Lehigh University, for Health Care at the University of Pittsburgh, for Information, Society, and Technology at Drexel University, for International Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, for the Sciences at Carnegie Mellon, and for Teaching at Millersville University. More information can be obtained in the high school guidance office and also by checking out the Pennsylvania Governor's School website (www.pgse.org) or (www.pde.state.pa.us). Deadline dates for submission of applications are varied.

• The Camp Cadet program will be held this summer from July 20th to July 25th. The program will take place on the campus of Marywood University. Applications and more information are available in the guidance office.

• A new career information internet-based system is available to all of our students free of charge. The site is located at www.careercruising.com. The log in is valleyview and the password is cougars. We welcome students to try it out and let us know what they think.

• If there are any questions, please contact the counselors at the following extentions: Mrs. Dudrich (Last names A-H) 876-4110, ext. 106; Mrs. Kresock (Last names I-P) 876-4110,ext.135; Mrs. Kelley (Last names Q-Z)876-4110,ext 108.