WELCOME TO PLANNING FOR COLLEGE AND CAREERS

Counselor: Luis Deschapelles
Years Counseling: 20 (plus 10 years as a teacher)
Years at RCA: 8th year
Hobbies: Dog Lover/ Tropical Fish and Aquatic Turtle Hobbyist
Church Affiliation: St. Agatha Catholic Church
Email: luis.deschapelles@catapultlearning.com
Personal cell: 305-764-1005

College Rep Visits and College Related Events
Santa Monica College  Tuesday March 11   9:49am

FAFSA Night     Wednesday March 12   7pm

Fall 2025

College Fair  Wednesday October 29  9-10am

College Application Plan:

Plan A:
Miami Dade College--Florida International University--Connect 4 Success
​MUST APPLY TO BOTH SCHOOLS
Step One: Apply to MDC--complete AA degree (60 college credits)
www.mdc.edu/admissions/

Step Two: Apply for the FIU Connect 4 Success Program---complete remaining 60 credits to earn a Bachelor's degree
https://admissions.fiu.edu/how-to-apply/connect4success/index.html

To apply to multiple colleges with ONE APPLICATION---please use the COMMON APPLICATION---please text/email Mr.D for further assistance with this:
https://www.commonapp.org/

Since R.C.A is a Title 1 school, Mr. D will provide fee waivers for EVERY college application--you pay NOTHING (0).

Plan B:
Apply to one or two Florida Public State Universities
 

• Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU)    
  http://admissions.famu.edu/
  
• Florida Atlantic University (FAU)    
  https://www.fau.edu/admissions/
  
• Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)       
  https://www.fgcu.edu/admissionsandaid/
  
• Florida International University (FIU)    
  https://admissions.fiu.edu/
  
• Florida Polytechnic University (FL Poly)    
  https://floridapoly.edu/admissions/
  
• Florida State University   (FSU)     
  https://admissions.fsu.edu/
  
• New College of Florida   (NCF)         
  https://www.ncf.edu/admissions/
  
• University of Central Florida  (UCF)   
  https://www.ucf.edu/admissions/
  
• University of Florida   (UF)   
  admissions.ufl.edu/
  
• University of North Florida (UNF)      
  www.unf.edu/admissions/
  
• University of South Florida (USF)     
  www.usf.edu/admissions/
  
• University of West Florida (UWF)   
  ​​uwf.edu/admissions/
  

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Plan C:
Apply to one or two Florida Private State Universities
           

• Adventist University of Health Services      
  www.ahu.edu/admissions
• Barry University      
  www.barry.edu/future-students/undergraduate/admissions/
• Beacon College       
  www.beaconcollege.edu/admissions/
• Eckerd College    
  www.eckerd.edu/admissions/
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University       
  daytonabeach.erau.edu/admissions
• Flagler College       
  www.flagler.edu/admissions--aid/
• Florida Institute of Technology        
  www.fit.edu/admission/applying/first-year/
  
• Florida Southern College       
  www.flsouthern.edu/undergraduate/admissions.aspx
• Jacksonville University      
  www.ju.edu/admissions/index.php
• Johnson & Wales University         
  www.jwu.edu/admissions/index.html
  
• Keiser University flagship campus       
  www.keiseruniversity.edu/admissions/
• Lynn University       
  www.lynn.edu/admission
• Nova Southeastern University     
  www.nova.edu/undergraduate/admissions/index.html
• Palm Beach Atlantic University      
  www.pba.edu/admissions/index.html
• Ringling College of Art and Design       
  www.ringling.edu/Apply
• Rollins College     
  www.rollins.edu/admission/
• Saint Leo University      
  www.saintleo.edu/incoming-freshmen-admissions
• Southeastern University      
  www.seu.edu/admission/
• Stetson University      
  www.stetson.edu/portal/admissions/
• University of Miami       
  welcome.miami.edu/admissions/index.html
• The University of Tampa      
  www.ut.edu/admissions/
• Warner University      
  ​www.warner.edu/admissions/

Plan D
Apply to one out of state college/university

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SAT/ACT:

• ​Free Practice for the SAT
  ​https://www.khanacademy.org/sat
• Free Practice for the ACT
  https://academy.act.org/?_ga=2.216270869.2081545589.1565277624-1792212349.1565277624
• 2024-2025 SAT Dates
  satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/dates-deadlines
• 2024-2025 ACT Dates
  ​www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration.html
  
• SEND YOUR SAT AND/OR ACT SCORES TO EVERY COLLEGE YOU APPLY TO
  
• To Send ACT scores:     www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/scores/sending-your-scores.html
• To Send SAT scores:     https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/scores/sending-scores

Financial Aid:
Starting Tentatively October 1  for 2025-2026-please fill out the FAFSA application--it is essential to ALL federal student aid to colleges
Step  1: Federal aid from the US department of education:
--Create your FSA ID--you will need to create a username and password to e-sign your FAFSA
 studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch
                        AND
--FAFSA--Free Application for Federal Student Aid
studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa  


Step 2:  Starting tentatively OCTOBER 1--please fill out the Florida Financial Aid Application: (Florida Bright Futures)

---Select Bright Futures Scholarship--third link on  the right of the page
---scroll to bottom left--APPLICATIONS----click--Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA)
www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/SAPHome/SAPHome?url=home
For the Florida Academic Scholars Award  (FAS)--need GPA 3.5 and ACT 29 or SAT 1340 and 100 hours of community service---$6,406.50 free money for 30 credits ( 5 classes x 2 semesters per year--each class is 3 credits) to ANY Florida college---$213.55 per credit
For the Florida Medallion Scholars Award (FMS)--need GPA 3.0 and ACT 25 or SAT 1210 and 75 hours of community service--$4,804.80 free money for 30 credits ( 5 classes x 2 semesters per year--each class is 3 credits) to ANY Florida college---$160.16 per credit


Step 3: Institutional Aid  (from the colleges you apply to)
Check EACH college financial aid website-- in google--type the name of the college and then type the words financial aid
Example: FIU      onestop.fiu.edu/finances/


Step 4: Private organization Aid --NEVER PAY MONEY TO GET MONEY

https://www.fastweb.com/
https://www.scholarships.com/
www.goingmerry.com/ 
accessscholarships.com
www.appily.com/