$ For College

COVID-19 Update

Governor's Proclamation

Key Takeaways regarding the December 2020 Governor's Proclamation for College Bound Scholarship applications (PDF). 

Supporting your students 

We have free brochures and posters, including the NEW middle school informational flyer. Order materials.

Below, you’ll find printable resources for middle school and high school, including the middle school toolbox and online application. 

Middle School Resources & Materials 

• Letters sent home to auto-enrolled students beginning in February with certificates (English) (Spanish)
• Middle School Introductory Flyer 

English | Arabic | Cambodian | Chinese | Korean | Russian | Somali | 
Spanish | Tagalog | Ukrainian | Vietnamese 

• Middle School Portal and Toolbox Process (handout) 
• Completion rate calculator (handout)
• Letter to Families (template)
  English | Spanish 
• Letter for Counselors about MIL Batch sent home (template)
  English | Spanish

Counselor Signature Form

Beginning with the 2018-19 academic year, a counselor or administrator may sign this form to complete a student’s College Bound Scholarship application in the event that a parent/guardian is unreachable after multiple attempts. Staff should document attempts to contact parents on the form and allow a reasonable amount of time for the parent to respond. The student must still complete their portions of their application and this should accompany the counselor signature form. This form should not be used for any other purposes.

• Counselor Signature Form and Instructions (PDF)
• Counselor Signature Form Webinar (YouTube) (PDF)
• Counselor Signature Form Tutorial (YouTube)
• Counselor Signature Form Example (Sample)
• Frequently Asked Questions (Handout)  

High School Resources & Materials

• High School Introductory flyer (Handout) 
  English | Spanish
• College Bound Texting: Otterbot (Flyer) (website)
• College Bound Myths (Handout)
• Financial Aid Myths (Handout)
  English | Spanish
• Accessing your Scholarship (Handout) 
  English | Spanish
• Missing Information Letter Tutorial (YouTube)
• Washington College Grant flyer (Handout)
• Financial Aid Night template (Presentation) (Presentation with notes)
• High school staff (Presentation)
• College Knowledge workbooks (website with resources) 
• Repledge Campaign: WCAN website with free resources for 9th-grade students. 
• Repledge certificate (Handout) 
• 12th Year Campaign website: Washington's 12th Year Campaign supports high school seniors with college and financial aid applications. 
• College Readiness: Get resources to share with students and families about minimum college admission standards, graduation requirements, dual credit, and smarter balanced assessments. 
• Resources/Updates for working with undocumented students.
• Financial Aid Completion (website) (toolkit)

Signing Up Your Students & College Bound Portal Access for Middle School Counselors

Request access to WSAC’s secure portal or use the online application.

Login to the MS Toolbox Home Screen, then select:
Programs > College Bound > MS Toolbox. 

Follow the instructions to import students.

Print the Missing Information Letter (MIL) and form. 

Tutorial: This video covers the basics of how to print Missing Information Letters for all of your students.

1. Send the letter and a College Bound brochure home with students.
   Students need their parent or guardian to complete and sign the form.
   Students must also:

   Sign the form.
   Check the appropriate income box.
   Return the completed form to you.

2. Scan the MILs and save them to your computer.
3. Log into the portal to send via the secure messenger.
4. Click the Secure Messages button in the upper right of the screen.
5. Click the link to create a secure message to WSAC.
6. Choose College Bound Scholars in the To section drop-down menu.
7. Attach your scanned MILs from your computer and send.

Portal overview

Middle School Toolbox Tutorial: YouTube

High School Toolbox Tutorial: YouTube

• Monitor the number of students who have applied and their application status (complete or incomplete). 
• Print MILs for students whose applications lack signatures or income verification. 
• Edit student information such as incorrect name, SSID, address, etc. 
• Monitor FAFSA completion for College Bound students (HS Toolbox only).

Upload students

Tutorial: YouTube

• How to upload your student list into the College Bound Portal.

MS Toolbox Bar Charts

Tutorial: YouTube

• How to read and use bar charts on the main page of the MS Toolbox.
• How numbers are calculated. 

College Bound Listserv

Join the College Bound listserv. College Bound manages a listserv for high school students and their families. The messages are short and informative, and reading these emails is the best way to stay on track to receive the scholarship.