College & Career Readiness

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NOTE: Contact your campus coordinator for more information about preliminary SAT (PSAT) dates.

The Austin ISD Learning Community is committed to preparing all students to graduate college, career and life ready!

We are focused on ensuring  that our students are prepared for a changing and increasingly complex future; to cultivate the knowledge, skills, mindset of a lifelong learner in order to be successful beyond high school.

Austin ISD College Advisors; work in collaboration with School Counselors, AVID, GEAR UP Austin, CTE, other partner organizations and college access programs to create and promote a college-bound culture across all campuses.

Scope & Sequence for College, Career and Life Readiness (6th-12th grade)

The Scope & Sequence for CCLR has been developed to assure that ALL of our AISD students; beginning as early as 6th grade, begin taking steps to Explore college and career options so that they reach college and career readiness by the time they reach HS graduation and beyond! 

Austin ISD partners with the Naviance Program for college, career and life readiness exploration and planning for middle and high school students. Naviance Student makes it easier than ever for students to answer the questions that will shape their future: Who am I? What do I want to be? How will I get there? And How will I succeed?

STUDENTS can now access all the Naviance tools and resources through the AISD log-in in the student portal and also through Naviance Student. The Naviance Student mobile App is also available.

PARENTS can access and follow student progress in Naviance (https://student.naviance.com) by activating their Parent Registration code and setting up a password. For parents who wish to gain access and have not activated their registration code yet, please contact your Austin ISD Advisor or Guidance Counselor for help in obtaining access

College Readiness Checklists 2020-21

Explore Career Opportunities

Explore opportunities based on your interests and work values, match characteristics of your current or most recent occupation with similar occupations, and find specific information such as the fastest growing jobs, levels of education and training requirements, and average salaries.

Evaluate Expenses Against Careers

Estimate how much money you need for housing, utilities, transportation, clothes, health care, entertainment and other expenses, and see which careers will pay for these needs.

Compare careers and expenses using Reality Check.

Find and Compare Colleges & Universities

College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education) will help you find and compare college and university programs and costs, as well as compare types of possible financial aid.

College Applications

College Readiness & TSI (Texas Success Initiative)

The TSI is designed to measure college readiness skills in the areas of reading, writing and math. If you are student planning to enroll in college level coursework, you may need to take the TSI exam.  Some students are EXEMPT from the TSI exam, provided they meet specific criteria. For more information about the TSI, visit: College Board/Accuplacer. Also connect with your Project Advance College Advisor, designated TSI testing coordinator, Counselor or ECHS Coordinator for TSI test dates, information and how to get free practice to do well on the TSI through the accuplacer.org website.

Financial Aid

Compare your financial aid packages

Scholarships

A comprehensive list of scholarships for Austin ISD students can be found in the Naviance, as well as tools to be matched to a wide list of scholarship opportunities accessible through Naviance’s partnership with Sally Mae’s scholarship opportunities.

Military/Veterans Legacy Funding for Dependents

About Naviance

Naviance offers a robust selection of college and career readiness tools and resources easily accessible to all our middle school and high school students, families, counselors and educators. Students can explore colleges and careers using research tools, career and personality assessments, and College SuperMatch!

Juniors and seniors are able to build a college list to keep track of transcript requests, college applications and teacher recommendations. These tools keep the college application process; organized, streamlined and allow full communication between students, counselors, college advisors and parents. 

A Naviance account allows students and parents to communicate with Guidance and College Counselors; research post-secondary options from college & career, to work & volunteering; find and learn more about financial aid options and more. Learn more about Naviance.

Students, in particular seniors that need to navigate the college application process and financial aid in preparation for post-secondary options;  remember to log in with your Austin ISD Login through the AISD student portal. You will be able to access many resources as well as key milestones that you must take during your senior year. As well as many scholarship opportunities.

PSAT/NMSQT Testing for Homeschooled Students

“PSAT/NMSQT” means the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test sponsored by the College Board, Educational Testing Service, and National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The PSAT/NMSQT is an assessment for 11th grade students.

If the PSAT/NMSQT is being administered at the campus for which the homeschooled student’s address is assigned for enrollment, homeschooled students who meet the following criteria are eligible to register for and take the PSAT/NMSQT:

  • The homeschooled student must provide proof of eligibility to be enrolled in Austin ISD to the campus PSAT/NMSQT Coordinator.
  • The campus PSAT/NMSQT Coordinator will confirm the campus for which the homeschooled student’s address is assigned for enrollment.
  • The campus PSAT/NMSQT Coordinator will verify that the homeschooled student is an eligible 11th grader.
  • The homeschooled student must currently live in the district at the time of registration for the exam.
  • The homeschooled student pays the same fees that a student enrolled in the district pays to take the PSAT/NMSQT.