The Texas OnCourse Educator Blog

Searching and applying for scholarships can take a lot of time for educators and students alike. And we get why – students are often both excited and overwhelmed by going to college and taking on the cost that comes with it. As an educator, it’s your job to help students navigate their remaining time in high school, finalize their postsecondary plans, and help minimize student debt. This blog will walk you through the basics of scholarships so you can be prepared to support your students through this exciting time.

Like students, scholarships come in all shapes and sizes, and there are more scholarships now than ever before! We'll go over all the things that educators need to know about scholarships, including links to additional articles, webinars, videos, and other resources. And don’t forget to refer to the ultimate source for all postsecondary planning information for professionals: the Texas OnCourse Academy.

When bluebonnets carpet Texas roadsides, it's time for many juniors to make plans to take the SAT. Given the impact an SAT score can have on admission decisions and scholarships, we want to ensure that students are as ready as possible when test day comes. That's where Khan Academy SAT prep comes in.

For many students and families, especially first-generation college students, interpreting ACT test results may seem like interpreting a foreign language. It is important to help students and families understand what their scores mean and how they can use the scores during the college application process.

College entrance exams such as the SAT represent a significant milestone in the college admission process. To make an informed postsecondary decision, students need to understand how they performed in comparison to their college or university's average admission scores.

Earning a four-year degree is not the only postsecondary path to starting a successful career. In this January 2021 webinar, we covered alternative options available to students. Topics included Texas certification programs, community college programs, technical school offerings, and innovative concepts like coding bootcamps that offer skills in high-need areas.

As educators, we spend much of our careers ensuring that our students are ready. In Texas, they should either be college ready, career ready, and/or military ready by the time they graduate from high school. Let’s talk about efficient options for students who want to go to college but may not yet have demonstrated their readiness for college-level coursework.  

Endorsements have been around for a few years now, but they can still be a challenging concept to explain to students and their families. Fortunately, there are lots of resources on endorsements and academic planning to help you!

More and more school districts are implementing career exploration and postsecondary planning in middle school in a variety of ways. In our November 2020 webinar, we shared tips on how to incorporate college and career planning in middle school classrooms. 

Searching for scholarships can be overwhelming for students! Here, we’ve organized our tips into three simple steps to get students started on the scholarship search and application process, with downloadable resources for students, parents, and educators. For a deeper dive into scholarships, head to the Texas OnCourse Academy or the Scholarship Basics for Educators page.

COVID-19 has been an education game-changer.

COVID-19 has rocked our world as educators. Schools have closed, in-person classes and activities have pivoted to virtual or hybrid, and as we struggle to keep up, we worry about our students falling behind. We are committed to serving the dynamic needs of Texas educators, particularly as it relates to college and career readiness. We provide consistently updated information on COVID-19 resources for Texas educators. We recognize that your students are becoming more independent and tech-savvy during the pandemic and are managing their time and education from home in many cases. Keeping them on track for postsecondary success is a top priority.