Signal Mountain Middle/High School

Students Menu

College Access

Your college advisor, Dr. LeAnn Welch, is both anxious and excited to get started working on the challenges of the college application and financial aid process. The purpose of your college advisor is to collaborate with and support the existing counseling program by serving as a resource for college and financial aid information for students, parents, faculty and staff.

Dr. Welch subscribes to the belief that every student should have the opportunity to go to college. She will work to help increase awareness of postsecondary opportunities, find the right college match for your child, and present as many scholarship opportunities as possible. Specific activities and opportunities to make this possible for students include:

• Conducting curriculum and college planning workshops for students in grades 9 and 10

• Conduct classroom advisory sessions on topics such as: how to write a strong essay for scholarships, what a great personal statement looks like, and how to find the right college for you.

• Meeting one-on-one with students during spring of the junior year or early fall of the senior year to build and refine postsecondary plans

• Handling registration for the ACT, monitoring vouchers and fee waivers, and reporting trends in scores

• Maintaining a college counseling database, such as Naviance, for ongoing accountability, end-of-year reports, and college matriculation follow-up

• Conduct financial aid workshops and work with support staff from local universities to assist in completing your FAFSA (free application for federal student aid)

• Coordinating college tours and/or college representative visits to the schools

• Developing a school profile

• Assisting students with college and scholarship applications

• Facilitating professional development opportunities relating to the college admission process for the high school faculty and staff.

Your College Advisor is partially funded by The Chattanooga Partnership for College Access & Success which is working to increase the percentage of public school graduates in Hamilton County who are college-ready, and who enroll in and complete postsecondary education. For more information about the College Access Center please go to www.collegeaccesscenter.org .

LeAnn Welch

LeAnn Welch - School Counseling Department (College Access)

Active Image Dr. LeAnn Welch is currently the College Advisor for grades 6-12. She has been a college advisor for the past 2 years as well as a school counselor and testing administrator for the previous 4 years in Memphis, Tennessee. She is proud of her small town heritage in Chickamauga, Georgia and a graduate of Gordon Lee High School. Dr. Welch received her Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Psychology and her Masters of Education in School Counseling from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She earned her Doctorate degree from the University of Memphis in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. While she has a deep passion for learning, writing, and working with students, her heart lies with her family. She is the wife of Signal Mountain Dentist, Dr. Jonathan Welch and the mother of 3 children, Molly, Archer, and Emmy. As a family, they enjoy healthy competition, traveling and camping.

College Bound?

Technology is increasingly becoming part of the admissions process and there is a great website for you to take advantage of: zinch.com. While you may not be at this stage of the college search game, it is critical to understand the role of technology and how you need to take ownership of what you put out there for the world to see.
Read more...