Career Coach

Warren County High School and Laurel Ridge Community College (formerly Lord Fairfax Community College) are working together to help students prepare for their future after high school graduation.

Brigitte Grimm, Career Coach 

Email: bgrimm@wcps.k12.va.us
Located in the School Counseling Office 

Hours: Monday - Thursday, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm (Aug-May)

(540)635-4144

Warren High School’s Career Coach, Ms. Grimm, is available to:

• Work closely with students, parents, school counselors, and teachers to provide career information, individual career counseling, post-secondary school information, college information, and support completing FAFSA and scholarship applications
  
• Work with students to develop a written plan in order to meet their goals and objectives in the career paths they have chosen
  
• Provide students with a wide range of career options and connect students with businesses and industry
  
• Assess students' skills, interests, and values by administering a career assessment
  
• Provide a list of schools that match the students' career goals and focus on students' strengths and interests
  
• Serve as a liaison between Warren High School and Laurel Ridge Community College
  
• Assist students by administering Virginia Community College (VCCS) Placement Tests at the high school
  
• Assist students with Dual Enrollment registration to Laurel Ridge Community College

Make the most out of transferring your Dual Enrollment classes and credentials by reviewing the Transfer Virginia Dual Enrollment Student Guide.

It’s never too early to plan what you will do beyond high school.  A few key points to consider:

· Keep your grades up!  Colleges like to see a GPA of 3.0 or higher, if possible.
· Maintain at least a “C” or better in all your classes. Lower grades like “D” and especially an “F” will drop your overall GPA.
· Save yourself money by taking as many Dual Enrolled classes while in high school before graduation. You will be able to save time and money in a four-year school if you take more courses at Laurel Ridge Community College (formerly Lord Fairfax) while in high school.
· Check out Transfer Virginia provides transparent, accessible, consistent, and current information to students throughout the college selection, enrollment, and transfer process. You can research, plan, and organize your college and transfer journey using the information and resources available within this portal from Virginia’s participating institutions.“Your credits. Your degree. Your move!”
· Set up an appointment with Ms. Grimm in the School Counseling Department to schedule a time to talk about your future and your plans.
· If you GPA is below a 3.0 and you want to take Dual Enrollment classes, you will have to take an English Placement Test and a Math Placement Test (unless you’ve taken the SATs and scored a minimum of 500 on Critical Reading and Writing and a minimum 520 on the math portion). Some math courses may require higher scores in order to enroll. If you have taken the ACT, you must have scored a minimum of 21 on the Reading and Math sections.

• Warren High School and Laurel Ridge Community College have scholarships available for seniors. Check back on the school’s website or stop by the School Counseling Office to inquire about available scholarships for next academic year.
  
• The local scholarship packet will be available in the school counseling office in February, so check the website frequently for further information. 

Many four-year colleges and universities require Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores along with high school transcripts when applying for admission. If you are considering a four-year school after graduation, consider taking the SATs in the Spring of your Junior year and again throughout the year to attain higher scores. Your best test scores become your permanent SAT record. The SAT is intended to measure literacy, numeracy and writing skills. There are two test scores as it measures math, critical reading and writing. The SAT tests are administered under a tight time limit. It is recommended to study for the SATs and take practice tests to help with attaining higher scores. There is a cost to taking the SATs.

Surf the web, find admission information, take a road trip and visit the school that interests you. Do it over the summer. Do it soon! Ask yourself, does the college or university you like offer the major or degree you want? Also, while you're surfing, check out Transfer Virginia, they provide transparent, accessible, consistent, and current information to students throughout the college selection, enrollment, and transfer process. You can research, plan, and organize your college and transfer journey using the information and resources available within their portion below from Virginia’s participating institutions. The following are just a few of the many other websites to help you prepare and help with your search. Each of these websites has information on colleges, and majors.  Do you stack up in the admissions process? Ms. Grimm is available to help you with any questions or you're not sure where to start in the college admissions process. You can also visit individual college websites for an abundance of information for prospective students.