How about a New Year’s Resolution to consistently get more sleep? It will help your physical, emotional, and academic health… and you’ll be happier too! https://childmind.org/article/help-teenagers-get-sleep/
BHS wiSTEM Club offers: High School 101 Workshop: Midterms - Preparation Tips and Tricks from Upperclassmen and teachers! January 10, X block, Room 261
Join the Friday Lunch Lounge! Want a different place to eat lunch?
You are invited to come to room 277 on Fridays to hangout, play games, and meet some new people. Bring your lunch. Snacks provided! We are looking forward to meeting you!
SENIORS
Early Decision acceptances - please contact all colleges also applied to EA/RD and remove your name from their lists...and congrats!
Deferred to regular decision? Please carefully read advice from the BHS Guidance Department about next steps – attached here.
As College Counselor Tara Anne Dowling suggests-
“Say 'Thank you' as well as 'No, thank you'
--‘Thank you for taking time with my credentials’, ‘thank you for answering my questions’, ‘thank you for offering me a scholarship’ etc.
--‘No, thank you, I will be attending another college’ (you can say the name of your attending college if you feel comfortable)
This is done in myriad ways:
* via the online portal they may give you the option to decline your offer and say where you are going
* via email to the rep who has been working with you
* via post--did you get a big packet in the mail? There may be a postcard that asks for you to respond with info if you are declining the offer
What is goodwill and why does it matter?
--Admission officers very often become invested in the students they are reviewing. They have read your file, recommended you to the admission committee, and perhaps put you up for a scholarship. Hard work deserves a big thank you.
--You never know if you may need to transfer
--You may have a younger sibling or friend who will attend this university. How can a good relationship that helps other people be a bad thing?
What's in it for me?
--If good will doesn't move you (or good manners!) then think of kids on waitlists who are dying to find out if they can have that place that is currently being held by you. You can help colleges clean up their records and make room for other candidates!"
Scholarship Information – Brookline High scholarship info and other resources – see attached info, BHS Guidance website, and BHS Homepage
READ YOUR EMAIL IF YOU HAVE APPLIED TO COLLEGE! Set up and check your portal for each college. If you have questions, students should be contacting the admissions offices, not parents….. See this article for more info about documents to college - http://admitted.nacacnet.org/wordpress/index.php/2018/11/21/parents-before-you-yell-at-your-childs-school-counselor/
If you change your admissions requests or decide not to apply to a college on your original transcript release form, PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR COUNSELOR OR STOP BY ROOM 161 (Main Guidance Office) so we can update your requests.
Transcript release / Teacher-Counselor Recommendation Deadlines
Upcoming due dates:
College deadline BHS Deadline
February 1 Friday, January 4
February 15 Friday, January 18
Thinking about an alternative plan to 4 year college? You are not alone! Almost 10% of last year’s BHS graduates planned to attend a 2 year technical or community college, work full time, or considered the military. Please see Kate Cordner, the BHS Career Counselor, on Tues- Friday in Room 279 or 280 for more info.
“Is it a Scam?” – Scholarship and other financial aid scams - Federal Trade Commission - http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0082-scholarship-and-financial-aid-scams
Beware of scholarship and other financial aid scams! This website can help you spot scams and avoid wasting your money.
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JUNIORS AND SENIORS
Don't miss this year's USA Gap Year Fair event from 6-8:30 PM on Monday, January 14 at Brookline High School! Among the programs attending the fair, several are free (for example, City Year and Australian Working Adventures), and many offer generous scholarships (such as Irish Gap Year and Up With the People).
PRE-REGISTER: usagapyearfairs.org/fairs
Guest Speaker: 6-6:45 PM MLK ROOM
Gap year advisor Julia Rogers of Enroute Consulting and Jane Sarouhan from Center for Interim Programs will kick off the evening with a dynamic presentation explaining the ins and outs of gap year options and offering tips for navigating your gap year research.
Fair: 6:45-8:30 PM CAFETERIA
During the fair, attendees will have the opportunity to speak with 46 gap year program representatives about their program offerings!
Seniors - Have questions about your Common Application? Need essay help? Not sure how to send your scores to colleges? Having trouble matching your Common App to Naviance? Still deciding on colleges to apply to?
Juniors- Starting to research colleges? Wondering whether to take the SAT, ACT, or go test-optional? Thinking about when you should take these tests?
Make an appointment with your counselor (email or leave a note, if needed) OR see Mr Libenzon, BHS College Counselor, in College-Career Center 279 or office 280
JUNIORS
ALL JUNIORS! PSAT results are now available online via the College Board website. Students who took this practice test should have received an email from the College Board to announce that scores are available and to provide directions for access. . If a student cannot access their account, they should try the "forgot the password" feature first. If that doesn't work, Lenny Libenzon can help students with access when they drop by College-Career Center 279 or his office 280
To better understand the information on the score reports, students and parents can view PSAT video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNQGjsOQGpU-
Students can contact their counselor for more information – stop by, leave a note, send an email if they are not available.
WE ENCOURAGE ALL JUNIORS TO DO A FEW THINGS AFTER VIEWING THEIR SCORES:
1- MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR COUNSELOR TO DISCUSS SCORES AND START THINKING ABOUT COLLEGE PLANNING
2- USE THE FREE ONLINE KHAN ACADEMY LINKED TO THE PSAT REPORT TO LEARN ABOUT HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SCORES
3- ATTEND THE 12/11/18 7pm EVENT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BHS JUNIOR YEAR TIMELINE AND TO HAVE AN IN-DEPTH EXPLANATION OF COLLEGE ADMISSIONS TESTING INFORMATION
College Applications and SAT/ACT essay – to take or not to take?
SAT essay info:
https://blog.prepscholar.com/schools-that-require-the-sat-essay
ACT essay info:
https://blog.prepscholar.com/complete-list-which-colleges-require-act-writing-all-schools
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SOPHOMORES
SOPHOMORE PTO/BHS GUIDANCE-COUNSELING BREAKFAST – "Next Steps to Junior Year and Beyond" on Wednesday, January 16th 8-9:15 am in MLK room. Darby Neff-Verre, Lenny Libenzon and counselors of 10th graders will present to parents of sophomores. Muffins and coffee will be provided.
PreACT score reports will be available in school during early March and a PreACT score report overview is scheduled for X block, Thurs March 7th.