A grade-by-grade “road map” to get you on your way!
Parents: If you have not signed up for Mohonasen’s School News Notifier (SNN), please so as soon as possible as reminders about upcoming events are sent this way. Look for the SNN link on the district website at www.mohonasen.org.
Grade Nine
Welcome to high school! Ninth grade is a time for exploration, so it’s important to do just that. Join clubs, sports and other school activities. Volunteer! How will you know what you’re good at or what interests you if you don’t try new things?
It’s also important to make sure you get off to a strong start in all your courses! Students who have to repeat classes close off their options and choices in coursework/internships, etc. later down the road.
What to look for this year:
School counselors schedule personal conferences with each 9th grader during March and April to develop a high school “game plan” and finalize courses for 10th grade. Parents are invited and encouraged to attend. Students will be introduced to Family Connection by Naviance (http://connection.naviance.com/mohonasen) at this time.
December-January: Course Registration Process
Grade Ten
Things to be on the lookout for this year include:
October-November: All sophomores will be scheduled out of a study hall to take an Interest Assessment on Naviance, a program that will help identify possible careers of interest, as well as work values.
October: Math accelerated sophomores are encouraged to take the PSAT, a pre-test for the SAT.
Late Fall/Winter: Course Registration Process (See page 18)
November, December & January: Counselors meet with each student for their annual review. At this time course selections for 11th grade are discussed, academic standing is reviewed and -continued career exploration is encouraged. Also in April, highly motivated and/or accelerated students may want to sign up for the SAT Subject Tests.
March: Finding Your Financial Fit – an evening program for all college-bound sophomores/juniors and their parents.
June: Students who have signed up to do so, take the SAT Subject Tests.
Grade Eleven
September-October: Sign up for and take the PSAT – a pretest for the SAT. Access Family Connection by Naviance to begin or continue your college search.
Late Fall/Winter: Course Registration Process (See page 18)
January-February: Parents and students attend College Information Night for Juniors (The Search Process). A panel of local college admissions counselors, a parent and student are the featured speakers. Check the district calendar for the date and time.
January-March: Counselors meet with every junior to do an annual review. Discussions focus on academic progress, PSAT scores, course selections for grade 12, and college and career planning using Family Connections by Naviance.
March-April: Students should sign up for the SAT, SAT Subject Tests and ACT exams. Also, attend Finding Your Financial Fit – an evening program for all college-bound sophomores/juniors and their parents.
April/May: Students should attend the College Fair at Hudson Valley Community College (more than 200 colleges participate).
May-June: Students take SAT, SAT Subject Tests, ACT exams.
June-August: Students make plans to visit colleges over the summer. Students should call for an appointment first to avoid visiting a campus when it may be closed or between semesters. An interview is advisable. Students should also be registering for SAT, SAT Subject Tests or ACT Exams that they would like to retake in the fall.
Grade Twelve
Congratulations! You’re almost there! Your senior year will be an exciting one, focusing on making a smooth transition to college, the military or directly into the workplace.
September-October: Each senior meets individually with his or her counselor to review graduation and course requirements, diploma options and post-high school plans. A college application timeline is formalized in this meeting. Retake SAT, SAT Subject Tests or ACT Exams.
September-October: Students and parents attend College Application Kick Start, presented by the high school counselors. Check the calendar for the date and time. Students should be requesting recommendations from teachers, counselors and other relevant adults. Seniors should also begin checking in regularly at the Family Connection by Naviance website to look for scholarship applications.
September-November: Seniors sign up on Naviance for and attend meetings with college admissions representatives who visit Mohonasen.
October: Seniors attend a college essay writing workshop presented by a college admissions counselor. Check the calendar for date and time. Check to see if the schools students are applying to require a CSS financial Form.
October/November: Bring your financial documents and attend the high school’s workshop on Filling out the FAFSA – the financial aid application form that colleges use as their formula for determining financial aid. Trained financial professionals from HESC will walk you through completing your FAFSA and you will walk out with your FAFSA finished. Also this month, continue the application process for college as needed, and keep checking for scholarship applications online at Family Connection, Naviance.
November: College applications should be submitted this month. SAT and/or ACT scores must be sent directly from the test center. And keep checking for those scholarship applications this month! A transcript request form for each college applied to needs to be submitted to your school counselor to ensure that transcripts and other important documents are submitted in a timely fashion.
December: Make sure to complete and submit any application with a January 1 deadline. This includes requesting all transcripts and recommendations at least two weeks prior to the holiday vacation. Check the latest college scholarship -applications at Family Connection and www.fastweb.com.
October-March: If you didn’t attend the FAFSA workshop, submit your FAFSA form no earlier than Oct. 1 and no later than March 1.
January-March: Review and return the Student Aid Report (SAR). This form is sometimes mailed/e-mailed to students to clarify information provided on the FAFSA. Follow directions carefully and return as quickly as possible.
March: Continue checking the Counseling and Career
Center and the Naviance website for scholarship applications. Wait for responses to college applications.
April: Compare the financial aid packages that will begin arriving in the mail. It’s time to select the college you’re going to attend! You’ll need to send in a deposit to the college you’ve chosen – no later than May 1.
April-May: Be sure to complete your Excelsior Scholarship application if parents meet financial qualifiers and you are attending a New York state college.
June: Congratulations, graduate! You’re on your way!
College/Career Search Websites
Introducing FAMILY CONNECTION by Naviance
We are pleased to introduce Family Connection by Naviance, a web-based service designed especially for students and parents. Family Connection is a comprehensive website that parents and their children can use for help in making decisions about courses, colleges and careers. Family Connection is linked with Naviance Succeed, a service that our office uses to track and analyze data about career and college plans, so it provides up-to-date information that is specific to our school.
Here is a sample of Naviance activities:
- Game Plan Survey
- Create a resume
- Complete an Interest Profiler
- Start a college search
- Develop a prospective college list
- Access scholarship search engines; more than a
hundred national scholarships are available - Maintain journal entries
- Complete school-developed surveys
- Compare colleges
- Link to selected third-party resources College Board, Financial Aid, NCAA, Careers, College searches, etc.)
- Track deadlines
- View guidance news bulletins
To access Naviance, follow the instructions below. The steps below will take only 2-5 minutes. Thank you!
http://connection.naviance.com/mohonasen
Student accounts:
- Log in with school user name and the password: notebook
- You can change your password once logged in
- Seniors need to complete a Senior Survey/Final Transcript Request in May through this program. Also be sure to bookmark the website for future reference.
COLLEGE BOARD ONLINE (www.collegeboard.org)
Click on “college search” and you’ll be connected with a
database of more than 3,500 two- and four-year colleges. Choose from among 800 features to create a profile of your ideal college and, in seconds, get a list of the colleges that fit the bill.
COLLEGE SEARCH MADE SIMPLE (www.cappex.com)
The site helps make solid college matches for you and lets you know your chances of getting accepted.