This will be an exciting year as seniors take their first steps into young adulthood and prepare to leave the nest. Senior year is both exciting and stressful, with many ups and downs. Please know that this is natural, and is symbolic of the major shift that is about to occur in the lives of both seniors and their families. It is beneficial to seniors in preparation for being on their own that they are independent and responsible for contacting colleges and completing applications themselves. Colleges are looking for mature, responsible young adults who have learned to work with deadlines and systems on their own.  Once a student is in college, all communication is done directly with the student.

We have several events and points of contact to help seniors through this transition. 

The future planning process, which for approximately 95% of Masconomet students means either a two or four-year college, kicks off with an optional College Application Summer Seminar at the end of August.  This focuses on strategies to help students best present themselves in the application process, including the main college essay, colleges’ short answer questions, and the Activities section of the Common App. 

The full Senior Future Planning Seminar series, required for all students, begins immediately during the first full week of school. In small group meetings with their counselor, students will discuss the variety of post-secondary options available, with a focus on college admissions.  

During this meeting, seniors will learn all the key components to the application process and how to access important resources including:

• Masconomet School Counseling Department's Senior Application Procedures

• Strategies to stay organized and how to decipher application requirements that may differ between colleges
• Naviance procedures specific to senior year, including how to request transcripts for colleges  
• Communicating with counselor and teachers regarding Letters of Recommendation and adding recommenders to their Naviance account
• How to best present themselves in the application process, including the main college essay, colleges’ short answer questions, and Activities section of the Common App.
• Resume instructions and sample templates
• College admission testing guidelines and information regarding how to request test scores for colleges from either the College Board or ACT if sharing scores
• The financial aid application timeline and process
• Scholarships

After the group meetings, each senior is expected to make a full-period appointment with their School Counselor to discuss individual plans and goals.  This meeting should occur before October 5 if applying with an Early Action or Early Decision deadline of November 1, and no later than October 31 for all other seniors.  We expect students to share all information with their parents, including important resources on the Counseling Department Blackboard page on Naviance. Please be aware that seniors can come to see their counselors at any time should they have follow-up questions. We are here to help!

The School Counseling Department also runs informational meetings for parents of seniors, including Senior Parents’ Night, which will occur in September, and Financial Aid night, which will be held in October.