Senior Counseling Corner
Brighton High School Counseling Office
November 9, 2023
Seniors,
St. Bonaventure University Instant Decision Day is on Monday!! Spots are still available- SIGN UP FOR A GREAT OPPORTUNITY!
Sign up now: https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2085
Your goal should be to have all applications submitted around Thanksgiving. Remember, that January 1st registrar deadline is DECEMBER 1!! See us during Senior Office Hours so we can help.
Thank you to all of the Veterans out there. We hope you enjoy the long weekend!
Best,
BHS Counseling Office
(585) 242-5000 x4526
FREE FAFSA WEBINAR WITH NIAGARA UNIVERSITY
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is an essential form for college-bound students to help them obtain an affordable education. There are changes to this year's process you should know about! Register for this free webinar on Dec. 5 at 9 a.m. to learn more about how you can be a resource for your students about the FAFSA.
This webinar features:
- Tips for your families and/or students to complete the FAFSA
- Updates on the FAFSA timeline and process
- How to interpret a Financial Aid package
- Understanding key financial aid terms
- Resources to inform, support, and assist your college-bound students
Senior Seminar & Parent Nights
In case you missed our Senior Parent Night Series, all information from the presentations are posted on the Senior Information Page of the BHS Counseling Website.
Stop in to Senior Office Hours or see your counselor if you need more help!
Instant Decision Days
This fall we will be offering Instant Decision days with 14 phenomenal institutions!
Students will have the chance to meet with an admissions representative and receive instant feedback on their application- most students will be informed of their admissions decision that day!
We will provide much more detail in Senior Seminar, but below are the general instructions. This is SUCH a great opportunity to learn more about what the college has to offer you and get some early feedback. Save the dates if you are interested!
If interested, please follow the instructions below:
- Sign up for your 15 min admissions appointment with any of the institutions you are interested in.
- If you haven't completed or submitted your application yet, THATS OK! Still sign up!
- An admissions counselor will review your materials and could provide an admissions decision and estimate of your scholarship package that night! (some colleges may require a few additional days to process materials)
- Please note- Geneseo is an ADMISSIONS INTERVIEW ONLY. This will be used as part of your application to be reviewed later. No decision will be made that this time. If interested in Geneseo, we highly recommend taking advantage of this.
Sign up here: https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2085
A few recommendations:
- Show up a few minutes early- you don’t want to be late!
- Wear appropriate attire- no need to dress up, but please look presentable. This is YOUR opportunity to show them who you are other than a name on a piece of paper!
- Come prepared with questions about the school- we are happy to help you with this.
If you have any questions about these opportunities, please contact Mrs. Stern!
COLLEGE FAIRS & CAREER EXPLORATION
Explorers Program
Exploring provides exciting activities and one-on-one mentorship for youth looking to discover their future. Whether you’re a local organization looking to strengthen the community or a young person wanting to uncover the possibilities of your future, Exploring is a great place to start.
Exploring let’s you “try a career on for size!” Young men and women, ages 14-20, can explore their career interests in a hands-on real-world environment with professionals in that field. There are Explorer Posts for areas of advanced manufacturing, aviation, cosmetology, culinary, engineering, firematics/EMS, health care, law enforcement, legal, military, skilled trades, sports management, veterinary, and many more!
https://senecawaterways.org/exploring-ages-14-20/
**You can earn INTERNSHIP CREDIT for joining an Explorer Post! See Mrs. Stern for details!
Ways to get "on campus"
Although you may not be able to physically get on campus right now, this is a great time to take a virtual trip! Check out these resources:
- Individual college websites
- Naviance (many of the colleges have videos and interactive information posted there)
- www.campusreel.org - over 15,000 real videos, tours and experiences from 300+ college campuses, created by current students
- Thanks to an incredible colleague in a College Admissions Counselor group who put together this working excel file. Including demographic data from College Board, she lists colleges in the US and Canada who offer virtual tours, youtube channels, etc. UK coming soon! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sO7pVos0EvK0BvXoMbnyg00K6r7hXbOQE0HNXF4N4eM/htmlview
Senior Office Hours
BHS Counselors will be available for SENIORS only to help support you with your post-secondary planning. We will be covering a lot in seminar, but we want to make sure you are well supported in this process. We are here to help!!
No sign up needed- just drop in to office hours whenever you are free. Stay for 5 minutes or stay for hours. This is a great opportunity to ask questions, work on applications with support or just a quiet place to work on your plans.
Please see the poster below for more info and times.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your counselor. We hope to see you all soon!
College Rep Visits to BHS
Reps will be visiting in-person and virtually. Colleges have already begun to snag spots at BHS, so check Naviance regularly for our schedule.
- Be sure to SIGN UP for the visit in Naviance.
- If a rep is in person, they will be in room 257 (the conference room across from the Counseling Office)
- If they are virtual, you will be able to access a link to their zoom via Naviance. You may come to the Counseling Office and we can help find you a quiet space to attend if needed.
- In person or virtual, you will need teacher permission to attend if the visit takes place during a class. Grab a pass from the counseling office.
You are welcome to sign up for as many visits as you'd like! We encourage you to sit in on the ones you know, as well as some that you've never heard of before. There are so many INCREDIBLE institutions all over the country with phenomenal opportunities. You just don't know about them yet!
Be sure to check out Naviance & the College Visits page on the BHS Counseling Website for a complete list of ALL visits this season. Check often- we get new visits scheduled every day!
SCAN OUR NEW QR CODE! Posters are around school and will lead you directly to our College Visit Website. Check often and bookmark the page!
Registrar Deadlines
Check out the Registrar deadlines- based on the college/job/scholarship deadlines, the dates below are when your application is DUE TO THE REGISTRARS OFFICE.
Please note- the Registrars Office will not be ready to process application materials until October 1st. Please contact your counselor directly if you have an unusually early deadline.
SAT & ACT- IMPORTANT Updates
**If you take an SAT or ACT exam AFTER we have submitted your transcripts/scores to a college, YOU must submit the new scores directly to the college via College Board or ACT. See your counselor with questions.
If you have questions specific to BHS testing procedures, please reach out to Deirdre Carter: deirdre_carter@bcsd.org. As things are changing so often, please refer to the testing sites for updated information:
ACT- www.actstudent.org
SAT- www.collegeboard.org
Brighton High School Counseling Department
Email: courtney_stern@bcsd.org
Website: https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2063
Location: 1150 South Winton Road, Rochester, NY, USA
Phone: (585) 242-5000